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2014
"It's been a great year! Thanks for being a part of it."

LOL
If you've frequented your Facebook home page, you'd be familiar with that line. A year in review, brought to you by Facebook, highlighting all your "most liked" posts, assuming they were some of your best moments.

So before this year ends (can you believe we're down to the last day of 2014?!), I thought I'd give my own "Year in Review" and show you my favorite moments and memories for each month of 2014 :)

JANUARY

Getting back to the US and keeping the SAS spirit alive

The SAS Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal + Bracelet: My SAS best friends and I decided to keep in touch through a notebook and a charm bracelet that we would be mailing to each other. The idea was to have each of us add a charm that best represented us (i.e. I added a ballet shoe charm to represent myself) and then write about anything exciting, funny, or memorable that happened to us while we were wearing the bracelet. We would then mail it to the next friend in line (we have a whole rotation set up lol), and they would add their own charm and write on the journal, and then pass it on to the next friend, and so on. We can be very cheesy that way, and we're perfectly fine with that  The friends you make on Semester at Sea are truly some of the best you will ever have. These were the people you saw and experienced the world with. And that, well, that is one strong bond. 

FEBRUARY

Westminster Love

Fall semester of 2013, I was on my Semester at Sea adventure. As awesome as that was, that also meant a whole semester away from the place I've learned to call my home away from home--Westminster College! So upon my return for Spring semester of 2014, I was all sorts of excited to be reunited with my Westmo best friends! And yes, that meant enjoying every weekend out hahaha #seniorstatus

MARCH

Talent Show + Spring Break

March was good to me. It was when two of my dancer friends and I entered Westminster's annual Talent Show, and bagged second place! Wuhoo! Performing for the Westmo community in itself was already fulfilling enough, but to have placed doing what we love (dance) was such a bonus. Hooray!

March was also spring break month! This year, I got to fly out to the East Coast to visit one of my sisters, Kai. She was taking her Masters Degree at the University of Pennsylvania at the time (yes, I shall give you a moment to exalt her and her brilliance), and we thought spring break would be a good opportunity to have a mini reunion and travel the East Coast together. My favorite part was taking a day trip to New York City! Another hooray! 

APRIL

Kapal Mode: ON

In the month of April, I won Best Smile. HAHAHA 

Sorry na, April was kind of a lull, so this is my highlight hehehe 

During our Senior Night at Westmo, we had Senior Superlatives where we were given different categories (i.e. Most Likely to Become Westminster President, Best Laugh, Best Dressed, etc) and seniors nominate and vote who they think best fit the different superlatives. I guess it pays being happy and smile-y all the time. Haha thanks, classmates! 

MAY

Graduation

I did the whole graduating from college thing. Nbd. 

Jk, it is a huge deal! I managed to get out of college alive, with my name on the Dean's List to boot aww yeah! Yabang?? What made it even more special was the fact that my family traveled all the way from Manila to watch me cross the stage and get my diploma! Ate Kai even flew in from Penn to surprise me! <3

Mane Monday

Happy Monday and Happy November, everyone! I know I disappeared for a month, but I'm back with a new post-and it's even a video!! This was supposed to be under Sassy Saturday, but due to technical difficulties, I only got around to uploading it now so I'll be calling it Mane Monday instead--styles and whatnots for your glorious mane!

I found this quick hairstyle online and wanted to try it for myself. I'm not the most adventurous when it comes to my hair, often just leaving it down or up in a ponytail/bun. But then sometimes, you get to the point where you're just so bored with your locks and want to experiment with something quick, easy, and different!

I don't know what this hairdo is actually called, but I shall refer to it as the "Messy Hairband Tuck". I love this style because it can be worn for either casual events or formal ones! I guess you'd have to lessen the "messiness" factor if you want to go formal, though. Just watch the video to hopefully understand what I mean!

P.S. I forgot to include this in the video, but you can also choose to do the half-pony tuck with this style! Just tuck in small portions of your hair from both sides, but leave the rest of your hair at the back untouched :)

That's all for now! I will really try to put up more posts this November to make up for the complete lack of them last October. In the meantime, go ahead and try this hairstyle, tweet a pic or put it on Instagram and tag me!

Have a good week ahead, and a fabulous November!

Love,
Laura

People Problems

TOP TEN TUESDAY

Hello, everyone! It's time for another Top Ten Tuesday! Below are ten things people do that I either don't understand or that absolutely annoy the heck out of me. Hopefully your Internet connection is reasonably fast for the GIFs to load properly! Enjoy.

(10) People who walk sloooooooow.
Now, I know some people have legit reasons as to why they walk at a snail's pace (e.g. they're old and have rayuma) while others prefer a more leisurely stride. I get that. But what I'm talking about are those who obviously can tell you are walking behind them and yet it is as if they are purposefully trying to walk zero kilometers per hour. The worst part is when you have no way to overtake the human turtles, and are left stuck behind them.

Could you go any slower?

(9) The want for a dislike button on Facebook.
There was a time when so many people were hoping for a dislike button on FB. Some probably still do. Baket? Eh kung i-dislike ko profile pic mo

Spread love, not hate! No need for a dislike button! It's absurd.

(8) When people say, "Can/may I ask you a question?"
You already did. Now you may not ask another.

You had your chance

(7) Sales people tracking your every move.
Yung tipong nakadikit lang sayo habang iniikot mo yung store. I understand that these salespeople are instructed to assist their customers and probably keep an eye out for possible shoplifters. But that doesn't mean tracking literally my ever step and following me within an arm's stretch. It's either you so eagerly want to be of assistance to me (if this is the case, please assist me by getting me some cookies whilst I browse your store), or I look super shady that you're pulling the human CCTV on me by watching MY. EVERY. MOVE. Either way, I am sure there are more subtle ways of keeping your customers in check.

LET ME SHOP IN PEACE HUHU

(6) When people stare.
One of my biggest pet peeves! Yung sobrang halatang nakatitig lang sayo. I know I'm cute, pero wag ka naman obvious masyado. Ay chos. Joke lang (ashu) pero yung totoo, LOOK AWAY

Bye.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Life 101

Today was a good day for my heart. Sundays always make my heart happy. I get to go to church, be with my family all day, play with my nephew and niece, and just take it easy. Easy like Sunday morning, ika nga ni Tito Lionel Richie.

Coffee and Stroopwaffles For One
instagram.com/laurapas

But during today's church service, I was reminded of Romans 8:28, and the promise of God's sovereign power that brought me such inexplainable peace and joy. I drew such comfort from this one verse, this one sentence:

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God, and are called according to his purpose for them." (New Living Translation)

He knew I needed to hear that again. He knew it would do my soul good. It was refreshing.

Right now, you may be feeling so confused that you don't even know how to begin to address your concerns to God in prayer, or maybe have given up altogether and no longer even bother to pray. Stay strong! Stay connected. Connected to God, to family, to friends. I hope this verse can also offer you assurance and peace in knowing that God's got your back, especially if you are at a point where you are trying to figure out life. That's where I am right now. I know the struggle--it's very real!

But let us not forget--
God causes everything to work together.  
Six words that can spell out miracles.

Happy Sunday!

Love,
Laura

Travel Thursday: London, Baby!

For my first Travel Thursday post, I will be cutting some corners, taking a shortcut, and reposting my blog about London from a year ago. Basically, what you'll be reading below is a copy + paste entry from my Semester at Sea blog. Ah, tricky tricky! (Or lazy, lazy...lol) But I hope you enjoy reading it! And for those of you who have already read it, I hope you enjoy reading it again. Hehehe

----

I've always wanted to go to England, ever since my two older sisters did a summer study exchange program there ten years ago! I've always thought London was such a beautiful place, judging by the many amazing photographs of the city's popular attractions printed on millions of posters, books, brochures--you name it, Big Ben's in it! Now that I'm finally here, I can't help but just be sooo thankful and excited!! 

Given that I basically only had half a day to explore London earlier today, the challenge was to see as much of the city as I can with the energy I have left coming straight from a 24+ hour travel from the Philippines. If you know me well, you know I love my sleep. It took major effort not take a nap as soon as I reached my hotel room. It was too dangerous. I knew if I would give in, I'd be sleeping 'til the next decade. And that's not cool, because then I'd miss the whole four months at sea haha.

Just a side note: One of of my friends from Westmo, Abylay, is also going on this same voyage, yay! I am so relieved and so happy he is going on this trip, too! It makes a world of a difference when you have someone you know go through this whole new experience away from both our comfort zones. We'll be facing a whole new crowd, a drastically whole new environment, and basically a whole new semester! It's so much easier to approach people when you have a friend literally by your side, right next to you. It's not so dyahe to just come up to strangers and introduce yourself!

So anyway, a lot of other SAS voyagers started checking in to the hotel and getting themselves settled. As soon as Abylay was able to check in a room with his new friend Cody, we knew we couldn't waste any more time just hanging around the hotel. It was time to see London! A lot of the other people were still waiting on rooms to be available, so Abylay and I just went ahead and decided on our own plans. Well, we didn't have any. Haha!

We asked the hotel concierge if they had any suggestions on what good tours we could do in a day. He offered us a tour package from the hotel that costs 150 GBP which can be split up between two people, or among three or four. A driver would be hired to drive us around the main tourist attractions, and then he would just bring us back to the hotel after 4 hours. I thought it was a good deal, but only because I didn't want to do more research on tours and stuff like that! Haha. Gorabels lang ako. But then after we thought about it, we decided to just wing it and explore on our own! Maka Dora eh.

Sassy Saturday: The Red, Black, and Stripes

Hooray! My first Sassy Saturday post! Today, I will feature my #ootd this past Friday:

As you can see, I am still very much into my plain white sneakers! I still wear them all the time. I paired my striped shorts with a plain black tank top so as not to "overpattern-ize" the whole look. If you wear something patterned, be it a top or a bottom, it's best to counter it with something plain. Go easy on the patterns when putting together an outfit, unless that's your style, of course! Other people may prefer "louder" outfits, and that's perfectly okay! I guess I am just not that adventurous when it comes to my clothes, hehe.

The red belt in my outfit was actually added at the last minute. I was set on wearing just the black top and the striped shorts as they were, but I found the shorts too loose as it kept sliding down my waist. A black belt would have worked, but I thought this outfit could use a pop of color. Hence, the red belt! I have always loved how well black and red go together (waddup Acts Manila colors!) so I put the red belt on and voila! I think the pop of red added a bit more sass to the look!

For accessories, I put on some dangling earrings which you cannot unfortunately see, and a long silver charm necklace. I had a more difficult time choosing a necklace because of the neckline of the tank top. I saw a guideline somewhere on the Internet that tells you which necklace works best with which t-shirt/top necklines. But I just finally decided on this long charm necklace because I personally liked the way it reached just where the shorts rested on my waist. At least, I felt like it worked!

Black tank top from Calvin Klein (c/o my sister, Angel)
Striped shorts from Forever 21
White sneakers from H&M
Red belt from Fudge Rock (located in ATC)
Earrings from Broadway Gems
Long charm necklace --gift from a friend

Challenge Accepted, Challenge Completed

Accepted the challenge extended by Lormaigne Bockmuhl and Kelly Knight.
Nominated Mico Panis, Jessica Zaksek, and our dance teacher, Chelo Gemina! 

Okay, okay-- I caved. I did say I was going to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge if nominated, and I got challenged twice! But, I didn't get to do the "better alternative" I talked about in my last post, which kind of sucks since I now feel as if I'm just one of the many people who hopped on the ice bucket bandwagon. Don't judge me, huhu!

Then again, I did have fun filming this and actually going through with the challenge. Although the water wasn't freezing, the amount of H20 that poured over my head was what I reacted to in the video. Mejo madami din pala, hahaha.

My parents found the video so entertaining when they saw it on Facebook. My mom, especially, was strangely proud--she shared my video on her own wall and captioned it:

Hahaha oh, mother!

I have to note what my dad also mentioned when he learned about the mechanics of the challenge and which cause/association the donations are going to. He thought it was clever that something as silly as pouring a bucket of water over your head has already generated millions of dollars for the ALS Association. But as a physician, he said that this type of challenge should also cater to what the healthcare in the Philippines needs the most. He explained that yes, ALS is terrible and the research for it is underfunded, but at least in the Philippines, there are other health problems that inflict more Filipinos and that also need more funding. Makes sense.

So yeah, there ya go.
See y'all later this week with another new post--hopefully!

Love,
Laura

Whatever Wednesday: The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

You know what I'm talking about. It's EVERYWHERE. You go on Facebook and your newsfeed is flooded with videos of people voluntarily dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads. You go on Twitter and your timeline has links of videos of people voluntarily dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads. You go on Instagram, and oh yes, you see 15-second videos of people voluntarily dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads.

Photo from Wikipedia

But don't worry--this is all done for a good cause. If you get nominated by a friend (or an enemy who wants to see you get drenched with ice cold water..you never know), you have 24 hours to replicate the challenge done by the nominator. The challenge is to either donate money to the ALS Association, OR, as punishment for not donating, pour ice cold water from a bucket over your head. At least, that's what I originally understood the mechanics of the challenge to be. But from what I've seen lately, a lot of people have been pouring water over their heads but are still making donations. I think that's pretty awesome.

When I first came across this challenge, I thought it was a really cool campaign to raise awareness of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis disease, also known as the Lou Gehrig's disease, and get people to donate to fundings for its treatment. I personally did not know anything about this disease at all prior to the Ice Bucket Challenge, so I'd have to give props to the now-viral challenge for putting that out there for everyone to be informed that there is such a disease. You can read more about ALS here.

It wasn't until late last month that I began noticing the trend that is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It picked up its pace in the popularity race when I saw that different people every day were doing it and flooding my newsfeed. With each scroll on my feed, there was at least one person who was either doing the video, or being nominated for the challenge. There's no escape!

Articles of both positive and negative feelings toward this trend have been making its rounds on the Internet. I have read a fair share of both sides, and I'm somewhere in between. I think it's absolutely amazing that because of this challenge, The ALS Association has received $22.9 million dollars of yesterday from all the donations brought in. Twenty-two point nine MILLION dollars. MILLION! It is also fantastic that this phenomenon has increased awareness among people, who would otherwise be clueless that such a serious disease exists. I believe these points make for a strong argument in support of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Plus, it's fun seeing people get dumped by water, especially if it's a celebrity or a whole cast of your favorite show (did you watch the challenge done by the Grey's Anatomy cast? Hihi pretty cool)

Photo from the Jackson and April Facebook page!

On the other hand, I feel as if some of these challenge participants are doing this popular challenge because that's exactly what it is--popular. It's what's trending, it's what's in, it's what's "cool" (pun intended) on social media right now. I don't mean to sound all judgmental and accusatory since I really don't know what people's true motives are, but I know you kinda get what I mean. Any trend that goes viral on the World Wide Web is bound to be followed by the huge netizen population.

Another perspective that was pointed out that critiqued the challenge comes from this article(click) I read by William MacAskill. Basically, the point he was trying to get across was that as great as it is that the ALS Association is getting literally millions of donations from participants of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, this tends to overshadow other charities and causes that may have the same value and urgency as ALS. E!News has written an article on why some critics aren't that excited about the challenge. You can read it here.

I understand both positive and negative sides to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I support the challenge because along with funds, awareness is also being raised. And as I've mentioned, it's kind of fun/funny to watch the videos, especially when things don't exactly go the way as planned...Exhibit A right here(click).

Top Ten Tuesday: It's A Girl Thing!

Hello, people of the internet! I am stoked to kick off our first Top Ten Tuesday! This week's post is a list of my own top ten items that I have to have in my wardrobe, plus a few non-clothing accessories. I will be doing a separate list on beauty products, so you won't be seeing those in this particular list.

I actually had a difficult time narrowing these items down to ten, because as a girl, I feel like I need EVERYTHING in my closet, haha! But here they are, the top ten girl essentials I personally have to have:

(10) Sweatpants or Yoga Pants 
Whether it’s a lazy Saturday or an errand-running kind of Monday, sometimes we just gotta put our comfort first. However, I found that this wardrobe staple made more sense to me when I was in the states. It would always be a little cool in our townhouse back in Missouri, so I would use either sweatpants or my favorite yoga pants whenever I just lounged around at home, or when I didn’t have time to get all dressed up for class in the morning. Now that I’m back in hot and sunny Manila, I realized that I actually have not worn either of these clothing items because I would get way too warm if I do. I think if you live in the Philippines, it makes more sense to have running shorts (or just any kind of shorts, really) as a wardrobe essential instead of sweatpants!

(9) Plain White Sneakers

Now, this isn’t necessarily a top item for every girl. I actually know someone who despises wearing sneakers! But for me, my plain white sneakers have always been the perfect go-to shoes whenever I wanna pull off the cute but comfy look. White sneaks look totes adorbs with shorts, sundresses, rompers, jeans, you name it!

It was my trusty pair of white sneakers that I mostly used
when I went around the world with Semester at Sea last year!
I literally wore it everywhere, no matter what the outfit!

(8) Lip Balm

Because girl, chapped lips don’t look cute on anybody. EOS lip balm eggs are my favorite kind! I am obsessed.

I once bought a whole pack of EOS eggs on Amazon.com because I was that obsessed..
Plus, Amazon had a good deal. YOLO

(7) Perfume

More than just smelling pretty the whole day, I really like it when people I know and are close to have their “signature scent”. I automatically associate the scent with the person, and if I get a whiff of it elsewhere, I instantly get reminded of that person which is nice. Currently, I wear the Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy. I fell in love with this scent the first time I came across it in 2010. I have been wearing it ever since!

I got hooked on Juicy Couture scents, but eventually just stuck with Viva La Juicy, the one on the left with the pink bow. The one in the middle is called Couture Couture, while the one on the right is Peace, Love, and Juicy. 

(6) Pearls (Earrings And/Or Necklace)

Adding this to a blah outfit instantly adds a touch of sass and a whole lot of class! Whether you are going to a picnic, a job interview, or a ball, pearl earrings are a safe staple to have.

Genesis

Hello, everyone, and welcome to my new space-- Love, Laura! 

I am Laura, 23, Filipina-- coffee drinkin', ballet dancin', chocolate lovin', Jesus followin'. Fresh graduate of Westminster College, and still finding my way through the tangles of the real world. In the meantime, I have decided to devote some time to do more writing, hence this blog!

I have had multiple blogs in the past, but have always struggled to keep them updated. My history with blogging traces all the way back to when Xanga was cool. Huh, Xanga? What the heck is that? Exactly. I've also tried LiveJournal during my high school years, and then switched to Wordpress when I was in college. Finally, last year, I chose to go with Blogspot to document my study abroad experience with Semester at Sea.

So, yes, I have had my share of blog sites, but I am so excited for this new one because I have already planned out some ideas that will hopefully make this blog fun, trendy, and constantly updated! Here's a sneak preview of what you can expect to find on Love, Laura:

Top Ten Tuesday
Every Tuesday, I will be listing my top ten items of a certain category. For example, my top ten beauty products of the month, OR my top ten movies of all time. Hopefully, I can get your guys' suggestions on what category I should do every week!

Whatever Wednesday
Some Wednesdays will be dedicated to any random post I would like to put up. ANYTHING at all. Something funny, something thoughtful, something encouraging, something annoying. It's...whatever!

Travel Thursday
This is when I'll be taking you with me to reminisce some of my favorite travel destinations I have been to, and share my travel experiences!

Sassy Saturday
Saturdays will be more about fashion and beauty. This can include #ootd, makeup tutorials (not too sure about this one yet since I am in no way a beauty guru haha), morning/night routines, etc!

Life 101
Life 101 will focus on the spiritual aspects of life (yehes). I'm thinking maybe I could share a devotion or something new I learned in church. This could also maybe run as an advice column! We shall see!

There you have it, folks! Hopefully these ideas will keep me motivated to constantly keep this blog up and running. Disclaimer: Not all of these themes will be present in one week. Some weeks, there might be a Travel Thursday, but no Sassy Saturday, or there could be Top Ten Tuesday but no Whatever Wednesday. At least, for now, while this blog is still in its beginning stages. We'll see how things roll! Oh, and posts will start next week. :)

Cheers to new beginnings!

Love,
Laura