owlallthumbs

Latest Posts by owlallthumbs

I'm officially off for winter break, caught between wanting to spend the next few weeks indulging in creative projects, but also wanting to learn things I don't have time for usually. A constant struggle.

10th Grade, Manila Science High School, "Sustaining the tradition of excellence."

I think about this quote a lot.

"And yet, despite our resistance to it, I have never found myself feeling worse after the hard work was done. There have been days when it was damn hard to start, but it was always worth finishing. Sometimes, the simple act of showing up and having the courage to do the work, even in an average manner, is a victory worth celebrating."

—James Clear, What I Do When I Feel Like Giving Up

˗ˏˋ 1 year with strssdstdntsscty! ´ˎ˗

Hear, hear! Studyblr and my fellow narcoleptic, nocturnal, and nerdy owls, we made it through 9th Grade 🎉✨! A toast to victory, 🥂.

The school year 2022-2023 was indeed filled with magic, dreams, and good madness. From tireless mornings to sleepless midnights, we have completed an amazing chapter in our academic life. Ate. Slayed. Served. Left no crumbs! 💗💨

I hope you continue to read fascinating books, write heartfelt stories, draw captivating art, built great innovations, sing wonderful songs, and live how you want to be.

This is Dottie, your not-so-average student who aims to always strive for the best and enjoy learning. See you in the next school year! 🦉

April 2023 ₊˚ʚ 🍕 ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

“Springing into April with gratitude and love.” ―  Charmaine J. Forde

It's a false alarm! I did not go into a 1-month hiatus but a month of indolence 🤭.

So far, this month is below my satisfaction as I have created unhealthy habits that affected my performance on our Summative Test Week for the 3rd Quarter.

Thus, let this post serve as a memento for me to start myself anew this May and continue learning zealously.

All the best to us! ✨

Magical March! [1.3] ₊˚ʚ 💙 ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

“Even in difficult times, there could be good moments.” ―  J. Aleong, A Most Important Year

Yes, those good moments seemed to have happened to me last week!

˗ˏˋ Monday, March 13 – My otouto's birthday! I felt bad for him as he bawled about something on his special day but I prayed that this should be the start of his journey toward a more difficult adolescent life. I love you, T! I will always do my best to be the best sister and friend to you 🥰.

˗ˏˋ Tuesday, March 14 – Our EsP class was absolutely fun as we talk about our experiences from the promenade while doing a performance task—an ideal weekly schedule that I sure won't follow 😋.

˗ˏˋ Wednesday, March 15 – Finally done discussing the Romantic Period in our Music class, and playing the piano with our teacher was such a hasty yet amazing experience! We are currently practicing sir Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 for the upcoming group performance but since I'm part of our class' chorale, I was exempted in this output and the 3rd Quarter summative test—one of the biggest reasons I should definitely work hard and win the contest! 🏋🏼‍♀️

˗ˏˋ Thursday, March 16 – New economics-related song done! It is a cover of that of sir Rick Astley's song as we plan to rickroll the whole class 😎, and yes, we all did an amazing job! The instrumental we used is from Caitlyn Myers et al. to make the atmosphere of our class youthful when we present it. Check it out here!

˗ˏˋ Friday, March 17 – My mother's-fellow-teacher-in-a-Chinese-school-and-friend-who-is-my-now-favorite-teacher-in-Filipino's birthday! I've known him since I was in elementary and the fact that he's now my teacher in high school makes me realize that life really moves faster if you don't cherish each moment. I pray that he'll always have a healthy and happy life as he becomes better every day. We love you, sir Su! 🥰 I apologize for passing my output late though it won't be in Google Classroom as I have passed a Canva link—the file is editable and new edits will be seen if one just clicks on it 😭.

Speaking of which, though I have the option to use the remaining 40 minutes before the output's due—used most of the nighttime to create a fugly owl clay sculpture for an Arts worksheet 😩—, I chose to use my weekdays to write an original adaptation of an angst legend about the mulberry tree (Pyramus and Thisbe); heavily inspired by Greek Mythology and the "middle child syndrome", "childhood friends", and "star-crossed lovers" trope with a hint of a Biblical theme because I plan to publish most of my written stories someday after the school year 😩✊🏼.

Tbh, every output I've passed in my Filipino subject is a tragedy, my best friend—and my adventurous life—is the main culprit for this 😭. Lav likes to read angsty fanfiction (DSMP-centric as such) and rant about her thoughts in our Discord server 🤕. As a friend, we tend to be influenced by them and so I delved into the realm of AO3 and here I am, traumatized on the first week of usage after reading a Rin Itoshi fanfiction that literally made a deep cut in my heart and made me think of my life for a whole damn week 😞. Check it out here! (prepare your 🫀 and a bunch of 🧻)

Having said that, there are still a lot of things I need to catch up on so let's keep fighting and slaying! Have a great life! 🌻

Magical March! [1.2] ₊˚ʚ 💙 ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

“What's a girl gonna do? A diamond's gotta shine.” ― Taylor Swift

After a week of pre-prom assignment blitz, the bejeweled day finally happened! Yesterday was full of awaited things which made the night a hundred times better than the event—the promenade was absolutely fun, though!—itself 🥳.

One of those awaited things was the first meetup of my "first" friend in high school for 3 years and counting! Yes, and fortunately, it was not as awkward as I thought when I imagined them in my head every day before the prom 😭. Actually, we had planned—two times, to be exact—for our first hangout yet our introversion (same MBTI!) held us in captivity 🥰. Anyhow, we worthily spent the night talking about shared interests and stuff, tysm bestie!

Furthermore, we also get to hang out with our new friend in the group—our elective classmate and my section classmate—and three introverts, assembled! I also met their friends (my previous classmates and theirs) and all of us looked totally shining, shimmering, and splendid 😩. I finally had my movie character moment in a 2000s teen film!

I wish as we go back to a normal stressful week, we will be able to blithely slay it and stay victorious! 💅🏼💅🏼💅🏼

P.S. I will not be able to post a vlog because I deleted all the videos I took which were taken 3 weeks ago—my phone was nearly giving up, couldn't figure out how I can't send them on my mom's laptop, uploading all of them in Google Drive was gruesomely long, it was 3 weeks ago! (too lazy to edit)—so I'll stay as a blogger for now!

Magical March [1.1] ₊˚ʚ 💙 ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

“Only those with tenacity can march forward in March.” ― Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

A 3-month hiatus must never prolong! Hello, studyblr and my fellow narcoleptic, nocturnal, and nerdy owls! ✨

So much has happened, will happen, and will keep happening. Every day is a step towards our dream. Let's fill the year with acknowledgment, appreciation, and achievements.

Stay glad and grounded! 🙆🏼‍♀️

School? Still there! Same goals, improving habits, and inspiring people. I just received my report card for the 2nd Quarter last Friday and my general average just got 1 point higher! Though most of my grades in major subjects are the same, I'm glad that I was able to maintain them and I'm totally driven to take 'em all up! My grade in Arts and Physical Education went a few points down due to having a low score on the test. However, there's nothing to be down in the dumps, I've been raising the stakes higher and the Lord's always here for me. 🙏🏼

❗ Important Event: HS Promenade

Our theme is Midnights: Amidst the Stars (yes, stream Taylor's album here!). The ball will be on the evening of this Saturday at a hotel just near my home!

Dress : ✔

Accessories : ✔

Self : 🙂

I hope this week will mark a great beginning of March and tell me that this month's going to be stark awesome!

I'm also planning to post my first vlog on my YouTube channel this Friday. It's time to welcome you into my videographic life, stay tuned! 🤩

🎃 Nifty November: II (Epilogue)

The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.

The whole month was the most uncommon throughout the whole year 😭. I can't believe I haven't been posting my progress for the past few weeks. No week has ever had a gap for me to fill in with a blog post, an outrageous amount of tasks always gets in the way!

I may not be able to tell what happened during those indescribable days but all I know is that those days were difficult that I learned a lot.

December, please be kind to me 🙏. I wish this Christmas, everyone will be at peace.

🎃 Nifty November: I (Eyestrain)

Finally! I'm back to being the narcoleptic, nocturnal, and nerdy owl blogger in the house. 🎊

This month marks the beginning of the school year's Second Quarter and has caused me back pain just from the first week. Thank God and the heavens, I passed my exams in most subjects! Though I regret being unnecessarily busy catching up on my notes instead of reviewing them for many days, I am grateful that my hard work has paid off. 🤗

On the first Friday, I finally got my eyeglasses for the first time 😭. What's incredible is that as I read my diary yesterday because I randomly thought that it had been months since I last wrote in it, I saw an entry where I asked to have eyeglasses for the same reason I bought one 🤠. I just thought this is God's gift for the hard work I have done for the past few weeks, thus, I thank and praise You!

On Sunday, we went to my grandparents' house to celebrate my grandfather's birthday, whom I call Tatay. How I've missed the gleaming sunshine and the jiving breeze 🍃! Unfortunately, I had a new glasses headache and it made me sleep almost throughout the day, making me not enjoy the sunshine and the breeze outside. Despite the circumstances, I was able to wholeheartedly eat the carbonara my mother made and enjoy it with the whole family!

May this month be great and become a headstart for another awesome quarter to ace 😉.

🦉

🎧: Summer Blooms Without You (Album) - Rachie 📖: *currently trying to save up for Christmas and buy more Collins Classics 📺: *currently binging animes with my best friend!

Kimi ni Todoke (Season 2)

Horimiya

My Next Life as a Villainess

👻 Operation October: IV (Epilogue)

🏆 This is mine to work, mine to win. I want to win and I am going to win.

All the best to my fellow narcoleptic, nocturnal, nerdy owls out there! 🍀🍀🍀

👻 Operation October: III (Conditionals and Calculations)

“Always strive to excel, but only on weekends.🙃”

🧁 This a special weekend post because time is not generous enough and my memory is currently fully stocked with knowledge and tasks that I cannot remember what happened last week. Unfortunately, I cannot also write in my diary due to unforeseen, unfelt, unheard... just insensible circumstances so my bullet journal is the only intimate possession I can surely utilize daily to organize my life.

Last week until now hit me the hardest! But as much as I'd like to be sad and mad about it, having less painful tension headaches these days might be a sign that my study habits are improving 🥺 and because of this, I felt like the happiest girl in the world with a tension headache.

Speaking of progress, my abusive love-hate relationship with numbers and Trig is becoming healthier day by day ✨. I can answer the new lesson's practice exercise without hopelessly pestering my best friend for a clue. However, a problem arises when I realized, I'm a few lessons behind in Math 😓. I plan to finish my revision by Saturday and be able to apply what I have learned next week until the quiz comes and the First Quarter ends 📅.

I'm the only one who doesn't know that I have great cooperating skills with my classmates (yeah, that's why you impulsively did your research topic alone when ma'am needs a group of 3). We had two group tasks in English, both class discussions of two different topics each, Modals and Conditionals with the usage of different communication styles. To sum up, we first picked the Formal style and performed it as a debate-and-discussion style. Just this week, we performed a Gilmore girls-and-Mean-Girls' inspired roleplay with the usage of Casual style. Unfortunately, ma'am stopped us midway presentation for still an unknown reason. Thus, we recorded our presentation again after class, and holy sanctuary I felt like I was in a movie 🎬! So, I was the "Paris Geller" in the roleplay and others have their dual role as a Gilmore girl and Mean Girl character. This is by far the most memorable group task I have ever had this school year! 🎀

Speaking of memorable stuff, I just finished producing the song of my group in Araling Panlipunan for a performance task this morning! I can't believe I improved a lot that I can confidently share my producing skills in academics. It's all thanks to God for helping me become the best me! 🍀

I wish I could write and share more of my experiences in these bumpy days, but I'm currently having an intense tension headache while typing this right now so that could mean that I need to go to bed 🤩.

Operation October is almost nearing its end, what a time to be alive and working! 🥳✨

🦉

🎧 : Come Monday Night - God Help The Girl

📖: *currently trying to save up for Christmas and buy more Collins Classics!

Happy ADHD Awareness Month! I wish to be diagnosed and live a little bit easier than today from the fact that I already know how I am and what I should do about it. 💛✨

A little ADHD life hack for when Executive Dysfunction is making task completion difficult.

👻 Operation October: II (Achy Breaky Down)

“A little nervous breakdown can work wonders for a girl.”

Last week was so tiring that I can't remember what I did. The group works here and there, with projects and assignments coming out of nowhere, my life was in a total freakout yesterday 🥴! But thank God for so loving the world, I was able to finish every one of them on time. I can recall some of my favorite moments last week.

I got a perfect score on our Trig quiz. This was where I learned again that revision is utterly important. Before I opened the form, I took my notebook and review the lessons covered on the quiz by just literally highlighting the statements of every theorem and applying their formulas. Of course, there is no greater magic in Trigonometry than analyzing the problem. Anyhow, I just got my own scientific calculator which cost almost half of my scholarship (I thank God for giving me this great academic opportunity) my grandmother bought from the National Book Store. I am currently obsessing over the fact that its color freaking matches my stationery supplies! Therefore, I assumed that God never disappointed me despite the unflagging week it was.

It itches me to show the world my presentation for my homemade product from a food preservation technique as a project for Consumer Chemistry 😋! However, I'd also like to forever gatekeep it til' the world knows me and shows it as my legacy when I leave the world. I wish things are always as fun as this but as far as I know, I didn't study here in this school to break myself, but to break records.

Operation October is having a bumpy ride these days but you can't make a mountain climbing record without having to walk its curvy body! We can do this! More record-breaking-not-me-breaking moments to come ✨.

🦉

🎧 : The Pressure - The Cranberries

📖: Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen It's fall (at least in other countries). I can't miss it.

👻Operation October: I (Revising in Grids)

“Believe that you have it and it shall be yours.”

May this month be filled with fruitful and fun-filled adventures with a tiny bit of wondrous nocturnal discoveries.

On the first two days of October, I just revised my notes on Trig, Music, Chemistry, and Physics.

One of my objectives this month is to emphasize the importance of note-taking and revision. I remember my previous year when I spent the whole academic year tearing up pages of my notebook because it wasn't "creative". Every night I go downstairs with lots of old colored pens and my Math notebook, forcing myself to write unpracticed calligraphy of the word Factoring. However, as I try to mitigate my perfectionism these days, I learned to just use my single black Panda Crystal Ballpen, correction tape, and plain grid notebook. As I skim through my notes, I felt comfortable and more grateful than I was.

Though I was weeks late in revision due to adapting to a new learning routine, my current situation also teaches me to learn time management because no one will do it for me.

Mid-autumn Missions:

Improve my performance in doing tasks, individually or in a group.

Ace every recitation and exam in every subject.

Apply the knowledge I have learned and will learn throughout the quarter.

Make every day enjoyable and worth living!

I may not be as apt as my classmates, but I'm still the most competent 😊.

"The only difference between your abilities and others is the ability to put yourself in their shoes and actually try." - Leonardo Ruiz

Cheers to another season of the narcoleptic, nocturnal, nerdy owl's adventures 🥂!

owlallthumbs, signing in! 🦉

🍂September Solace: III (Epilogue)

These are the least bad pictures I could take to end this gnarly month.

A typhoon named Karding just made landfall here in our country and our mayor finally suspended our classes on Monday. I am not being ungrateful, but for the past few days that had rained so heavily, I just felt pity and embarrassment for the students who still went on face-to-face classes and for our mayor who was the only one (amongst the cities prone to flood) that we did not hear anything of, except a lovely prayer⁠—which I certainly appreciate still. I pray for everyone's safety and health. 🙏🏻💛

I just found out from my best friend that I am the 7th top student last year in my section. I didn't know we had this arrangement on the virtual ceremony for the top 10 students of every section. Knowing it, I was somehow disappointed as I realized that I am not doing well as how I was in elementary. Even this year, I cannot keep up with everyone. I try to follow those tips on Pinterest, listen to Marina's infamous song for the 'burned out gifted kid' and 'overachiever anthem', and watch study vlogs on YouTube to spark my fuel, yet I didn't even sense a tiny bit of success from doing those. I haven't even taken notes from math and science subjects⁠—I did but I tore them out of impulse. What have I been doing for the past 2 years?

Get up and take off the loafers! I have said these to myself many times, but I need a mark to put my starting point of success. I have a game plan for the next month that I'd call, Operation October: Mid-Autumn Missions. I have come to realize that Rory Gilmore is not my ideal model, but her best friend, the most competent, Paris Geller. I realized that I hated her because of how similar we were⁠—her Chilton Era was my elementary student persona and I regret it so much. Nonetheless, I have come out of my grave and started digging my way out of this torpid trap house. It's time to rev up the gunships and retaliate before the next strike. 🎯🔫

🏆 This is mine to work, mine to win. I want to win and I am going to win.

🦉

🎧 : Rainy Days and Mondays - Carpenters

📖: To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (paused) I have no time for recreational reading until December.

🍂September Solace: II (Fat Favors)

Last week made me merrily cry so hard. 10+ tasks accomplished, another to do for this week. Some were done hastily, few of them assiduously. Despite such episodes of mania, I managed to finish all of them on time!

We had a summative test on Chemistry and I was really burning paper because of how the time felt so fast. I assume I will have a few mistakes but I will try my best to study more about Introduction to Chemistry.

The most enjoyable task I did was my worksheets in Arts. I made a paper cartouche and a mosaic which both earned perfect scores. Making efforts in these kinds of tasks is the least I can do to make up for the subject.

Still, I am never fit for architecture. I had back pain for several days since I finished my drafting task in TLE. I admire my classmates' work because of how polished and clean they look while here I am, failing for over 4 hours and still passing crappy work. Nonetheless, I will always try my best to pass properly and punctually.

I'm above the top of the world today because I just learned piano on a tablet yesterday! What's more unbelievable is that I was able to teach my mom too! Like goodness gracious, we just sang the oldies while she was clicking the keys on the tablet's screen. I already knew about musical notes when I was in elementary school and chords as I play the guitar. Still, I cannot comprehend how fast it was. Man, oh man, God can really just give favors to the peculiar ones.

I hope to properly finish these 10 tasks this week and can't wait to learn new things!

By the way, stream BLACKPINK's new album, BORN PINK. My favorite among all of the songs is The Happiest Girl and gladly I can play it on the guitar and piano!

🦉

🎧 : The Happiest Girl - BLACKPINK

📖: To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (paused)

🍂September Solace: I (On The Trot)

Last week was a very hectic one! We had 5 synchronous classes — one in the early morning and four in the afternoon, consecutively 🤧.

Fortunately, I did not cram my research title proposal. However, I feel really keyed up for I will be the only one to propose a topic ✨individually✨! #girlboss it is 💅. Therefore, I will be the first person in the class to present on Wednesday 🤡.

Though I was 4 hours late, I spent 4 hours in the morning and 10 hours in the evening last Friday till Saturday finishing my short story as our output in Filipino. I did not mind submitting it late as long as I did my best and ✨yes, I did! yes, I did!✨ To share a few points, my inspiration for my short story was my family, Greek mythology, and some of my current reads which are Little Women and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Yesterday, I woke up very late 😃. I wasn't able to revise my notes in all my subjects in the morning but I made up for it last night by reviewing Trig and Math (the subjects I'm weak at) accompanied by a great amount of motivation from my best friend/my math master who's working on her task in TLE at that time. Considering that I'm inclined toward Science and she is in Math, I believe that opposites really do attract and I can't wait to study with her in face-to-face classes 👥.

🦉

🎧 : I Just Wasn't Made For These Times - Sixpence None The Richer (Originally by Beach Boys)

📖: To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (paused)

9th Grade, Manila Science High School, "Sustaining the tradition of excellence."

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”

— Neil Gaiman