Hello! I am M, and this is my keepsake.
Describing myself or my interests has always been a challenge for me, because I feel like there is so little yet so much to share about myself. I am a jack of all trades (master of none lol), and I am not quite sure which parts of my life I will be sharing the most here. Because of this, it took me a while to finally decide what username to use in this blog. I am glad that I remembered, "herkeepsake!" That is a handle I have been wanting to use for so long. Haha Yay! I do hope that I will be able to impart something to you, and that reading my entries will be worth your time.
No one is asking, but I will share with you 3 things about meee.
I am an artsy-crafty gal.
I remember that growing up, I was an avid Art Attack fan. I would tune in every episode I could, and even work on the artworks they feature in the show! One of the artworks that popped in mind just now is a snow-themed 3D art. In the image in my head, I covered a small box with blue paper, and then glued a bunch of cotton inside. Hahaha I can no longer recall what else that was about, but I do remember trying to keep it for as long as I could.
When I was in High School, I was still into crafting. I enjoyed projects that involved decorating and designing, except Poster-Making activities!!! Gooossh. That was probably an art activity I was least excited about. For the life of me, I just couldn't draw. It was so frustrating. Haha But that kinda changed in College.
In our Visual Arts class in College, I was classmates with one of my HS classmates. Once, we had a set of assignments, and part of it was drawing. I was silently sighing because ugghhh, drawing. But that classmate of mine blurted out, "Maypa si M. Maayo man na siya mu-drawing. [Good for M. She's good at drawing]." I was there, dumbfounded. I even asked her what she meant or why she thought so, and she said that I was good at drawing even during HS.
I swear, I was veryyyyyy confused. Hahahaha However, that conversation led me to give sketching a shot. During the semestral break, I bought a cheap drawing book and started sketching. Here's the first free-hand portrait I have ever sketched.
I was pretty pleased with myself then! Haha I continued sketching, and soon developed interest towards other art forms or media, such as poster paint, watercolor and colored pencils.
Up until today, I still enjoy exploring with different art forms. Last year, I tried digital art. It was a big decision for me because I have always felt iffy about digital art. Not because I didn't like it entirely, but because I felt like I would be cheating on the traditional art if I start doing digital as well. Hahahaha what a logic. 😂
Also, last July 2021, I went back to crocheting and got super hooked!
If you are interested to see more of my artworks and crafts, you may follow my art and crochet accounts here:
fb.com/m.createsss
ig.com/m.createsss
ig.com/mgothooked
I am a preschool teacher.
As a child, people always ask us what we want to be when we grow up. Some people's answers vary from time to time, but my answer was consistent ever since. "A teacher!" I would proudly say. I don't know what triggered that dream in me, but it has always been engraved in my heart. But the thing was, my family had a different dream for me. Each of them had their own idea in mind. But as defiant as I am, I still pursued what I wanted. Hahaha.
I originally wanted to be an English teacher, but that changed when I was in my senior year in HS. I remember that very moment when I was in class and there was no teacher around. Everyone was all over the place and very noisy. It was a chaos, tbh. Hahaha. Then I suddenly told myself, "I don't want to be a teacher to these students." hahahahah. And since I love children, I decided to be a preschool teacher instead. 😂😂 At that point in my life, I honestly was thinking that being a preschool teacher will be an easy ride. Like most non-preschool teachers, I thought that I will just sing songs and teach ABC. Oh, boy, was I wrong! There are soooo much things happening in a preschool classroom. In the classroom, I am wearing so many hats! Sometimes I am a teacher, other times I am a patient or a customer to my pretend doctors and chefs. On the down days, I could also be a punching bag or a shoulder to cry on. There is still chaos, to be honest, but that is nothing compared to the joy and love I feel when I am teaching these little people.
Here are two of my favorite pictures with my students.
I am a lover of words.
I wrote my first love poem in HS. It was for my first boyfriend. Haha I think I was inspired to write after reading a booklet of love poems. My first few poems were all about that guy. Gosh. Hahaha. But soon, I started writing about or to other people or things as well.
My love for words really flourished during my Lit 1 class in College. My professor, who is now my literary hero, is such an inspiration! I started exploring figures of speech, and how to use them effectively. I can't describe it, but because of that class, my heart was always doing a happy dance.
That was also when I learned about Spoken Word Poetry. Then a few years later, Spoken Word Poetry suddenly made a noise in my hometown. I would attend all the Poetry Night events that I could. I would sit in the audience, feeling so much emotions while watching and listening to the performers. That gave birth to a dream in my heart of one day performing as well. But as socially-awkward and introvert as I am, I was not quite sure whether or not that would really happen. I did start writing spoken word poetry pieces, though.
When I transferred to Metro Manila with my family, I continued attending Poetry Nights. I even practiced a piece that I wrote, just in case I would have the courage to grab the mic. Then one time, my friend pushed me to it, and with my shaking hands and weak legs, I stood on stage and performed for the first time. It was nerve-wracking! I even had a 2-second pause because I forgot a line. Haha. That moment, I felt kinda embarrased about that mistake, but now that I am looking back, I already find it funny. I am grateful for that brave me who punched her fears on the face, because after that night, I became (a bit) more confident in being vulnerable in front of an audience.
Aside from writing poems, I super love writing letters, too, both sent and unsent. And I keep a lot of journals, be it typewritten or handwritten. This blog in the nth one. Ahaha
To be honest, I initially planned on writing 7 facts about myself here, but I found it too long na. I could always share more in the future, anyway. Hehe Sooo that's it, for now! I am looking forward to sharing more stories with you!
Stay sane and grateful!
Let's spread happiness.
herkeepsake
❤