Transit Dialog has published my essay Cut Out Visions last January 28, 2022. Hereโs the full text:
"๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ."
๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
๐๐บ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ช๐ญ ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ด
I had my Covid-19 booster shot this morning. My day started normally, which was with a cardio workout, a cold shower and a heavy breakfast. After drinking my cup of black coffee, I was off to the vaccination site near my home.
On the way to the public school where I was about to receive my shot, I reflected on how far I have come since the pandemic hit our shores. Iโve been freelancing as a writer and researcher. But the workload before the pandemic was more demanding, which is why I am able to pursue my hobbies and passions more these days.
While I am not pleased about the resurgence of Covid-19 in 2022, I am thankful that I have already figured out protocols, self-soothing and coping mechanisms by now. I have learned to adapt to our changing times thanks to consistency with my routines and priorities.
By the time I reached the vaccination site, I was able to outline the vision board that I wanted to make in my head. A local cultural agency gifted me with back issues of their official publication, so I had material for this project. I was inspired to make a vision board after reflecting on my growth during the pandemic and while I am keeping myself safe from the virus. Safety does not mean being stagnant. For me, it is possible to balance safety with taking personal risks in order to thrive during uncertainty.
The ironic part is that we keep on discussing how uncertain things are these days when in reality, everything has always been uncertain. The unknown has simply been magnified with the pandemic, so we tend to see the world through the lens of uncertainty. Personally, I found it unsettling to deal with more external variables beyond my control, but it also enabled me to zero in on my capabilities. This led me to do volunteer work for frontliners and typhoon victims, and realize my dream of becoming an author. The two books that I have self-published are a testament to the power of dreaming and never giving up.
I finally took my turn to get jabbed. I got vaccinated by a friendly frontliner who seemed unfazed by the crowd. I took a quick selfie to document this momentous event, and exited the venue with a lighter heart.
I went straight home to eat lunch. After drinking another cup of black coffee, I took the magazines out. I cut out images and words which reminded me of my dreams, aspirations, and visions. I made a vision board based on my love for writing and my desire to continue doing what I love. I pasted pictures of food, because I am happiest whenever I enjoy my meal. I included photos of ladies in Filipiniana attire because I feel most dignified whenever I am wearing a terno or a Maria Clara blouse. In fact, I was in local dress when I launched my two books. That way, I was able to pay tribute to my heritage as I fulfilled my dreams of having my own books.
I included the word metaphor on my vision board because I realized that my day represented the rest of my life. I got vaccinated in order to safely explore the world. I want to write more so that I can tell stories based on the pieces of inspiration I find each day. I want to piece my memories together on my blog so that others may be inspired to try new things. And I realized that the pandemic was a period of personal growth for me.
My cut out visions are only the beginning. I hope that you will also find time and inspiration to make your own vision board one of these days.
๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ช๐ญ ๐. ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ.๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ข๐ฎ.๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ, ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐บ 2017 ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ท๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ๐ด. ๐๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ, ๐๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ 2021, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ, ๐๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ 2021.
Source: Transit Dialog