carl personal

Living under pressure  is like fresh from the ocean shrimps being cooked to food. It’s like there’s this invisible weight on your shoulders, you can’t tell what’s really there but you know it exists.  More like, Quang Duc’s self-immolation in Vietnam a midst social oppression; You look serene, but you're letting your insides burn. I couldn’t really fit into each and everyone’s description of it, even if I had the right adjectives and analogies to describe it. Photo by  Andrea Piacquadio  from  Pexels   Truth is, pressure treats everyone differently. Only one thing is certain: No one likes being pressured. Or you could be one of those straight-A students who live for the competition and expectations of others P.S. That’s gonna burn out soon, and you won’t like the smell of it.   We’re caught up in the drama of life, face it. More often than not, you’re gonna meet the most depressed souls roaming and just letting their lives slip by (and not in a Happy H...

Almost a month ago, I watched a movie called “Hacksaw Ridge” that stars Andrew Garfield-- not that it’s important but good to know. It encompasses the horror that the soldiers from World War 2 went through in an effort to fight for the safety of their respective families and communities. After what felt like a two-hour salt in my eyes, I had a phase, in which I promised myself to be as brave as can be, at all times. That phase waned quicker than the elated face I wore during the first few days of high school. Sooner than expected, I was back to my old cowardly ways. Given the time period when this happened: a few days into the quarantine period, what could have I possibly done differently given the situation? The straight forward answer to that is: a lot of things.

Ever wondered why you’re always so anxious? No, not really because you know this already! We don’t even respect our phone well enough to fully charge it. “40%, this will do it. Now back to cleaning my room in one-handed mode.” That sounded really stupid, but what makes it even more stupid, is that it happens. Photo by  Cristian Dina  from  Pexels Are we really surprised as to why I made an article specially dedicated to phone usage? Most, specifically, how to minimize your phone use.  Look, I’m sure your excuses as to why you’re nosediving is because you have important things to do with your phone (sometimes). We’ve all been through conversation(s) with our parents concerning our voracious, and often times, unhealthy relationship with our phones. “Why are you always on the damn phone!”, exclaimed your mom who is one step away from smashing the abstraction in front of you. Now, there are myriad ways that we can minimize the use of our phones, an...

Who could use some money right now? We all do. A teen living under his/her parents’ roof, translates to financially dependent youth with nothing to maintain but his ego. For most of us, the only way we ever get spend is through our lunch money (Wow, COVID-19 certainly snapped that away from us like Thanos). If you spend it all on lunch, you have nothing, unless of course, if you have savings, which is ubiquitously true for teenagers who have the discipline, but for most of us, we just don’t have enough control of ourselves. I don’t know about you guys, but I stammer asking my parents for money. Every single fucking time, that’s why I don’t even attempt. So whatever conundrum, I deal with without asking my parents for anything. That’s a heavy-duty I-don’t-need-you-im-on-my-own life drama--that I want you to realize, is not the most clever way to deal with things (so don’t be like me). Below are the ways to go about, making money online. What I love most about the act...

Photo by  Ba Tik  from  Pexels I made peace with the fact that death is inevitable and comes unexpectedly. I was just made aware that I’m practically dying. The timer started the day I was born, and now I know that. What I did not know, and I did not approve of in the first place, was the lifelessness that I would feel, even when I’m still alive. I’m talking about: having no control and essence in your life. People determining what is right for you, and what is not, what you should do, and what you should stay away from. There exist this social construct, wherein you would have to reform your pentagonal shape to fit into a quadratic hole because it’s what the normal is. I had to deconstruct myself in the approval of people. There were times in my life when I went below their level of expectations, and then, in a snap of a finger, I equated to nothing. I used to be no one in high school after I wasn’t announced for the first time as an honor student. I...

We seek refuge in music. When the inevitable breakup finally comes, we surrender ourselves to the lyrics of Adele. When someone has done us wrong, we feel a little vindictive, and dance our problems away to the beat of  “Shake It Off.” When we’re on our best moments, we can’t help it but to blast our ginormous speakers, and disrupt the whole neighborhood, with the British Synth Pop band called “The 1975.” Anywhere you are in life, there’s always a soundtrack to what you’re feeling.  Anyone who doesn ’t listen to music is in no excuse, a psychopath! Taylor Swift's "City Of Lover" Concert in Paris In the midst of crisis, there’s always something in store to lift our spirits up. John Lennon’s Imagine has remained symbolic after all these years and has been with us through trying times like this. Just like the famous quote from an anonymous Buddha, “When words fail, music speaks.” Music, is a way for us to understand the complexity of our emotions. It is the ...