Tag: College

How I Deal with Feeling Stuck in Life
Have you ever had that feeling when the Devil’s Snare is holding you tightly and you’re just… stuck? Except you’re not really physically stuck. More like mentally and emotionally stuck. In life.
I mean. We’ve all been 11-year-old Ron at some point, amirite? (Source)
Feeling stuck in life sucks. I end up panicking. Always. And as much as a level-headed Hermione in my mind tells me to just relax, Kate, just relax, my first instinct is to be Ron: become sarcastic while panicking.
I mean, just off the top of my head, this ‘I’m stuck’ feeling:
- Makes you feel like you’re not doing anything
- And because you’re not doing anything, you feel useless
- And this makes you feel worthless
- Which lowers your self-esteem
- And you end up becoming a mashed/couch potato binge-watching awful reality shows on cable.
I’ve been a mashed/couch potato binge-watcher plenty of times and I honestly don’t want anyone to end up in the same position as I have, so I’m sharing to you what I do when I feel stuck in life. Hope this helps! 🙂
Purge / De-clutter
Has the physical chaos around you added to all that tangled mess already inside your head and it’s messing you up?
Friend, you’re not alone.
I’m not a very organized person. I have piles of scratch papers and empty watercolor tubes and dried up pens all over my room that I don’t throw out until it’s been like months. So when my mind becomes a hot mess and gets too overwhelming, the mess all around me is like a fuel to the already burning fire.
This is usually the time when I grab a broom and a rag and have an impromptu cleaning spree.
I’m telling you: there is something absolutely therapeutic about de-cluttering your space and purging the mess.
And I don’t call it a purge for show. If there’s an article of clothing I haven’t worn for like a year, I throw it out or donate it. If my desk or shelves are filled with papers from months ago, I throw them out. My sister had this paper bag filled with newspapers that she supposedly was going to add to her portfolio (she’s a journalist) but it’s been gathering dusts since last year. So when my brother needed paper for their classroom’s recycled Christmas decor, I gave the paper bag to him.
Look through every nook and cranny of your work space and your bedroom. If you’re a semi-organized fellow like moi, you’re bound to find a mess or four. So here are some quick de-cluttering you can start doing now:
- Dust off those spider webs in the corner.
- Organize your closet. (I mean, do you really really need that knitted hat with pompoms you’ve had since third grade? Come on, Janice.)
- Unsubscribe to newsletters that you don’t read anymore.
- Change your bed sheets and pillow cases. (I mean. That feeling of flopping onto a clean bed? 11/10 would do it every-freakin-day)
- Organize your bookshelves. In rainbow colors or by authors, whatever suits your fancy.
- Throw away those old earphones that don’t work anymore.
- Deal with The Chair™. (You know? That chair in your room where a pile of your dirty laundry sits? Tell me I’m not the only one with that chair.)
Be ruthless in your purging. When I purge I only follow one rule: if it doesn’t do any good to you anymore, it doesn’t need to occupy much space in your life. Throw them out. Let them go. Give them to other people who will make use of them. The act of cleaning and de-cluttering is a big help. And when you’re done, you’ve got so much more room to do more things. #Win.
Move / Take Action
There are so many things I didn’t get to do because I thought I wasn’t ready. And, listen, this is a very unhealthy thought to have, okay? Don’t be like me, kids.
Sometimes we get stuck because we have this mindset that we’re not good enough for anything. That we aren’t ready. That our skills isn’t enough to do what we want to do. It’s like you’re stuck in a quicksand made of all the negative self-talk you’ve created.
But you know what? No one’s ever ready for anything.
At this point, I’ve probably watched enough TED Talk videos and listened to enough motivational podcasts to know people rarely are completely ready when they start doing what they’ve wanted to do.
And you know what? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that 🙂
In fact, if you’re not ready but you jumped in and started anyway, GO YOU! That’s brave and that in itself is something to be proud of—because you faced your fear and said, “I’m doing this anyway.”
Avoid Comparisonitis
Boy oh boy. This is probably a common problem among people in the Internet. Because, you know, social media.
We can all agree social media feeds on the little green monster living inside us, right? Seeing the fabulous achievements and gorgeous lifestyle your Facebook friends have, the glamorous travel-filled life of the people you follow on Instagram… All these make comparisonitis such an easy sickness to get. And comparisonitis can make you feel like you’re not good enough to do something. Which can end up with you feeling stuck.
When that happens, I want you to remember this:
Social media is a highlights reel.
People usually only post the good things that happen in their lives. The things “worth sharing.” (Except Twitter. Twitter is the John Bender of social media.)
This guy, I swear. (Source)
I remind myself this all the time. I forgot where I found it—I tried looking for it but my History tab and my memory are both jumbled mess—but I read somewhere that we all compare our real life to another person’s highlights reel online. And that doesn’t seem fair to yourself, isn’t it?
What the post said was so accurate for me that I whipped out a blank sheet of paper and wrote a line from the blog post that really stuck to me. I have it on my desk beside my computer where I can see it everyday.

I think I paraphrased this to make it shorter and fit the paper. So if you know where this is, let me know in the comments so I can fully credit them! 🙂
Somehow, reading this quote every morning or when I’m working on my desk gives me comfort. Knowing and constantly reminding myself that other people go through bad times too and that they also rarely share all this to the world makes me more empathetic, I guess. 🙂
How do you deal with feeling like you’re stuck in life? Share your wisdom in the comments below!
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PS: If you like this post, check out why it’s okay not to have everything figured out and how to conquer creative block.
Friendly reminder that my blog birthday giveaway is still going on! You can win an art commission or a custom set of blog graphic elements including a blog header 😀
Interested? Click on the image below for more info.
November 25, 2017
6 Reasons Why You Should Try Free Writing
In case it hasn’t been obvious, I love writing.
Whether it’s writing about my angst-filled days as an early teen or this one scene I came up where a twelve-year-old girl and an ancient dragon bickered if that huge grey thing is a boulder or Big Bird, writing was, and still is, a great way for me to channel my creativity into something.
But free writing.
Oh boy. That is a deeper and more intimate way in which writing has changed my life.
Good ol’ Wikipedia calls it a prewriting technique in which you disregard spelling, grammar, or topic.
I’ve always thought of it as like freestyle rap, except you’re just writing. (Freakin-genius in English, aren’t I?)
But anyway.
I have relied on it a lot in different aspects of my life this year. Which is why I’ve set myself up into convincing anyone who doesn’t free write to do it. Because I think it might just change yours too 😉
6 REASONS WHY FREE WRITING IS GOOD FOR YOU AND YOUR LIFE
1. You Get to Organize Your Thoughts
I’m the kind of person who has 1,498,257 thoughts running on my mind every second. It can be pretty overwhelming. Like I just can NOT concentrate on doing anything else.
Does that sound like you too?
Does it feel like your mind is this browser with dozens of tabs opened simultaneously and it’s like you, the entire computer, is lagging constantly because how the heck are you going to process all of these???
Is that you?
Alright. Try free writing.
Free writing might just help you organize, even just a little bit, all those thoughts you are on the verge of drowning into. It totally helped me.
When I free write, I have this feeling of gradually letting thought after thought out of my brain. Putting one word after another is like closing those tabs one by one until you have just enough that you can focus on at the moment.
It is incredibly freeing and isn’t that nice? Because it’s called free writing! See what I did there? 😀 (I am so not funny)
2. It Makes You a Better Writer
Free writing helps you put thoughts into words well, right? So it also helps you become a better writer.
I mean, for one thing, it is not called a prewriting technique for show. But like any skill, writing something engaging and compelling takes lots of practice and actually doing some writing. Kristina wrote that it helped her write as many as 1,000 words in 15 minutes.
Let that sink in for a sec. 1,000 words in fifteen. freaking. minutes.
Totally amazing, right??
But free writing doesn’t just help you in the practice aspect of becoming a better writer. Free writing also helps you get into The Flow™. Or The Zone™. Or The Groove™. Whatever floats your boat.
This is when you feel fully immersed and focused on whatever activity you’re doing.
And yes, free writing can help you go to that state of mind while writing. Simply because practicing it helps you to take away compulsive self-analyzing. You might or might not get anything substantial from what you’ve free written. But you cannot forego the fact that it is a great way to flex your writing muscles and, you know, do writing warm-ups.
3. It is Actually Fun!
Sure, maybe that compulsive editor inside of you doesn’t like being in the process of free writing. BUT! Finishing that first draft of a blog post and reading through all of the grammatical errors and typos afterwards?
PROOFREADING HEAVEN.
Which, in my compulsive editor’s view, equals F-U-N.
How else is free writing fun? I’m so glad you asked.
<3 Reading old stuff you free wrote. Do you laugh at how awkward and overdramatic you are in your old diary entries or is that just me?
<3 Knowing you can write better now compared to X years ago. Boost your self-confidence yo!
<3 You don’t have to restrain yourself and overthink every-freakin-thing (which, let’s all agree, dampens the fun out of writing)
4. It is Good for Your Sanity
There has been plenty of research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience on the importance of free writing. And it is also used in counseling and therapy.
I mean. Hello, journalling?
If you’ve read plenty of self-care posts like I have, you’d know journalling is in there at the top of the how to self-care lists. And that is basically one of the best ways to incorporate free writing into your life.
Here are some other ways free writing can be good for your sanity:
+ It’s kind of an art therapy (which we’ll discuss further later)
+ It helps you put jumbled thoughts and emotions into words (as mentioned above) which is great for self-reflection and your mental health.
+ It tires you and that’s kinda like exercise for your arm (and I dunno, for some reason I like good exhaustions. Don’t you?)
+ It’s better than breaking plates and punching a hole on your wall. I mean, you could always write about punching a hole or maybe even turning into a dragon and burning down the next village over and look! No one in real life got physically hurt! Win-win. (Except for those poor villagers. May they rest in peace.)
5. You Become More Productive (writing-wise)
One thing I’ve heard and read a lot on conquering that Horrible First Draft™ is to write now, edit later. Which, I just learned, is an excellent advice for any type of writing; from novels to poetry to technical…and even blog writing.
Practicing free writing can help you from experiencing what Ignited Moth’s post inspired me to call, The Backspace Syndrome. You know, like that backspace key is so tempting to use and you edit and delete as you go? You ever had that?
Hey me too!
So when I feel like the backspace urge is too strong as I’m writing a blog post, I either resort to writing by hand or typing it on my tablet where the urge is usually not that strong and free writing comes more naturally.
End result? I have a finished first draft of blog post! Needs a lot of editing. For sure. But it’s more than a rough outline and I’ve got thoughts and ideas down that only need a bit of refining.
6. Free Writing is Therapeutic
Free writing helps me sort out things that have been on my mind. It’s rather comforting, you know.
Gosh, there were times when free writing became incredibly emotional for me. But, in a way, it was also (well here it is again) freeing. It was just me introspecting and untangling some of my thoughts. Even for just a bit. Like I don’t have to untangle everything, and I usually don’t. But what relatively little that I get untangled and sorted out, is big enough so as to make my life just a bit more bearable.
And that’s honestly what I love the most about free writing.
Do you free write? If so, how has it helped you? Do you have the Backspace Syndrome too? Do you binge-watch TED talk videos like yours truly? Tell me all!!!
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PS: If you enjoyed this post, you might like to learn 13 ways to be inspired and pump up your creativity. Just putting it out there 😉
(Photos used from Kaboompics and Pixabay respectively)
November 18, 2017
What’s Stopping You From Doing What You Want to Do?
Seriously. I’m curious.
Think of something, just one thing, right now. Something that you’ve always wanted to do but never found the time. This urge deep, deep inside you that just wants out. It just screams to be shared to the world. But it didn’t get to.
What is it that’s holding you back? That’s making you hesitate to take the first step? That no matter how many times you’ve replayed Shia Labeouf’s iconic (and probably now a classic) motivation clip, you STILL didn’t do it?
Is it your need for perfection? Or is it procrastination? Is it maybe because you feel guilty? Or you have more important things to do? Or you feel like you’re not ready for it? That you’re not good enough?
I like to think there’s one word for it, whatever it is that’s holding you back:
Fear.
I mean… perfectionism? That’s fear. Procrastination? Fear. Guilt? Busy-ness? Insecurity? F E A R.
Me + Fear = Self-doubt
At the start of the year, I planned this monthly creative thing. During each month, I was supposed to work on one huge illustration. It was supposed to be my 2017 creative project where I could improve on anatomy, get out of my creative comfort zone, practice putting more details on my work.
Now that I think about it, they’re all ambitious shenanigans.
Three months into it, I was still okay. I got to create illustrations that I was proud of, even now. But March was also the last month of our school year. Things got hectic and busy. I was meeting project deadlines. At the same time, deep inside me, doubt was starting to grow. Doubt on myself, mostly. On my art.
Utterly overwhelmed, I ran towards and hid behind the protection the busy-ness of school life provided. I had more important things to do, I reasoned out. I needed to make a priority. Funny thing, this was exactly what happened to me last year. I threw out everything not related to school.
My art, my blog, and *chokes* books.
That was hell, I tell you. And I regretted not having enough time for my hobbies.
I promised myself I wasn’t going to be like that this year. But, surprise surprise, I went back into that rabbit hole. Less than a year later.
Here’s another example:
I am a World-class Procrastinator™. Most times, I procrastinate because I’m lazy (especially in things like, you know, school). But sometimes I procrastinate in creating a blog post or doing this illustration that I’ve been planning in my head for a while now. And I constantly beat myself up over it.
Fear manifests into your life in so many ways
You might take a look at what’s holding you back and think, “Pssh, nah. That ain’t fear.” But if you look real close and think about it real hard, you’d realize that yes it is fear.
My refuge to busy-ness? That’s me avoiding the challenge I’ve set myself up because of self-doubt. Because I was afraid of failing that challenge. Being a creative procrastinator? That’s me fearing I won’t do what I imagined in my mind justice.
Like, you know how boggarts transform into that very thing you’re afraid of? How it turned into a giant spider for Ron and a dementor for Harry? That is the very essence of fear.
It morphs and takes different shapes, depending on the person that encounters it.
Now, I’m facing another encounter with fear. And it’s holding me back again. But this time’s different. I refuse to let it hold me back. I don’t want to feel awful at myself because I didn’t try to step away from my fear. Not anymore. And if you’re in a similar position as me right now, neither should you.
So what can we do about it?
Really, the first step to all this is knowing you’re afraid of something. And that fear is holding you back.
Sometimes we like to be in denial even with ourselves. I get it. My gosh, it can be sooo hard to be honest with yourself. Because truth is supposedly simple but it also hurts, which makes it so difficult to confront, let alone acknowledge.
So I always take the phrase “reflect on your actions” to heart. I try to give myself time and space alone to reflect on what I did and why I did it. Sometimes I reflect while doodling. Sometimes I’m just staring at my ceiling while the Hamilton soundtrack is playing in the background. I couldn’t care less, so long as I’m reflecting and acknowledging my flaws and fears.
If pure, staring-blankly-into-space reflection is hard for you, here are other ways you can reflect:
<3 Talk with someone—whether it’s a friend, or a confidante, or a professional
<3 Write an entry in your journal
<3 Meditate or do yoga
<3 Read books in a genre you rarely read
<3 Cook or bake
<3 Do pottery or other crafty activities
<3 Listen to relaxing music
When you’re at that point where you’re frustrated at yourself because you are not doing the thing that ignites your passion, it’s time to reflect. Ask yourself, “What is it that’s holding me back? What am I afraid of?”
Awareness is always the first step. The moment you are aware of your emotions and fears, the moment you acknowledge their existence, the rest is a little bit easier to deal with. At least that’s what I think 🙂
Check back here again next Wednesday for part two of this… Post? Impromptu series? Whatever you call it. 😉 I will talk about the rest of the steps you could take to step out of fear’s grasp and start doing what you’ve always wanted to do. For now, take the first step. And tell me:
Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but never got to? What’s holding you back? Is it fear just like mine? Do you take time for self-reflection? How do you reflect on your day?
I’d love to hear your stories and thoughts! 🙂
September 9, 2017
What Color Pencils Taught Me about Things You Can’t Control
Okay, Kate. How in the world are color pencils connected to control and perfectionism???
If you’ll just read on, it’ll make sense. I promise. Or I hope it does. So here goes.
Yep. I’m a perfectionist.
Or well, I used to be a hardcore one…? Now, I’ve loosened up a bit. (I think. Kind of.) The thing is, I’ve always tried to look into every miniscule detail of what I do.
I wanted to make sure that everything, every last little thing, every single tiny microscopic little thing* was perfect. To a T. That includes my art. So while I’m drawing something, various anxious perfectionist questions pop out of my head like,
Is the anatomy alright?
Are the color combinations aesthetically pleasing?
Did I get the skin color right?
Are there any unnecessary marks?
Is that stray hair strand dramatic as I want it to look?
Or is it just totally awkward?
Oh god, it does look awkward, doesn’t it?
Why does the cactus look like a rotten, withered cucumber??
And why does her skin color look like Donald-freakin-Trump’s**???
I know right. Why am I stressing over a hair strand. Ugh.
The thing is, I used to avoid color pencils because, like watercolor before, they’ve given me artistic trauma***.
*Please tell me you knew this reference. Halloween is coming.
**True story.
***Yes, it is a phrase. And yes, I’m exaggerating 😉
You know how when you use regular color pencils you have to put light pressure when sketching because it’ll be hard to erase if you don’t?
Yep, I learned that the hard, artistically traumatic way.
See, I’m the kind of person who has a really pressured penmanship. Sometimes I’m super focused on writing that I literally tear the paper in half.
It’s scary, I know.
And I also sketch that way. So you can just imagine little ten-year-old Kate who tried color pencils for the first time in her art class and ended up making this hot mess because she spent most of the time frustratingly erasing the color pencil.
Literally how I felt afterwards
Scarred, little Kate vowed to never touch a color pencil for the rest of her life. (Lol I should stop talking about myself in third person, it’s creepy)
Anyway, the point here is: little Kate is such a hardcore perfectionist. And back then, I wanted control in every aspect of my life, even my drawings.
I avoided color pencils and watercolor back then like the plague because I knew I won’t be able to have as much control with them as I do with pencils and pen. I wanted something I can easily control. But now that I think about it, you really can’t have that.
There are things that are totally out of your control.
This was so hard for me to accept, by the way.
Most likely because I was a stubborn perfectionist.
It always frustrated me when things get out of hand and everything becomes a hot mess and before I knew it I’m crying like a toddler who didn’t get her candy. But I’ve come to accept that there really are things that are uncontrollable. That no matter how you stubbornly want to micromanage things, they may not go the way you want it to be.
And you know what? No amount of effort on your part will make the uncontrollable controllable.
It’s harsh, but the truth is often that.
So instead of whining about how you can’t control the uncontrollable, focus instead on what you can actually control.
I tried to sketch with color pencils last week (much to ten-year-old Kate’s despair, I’m sure) and I thought, “If color pencils aren’t easily erasable, I’ll just have to try to put as light a pressure as I possibly could.”
Let me tell you: that first time was sooo hard. I had to squint my eyes to see the lines and in several occasions, I was sooo tempted to darken them. But I can’t control the unerasable-ness of the color pencil. So I had to control my pressure instead.
The whole ten or so minutes was an exercise to my perfectionism and need for ultimate control. But when I finished the sketch, I was so delighted with how it turned out!
It looked so good and, compared to a graphite pencil sketch, it looked so soft and feminine! Why didn’t I do this before??
Oh right. My control-needing perfectionism was hindering me.
And maybe, if you’re a perfectionist (or at least an aspiring micromanager) like yours truly, it’s hindering you to try out new things too. Maybe you’re stuck in the morning traffic and you’re already late and you sorely wished to be like Hancock and just throw all the cars in front of you.
But you’re not Hancock. And the morning traffic happen every-freakin-day. So instead of trying (and failing) to control it, wake up early.
So I want you to think of all those things you didn’t do or plans you cancelled or frustrations you’ve had because of something you can’t control. Think of the color pencil you were avoiding like the plague. Now think of what you can change. Try to look at it at a different angle and see what controllable thing you can do instead.
Who knows? Maybe, like me, you’d delightfully think: “Why didn’t I do this before?” 😉
Let’s talk, yeah? Are you a perfectionist? Have you avoided something like the plague because you’re afraid you can’t completely control the outcome? What did you do? Do share them in the comments below!
Have an awesome day! <3
August 23, 2017
I Stopped Figuring Out My “One True Calling” and Started Identifying My Calls
Here’s another Katie’s Oldies but Goldies! (HAHAHA I should really stop using that lame name now, I know. But I can’t help it somehow???)
Hey everyone! Just wanna let you know that at the time of editing this post, I’m still alive. Not as preoccupied and llama-wailing as last week, thank goodness. Saturday’s post miiiight be a new one. Might. If I find the time. Until then, I will be a lurker in the blogosphere whenever I find the free time to open Reader.
Hope y’all are doing great! 🙂 Now, onto the post…
I always admired how my sister knew exactly what she wanted. Like me, she devoured series like the Harry Potter series and A Series of Unfortunate Events when she was eight or nine. On her fifth grade, she was already writing her very own novel in an unused composition notebook.
By the time she was in high school and got exposed to the annual city-wide press conference, she started competing in editorial writing. That was when she realized she loved technical writing more than creative writing. She’s a writer for a local newspaper now and she still types fiercely.
And then there’s me.
You know how as far back as kindergarten we were already asked what we want to be when we grow up? Back in first grade, I really put a lot of thought into this because we were supposed to tell it to the entire class.
So I weighed in my options. I was definitely not going to be a doctor because most of the class already said that. And you can’t have everybody be a doctor, right?? Who’s gonna run the country then? So you know what I wanted to be back in first grade?
A miner.
And I mean, that’s not an awful job in and of itself. I don’t think I’ll ever have the bravery those admirable miners have every time they go to work. But do you know why I wanted to be a miner???
Because I wanna give poor people some of my wealth.
*sigh* The Seven Dwarfs definitely contributed a lot in my way of thinking back then.
I’ve been blinded by old-school shine animation. And look how happy they are!!!
Funny how, when I think about it in retrospect, adults just ask this question because they find children already thinking of their future adorable.
Like six-year-old innocent Kate who is still free of any cynicism in her body.
But over and over, I am asked this question from grade school to high school and even now in college. It may have evolved into different forms the older I get but it’s still the same:
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“What’s your ambition?”
“What are you taking in college?”
“What do you do?”
I’m now usually asked the third one. And when I answer Accountancy, it’s always followed by either, “Oh! You’re so smart then!” or “Wow! So you wanna be a CPA someday?”
And the thing is, I don’t think I’m that smart–I’m merely hanging by a thread at this point. And I don’t want to be a CPA. (At least not for long.) This question about my career is always a daunting reminder that I barely have a plan for my future.
See, we’re that consumed on thinking about career. We like to put this kind of expectations to our young folks, reasoning that they have to be ready when they step out into the real world. As if the world we young adults are living right now isn’t the real world.
Related read: I Don’t Think the Real World is Out There
But what if they still don’t know what they want to do? Most likely scenario? They get thrown with so many negative responses.
“What an irresponsible child.”
“Stop being indecisive.”
“You can’t keep playing your whole life, kid.”
“You shouldn’t be wasting your time.”
Don’t you think that seemed…. I don’t know, unfair?
Not everyone is like my sister. Not everyone knows what they want to do. Some of us are still patting our way into this dark maze called life. And you know what?
Not having everything figured out is okay.
And so, if you are also on the verge of wrapping yourself around the same thoughts I mentioned above, here’s what you can think instead:
<3 It’s not irresponsible to not know what you want. Not when the options could be too many for you to handle and you’re overwhelmed.
<3 It may seem indecisive, but I would rather weigh in my options carefully than pick a choice quick.
<3 It’s not playing if you are trying to think real hard about your career.
<3 And how can it be a waste of time when you’re trying to learn more about yourself and what you really want?
The awesome blogger behind Personal Dailies said it best in her post, “Do you know what you want to do yet”. That the first 18 years of life is not usually the ideal time to figure out your One True Calling.
We all go through similar things, sure. But when they would happen and how we would respond to them are all unique to each of us. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with trying everything first before picking out what you really want to do. I’ve come to the conclusion that life is a series of trial and errors.
There is no fix thing or an absolute solution.
And if, along the way, you want to change course, it’s your call. Which is what I’d rather want to do. Instead of thinking about my calling, I’ll just start identifying my call.
Kinda cheesy and lame, I know. But that’s just it. No one–not your family or your friends or the school or even Yoda–can tell you how to live your life or pinpoint to you where to find the answers you need. You only need one person. And that’s you.
TALK TO ME: Do you know what your calling is? Or are you like me and still mulling over your choices? Have you recently discovered your calling? If yeah, would you like to share about it? I would love to hear your thoughts! 🙂
Have an inspired, whistle-while-you-work day, awesome peeps! <3
PS. Google Calendar says today is apparently Book Lovers Day*. So shoutout to my fellow bookworms! What are you reading today? Anyone read any book that taught you something career-related?
Also, here are some other articles on early career decisions for youth. Just to let y’all know that, if you’re feeling it, you’re not alone 🙂
Young people are having to take career decisions too early | The Guardian
The Immense Pressure of Career Choice | Psychology Today
I also shared three reasons why it’s okay not to have everything figured out. You can check that post out here~
*I mean… let’s face it. Everyday is Book Lovers Day, amirite???

August 9, 2017
8 Artists that Inspire Me to Be Better in Drawing (+ Whose Artworks I Fangirl Over Sooo Hard)
Role models. Y’all would agree that we all have at least three of those in our lives right? I mean, you know what I’m talking about.
Role models are:
+ People you look up to
+ People you hope you’ll become someday
+ People you hold high respect for
+ People whose works and achievements you fangirl over
+ And you fangirl over them so hard, these people basically turn you into this gal,
Don’t tell me you don’t have that in your life. Like seriously. It’s totally okay! We can all be a little geeky here, I won’t judge 😉 I mean, how can I?? I practically declared myself a Universal Fangirl™. In fact, I welcome geekery of all forms here with wide open arms!
Having role models will help you to keep on striving for your goals. They give you the motivation to pump your fists and tell yourself, “You can do this! You can reach that level! Just keep on working hard!” Especially at times when you’re about to drown in self-doubt.
In my case, I have my own list of artists that I look up to and inspire me to keep drawing and practice and improve my art. While art isn’t really a top priority for me right now, it will always be an important aspect of my life.
I always try to make time to do a little doodle when I’m free. I especially like it when they share old drawings and you can see how much improvement they’ve had between the two artworks.
So here they are, 8 of my favorite artists and how they inspired me to keep on drawing! 🙂
Jacquelin de Leon
Mermaids. Witches. Beautiful people in all shapes and colors. Tattoos. Badass females. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
I just posted a few new prints and stickers in my shop!! Im really excited to finally have my Kintsugi and Greenhouse pieces from my solo show available as prints! I’m also including a limited edition large hand embellished run of Kintsugi✨ (don’t worry I will be putting the originals up for sale soon) I also added some new glossy vinyl stickers including a mermaid, witch hand, Symmetra, and some new witches! Head over to jacquelindeleon.storenvy.com or click on the link in my bio to check it out! Thank you guys for sticking around and for all of your sweet comments! I’ll have some new art to post real soon☺️💕 . #illustration #jacquelindeleon #artistsoninstagram #artcollective #instaart #artoftheday #witch #stickers #symmetra #overwatch #kintsugi #watercolor #plants #plantstagram
A post shared by Jacquelin de Leon (@jacquelindeleon) on Jun 27, 2017 at 5:33pm PDT
There are times when I doubt myself when I use black ink as linings on my portraits. Often because there are so many artists out there who have non-black linearts or no lineart at all. But Jacquelin is such an inspiration to me and motivates me to just draw whatever the heck I want.
Alisa Vysochina
Pretty people. Cats. Dogs. Other cutie animals. Amazing attention to details. Super cute witches. And most importantly: CACTI AND SUCCULENTS!!!
🍂🍃🌿Greenhouse🌿🍃🍂 Check out my new video about creating and planning big illustrations, link in the profile as always 🍁 #watercolor #artistsoninstagram #illustration #greenhouse #patheticpowers #doggoboyfriend
A post shared by Alisa Vysochina (@alisavysochina) on May 8, 2017 at 9:57am PDT
See, ever since I could remember, I’m no good at drawing plants. My flowers are below mediocre and my trees are still like the kind you draw in first grade. It’s that awful. So seeing the greenery in her works motivates me to practice drawing more flowers and trees <3 <3 <3
*I have a thing with accents, okay??? Also, it’s soothing to hear her talk about artist woes and motivating fellow artists. They fill mah heart everytime.
Maruti Bitamin (aka Koyamori)
Beautiful and bold color combinations. Illustrations that make you feel like you’ve entered into a surreal dream world. SUPER CUTIE CREATURES <3 <3
Bioluminescence ✨
A post shared by @maruti_bitamin on Jun 30, 2017 at 7:30am PDT
Her drawings are always PACKED with details. And she always motivates me in taking more time into my illustrations and putting more details into them. I mean, who could make fishbones look so awesome??? <3 <3 <3
Charlie Bowater
Aghhh! The prints are here! This is my life for the next few days: signing and packaging this fat stack. I also never thought I would say the phrase ‘fat stack’ and yet, here we are. 👌🏻 #acowar #charliebowater #sjmaas
A post shared by charlie bowater (@charliebowater) on Jun 6, 2017 at 5:02am PDT
If you’re familiar with Sarah J. Maas, then I’m willing to bet you know who Charlie Bowater is. She is a bookworm and she creates these AH-MAZING fan arts of characters from novels. I came across her because… well, my Twitter feed is basically 75% bookish community.* And she created the Most Gorgeous fan art for the ACOTAR series and I’m seriously in love with them!!!
*Most likely because of joining in on too many bookish giveaway on Twitter. Hahaha! …haha…ha…I haven’t won anything.
Rebecca Ninig (aka ni_nig)
Beautiful girls and boys. Voluminous hair. That shading tho <3
And here’s another graphite commission. This character belongs to lymerikk (on deviantart)
A post shared by Rebecca Ninig (@ni_nig) on Jul 9, 2017 at 5:37am PDT
Ah,Rebecca Ninig and her super-awesome-I-can’t-handle-this-beauty-ashfjhdkl Instagram account. Have I ever told you how much I obsess over pencil sketches?? Like I’m sure you know how much of an art geek I am at this point but we can go further and let me tell ya: I LOVE PENCIL SKETCHES SOOO MUCH. And the way Rebecca shades her drawings…

Meyoco
Another artist whose choice of color combinations I love so much. I notice Meyoco likes to use bright and pastel colors and together with her thin lineart, it creates this fluffy and airy feeling to her illustrations.
Also: I WOULD DEFINITELY BUY THE CLOTHES HER OCs WEAR!!! <3 <3 <3
🍹🍹🍹 (art tools info: @pearlescentpink)
A post shared by meyoコ (@meyoco) on Jul 9, 2017 at 8:30am PDT
Griselda (aka lord_gris)
Pretty girls. Beautiful coloring. Her fan arts are gorgeous especially her version of Beth and Plum from Bravest Warriors.
What I loved most about her though, is that she is so supportive of aspiring artists. I mean, I’m sure other big artists are supportive of newbies as well but man, you should see the captions on some of her photos (you can have a taste of her inspiring goodie-caption below).
I was talking to someone the other day and they asked me if I ever felt pity for people, like if I looked at their art and thought “you’re never going to be any good”. I mean this was a non-artistic person so I think they thought some people blasted out of the womb with a magic paintbrush that they can whack on a canvas and the Mona Lisa pops out. So I said to them “heck no! Hold the phone! Let me get you my sketchbook from when I was 11”. They were shocked as they fllipped through it and said “wow I drew better than you when I was a kid.” Honestly most people drew better than me when they were kids. I just enjoyed drawing, so I kept doing it, and improved as a byproduct. When I say I believe in you guys I think it’s really easy to sort of shake it off and say “well she’s talking to everyone else, not me” but I am talking to you. If you’re making your art no matter what then I absolutely believe in you, because I’ve been through the same journey. I’ve never looked at any persons art and said to myself “well they’re going nowhere fast”. The only thing I look at is people’s attitudes. If they’re always talking about quitting then they’re probably going to quit, and that’s what’s going to keep them from growing. But anyone who is tenacious and perseveres is going to be so amazing at art. And I earnestly think that. And I want people to be kind and patient with themselves during the process because it takes a long time. But don’t ever think to yourself that just because your art isn’t where you want it to be then it’s hopeless. Keep going, never stop :3 #sketch #redraw #drawitagain #drawthisagain #moleskine #copicart #oldart #draweveryday #artsanity #dibujo #practice #autodesksketchbook #pencil #mechanical #doodle #scribble #improvement #fashion
A post shared by Griselda (@lord_gris) on Jul 8, 2017 at 1:09pm PDT
See??? How can you not be inspired by that?? *clutches heart* Her captions really inspire me to be better and keep on drawing <3 <3 and she’s never ashamed to share the struggles she has gone through and are currently going through as an artist.
Sara Tepes (aka sarucatepes)
Gorgeous hair. Victorian/gothic-ish vibe to her drawings; kinda reminds me of Brett Helquist’s style, the artist who made the illustrations for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.
6 of the princess drawings are up in my shop along with limited edition prints of all 12 of them, link in my bio! Use the code PRINCESS30 for 30% off if you wish to purchase all 12 of them. I will snap some better products pics of the prints tomorrow, it’s super late here ahh * * * #disney #disneyprincess #fanart #shop
A post shared by Sara Tepes | 18 (@sarucatepes) on Mar 24, 2017 at 8:29pm PDT
Sara and her works constantly remind me that your age is never a criterion on excelling at what you do. By the way, she’s around my age so she makes me pumped up to draw more <3
And just so y’all know, these are just like 5% of the artists I follow in Instagram and YouTube. But they are some of the artists that never fail to inspire me with their works. My People Who Inspire Me list is really long. I still haven’t mentioned the webcomic artists, and authors, and bloggers, and just about anyone else who inspire me. Maybe next time 😉
The point here is that: it’s good to have people you look up to, I like to think. You find the motivation and inspiration to do your best and keep working hard on what you do. Also: instead of letting yourself wallow in The Green Monster of Envy™, you could spread the love all around and not hurt your self-esteem, right???
FANGIRL WITH ME: Who are your role models? How do they inspire or motivate you? Are you a Universal Fangirl™ like me? DO YOU LIKE SUCCULENTS??? (Seriously. I need someone to fangirl over succulents with stat.)
Have an awesome fangirling day, awesome peeps! <3
July 22, 2017
A Crucial Life Lesson I Learned from a Chicken
Hey everyone! I’m currently hitting the books, studying for my pre-midterm exams right now and I didn’t have any post scheduled for today. Hopefully, I’ll have a new one next Wednesday but in the meantime, here’s a short post I did… *checks the date* whoa, this was last year??? It’s that old?! Whaaaaaat
Ahem. Anyway. If you don’t know yet, I have an incredibly soft spot for chickens. And birds, in general*. I miss my chicken, Maui**, sooo much. And here’s a life lesson I learned from hanging out with them last year. Enjoy! 🙂
*And cats. And fishies. And bunnies. And dogs (so long as they don’t bark at me or bite me. I still have a bit of trauma from a childhood incident)
**I call her that because she has this tribal-like design on the feathers around her neck and Moana was the jam last year. She’s also a human-attention-seeker, much like Maui the demigod.
The chickens in my grandfather’s backyard all sleep in our neighbor’s fruit tree. It is the tallest tree and the one with the most numerous branches in their vicinity. It’s like their penthouse suite. Overnight security and so high up from the ground.
There was the youngest of all, basically still a chick, that I call Tom Hanks* and he wanted to follow the older chickens up in the tree. But he was still too young and his tiny wings couldn’t take him that far up yet. I watched him go farther and farther up. He perched on our neighbor’s wooden fence and tried to fly towards the tree. But he fell.
Later, he gave up and had to retreat to his old nest. He was sleeping on that nest that night.
Observing Tom Hanks made me think of the goals we set for ourselves and the obstacles we had to face in our lives.
I once mentioned that I don’t agree with people who said that you “only think” that obstacles are big. Like obstacles have some weird deceptive power that make them look big. “It’s all in our heads,” they say.
I think not. I think obstacles are big and they’re supposed to be.
Because maybe, when we were facing those obstacles, we were just like Tom Hanks (the chick above, not the actor); still tiny and our wings can’t take us anywhere far.
Maybe we had to fall several times before we reach that treetop-penthouse.
Maybe we still don’t have the strength to overcome those obstacles.
Maybe we still have to grow.
Because really, isn’t that how life is? No one joins the Game of Life and immediately starts at level 99. And not everyone starts the game of life altogether. You could still be at level 18 and you’re already comparing yourself to someone at level 50. Give yourself a break.
If there was something I’ve learned from Tom Hanks the chick, it’s that when you fall down, you don’t give up. You go back and rest. You get to live another day and grow.
Who knows? Maybe by the next sunset you’ll finally reach that branch.
Happy obstacle-conquering, awesome peeps!
*I call him Tom Hanks because among the five hatchlings, he was the only one to survive from getting eaten by huge field rats and cats. Basically the Castaway/Survivor, amirite??
July 15, 2017
My Two Cents on Failure (+ How to Deal With It)
Note: This post was something I first wrote and published nearly a year ago. Having read it now, I realized how much it still resonates to me to this day. I’ve edited a bit of the post and added some things but the point still remains the same. Enjoy! 🙂
In this success-driven world that we live in, failure is something we’d rather not experience. (Like at all, please??)
It’s something embedded into our minds as early as when we were kids. We don’t like seeing the red marks on our paper because our parents don’t, right? We spray away failure like we spray away mosquitoes.
But something surprised me when I Googled ‘failure’ for this post. I was immediately bombarded by links with the same theme:
It’s amazing how the idea had spread over every industry like a wildfire. But it had the most tremendous impact in the competitive fields of business and arts. You’ve seen and read the success stories. And they all have that same format.
“I’ve had 10 failed projects in my career… BEFORE BUILDING MY MILLION-DOLLAR ONE!”
“My 499^th audition gave me my big break!”
“After 18 years of searching, I’ve finally proven the existence of unicorns!*”
This tells us that persistence will pay off. And that’s great! It motivates people not to be disheartened when you fail. Besides, failure is needed for us to thrive. It’s a core ingredient in trial-and-error. And it lets us know what not to do to be successful.
However, this “failure is the secret to success” bit can also further feed that success-driven mentality, deliberately deceiving yourself that failing will actually bring you nearer to success.
And that’s not at all good yo.
Romanticizing failure does not necessarily make you any closer to success.
I mean, I totally agree that it’s a great way to not get discouraged and not go total Eeyore mode, giving up on life. But there’s a fine line between encouragement and false hope.
The thing is: not everybody will succeed. And failing? Sucks.
When I graduated in high school, I subconsciously brought with me this reassurance and certainty that college will be the same. I was like, “College? Pssh, cake.”
Dear past self: They’re. Not. The. Same.
If high school was Super Mario Level 7**, college is Flappy Bird. No levels. Just pure agony.
And that cold water of reality didn’t splash onto my arrogant face until my second year in college. I didn’t reach the cut-off for a major subject and I was bummed. No, scratch that, I was more than bummed. I was devastated.
It was like a super-confident bump car driver who likes to constantly flip his hair tried driving a ten-wheeler truck for the first time. And he ends up clutching tight at the wheels and crying for his mommy.
So I’m not gonna argue with you. Failure hurts like Gordon Ramsey telling you that sunny-side egg you cooked isn’t even worthy to be served to dogs.
It hits your self-confidence and shatters your spirit. And to someone currently experiencing failure, being told “everything will be okay” may not be the best mood-lifter. And neither is the rhetoric of failure leading to success.
See, success may come later. But failure needs to be dealt now.
So sure, you may reach success afterwards. May. Meaning there’s a possibility that you won’t. And I’m not trying to be Jenny Rain Cloud here. It’s a fact.
For most of our lives, success is something that we will accomplish in the future. But failure can happen any minute and it’s experienced at present, so you deal with it now. If you don’t, failure doesn’t lead to anything good at all.
So then, Kate, how do we deal with failure?
Great that you ask. Here are three things you could do:
<3 Don’t think that the entire universe is ganging up against you. Believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve had my fair share of years being an angsty kid and thinking everybody hates me. They don’t–or… not all of them do. Every person you’ve met has faced failure to a certain degree.*** And the universe is just being the huge thing that it is. In fact, leave the stars alone; they’re minding their own beautiful twinkly business yo.
<3 Think, instead, of what lessons you could take away from failing. Remember that 4-step cure I shared for missed opportunities? Missed opportunities are kinda like failures too. And it always helps to see that even the most awful things have a positive takeaway you can carry your whole life. Lastly…
<3 Give yourself the time to feel all the awful. If there was one thing I’ve learned in Pixar’s Inside Out, it’s that there is nothing wrong with feeling the negative things. It’s okay to feel bad.
There will be happy, colorful moments (like when you’ve proven unicorns are real) and there will be sucky ones (like when you realize you were just dreaming).
So really, it’s okay to feel bummed out or even devastated that you failed at something you’ve worked so hard for 🙂 Use up an entire box of tissues, if you must! But when you’re done, get up and start moving.
Because at the end of the day, success won’t come to you. You run towards it.
After having my pity party for like a day or two, I had to get back on my study desk and hit the books again because I had that comprehensive exam to face.
I passed said exam and I’m contented now. I even have this newfound determination to put in more effort into my studies 🙂 And I realized, I probably won’t have such a huge character development if it weren’t for failure.
And here’s the catch.
Yes, failure may lead to success. But for that to happen, you don’t just give yourself encouragements and confidence-boosters. You have to put in some hard work and effort, too 🙂
That’s how the bump car driver learns how to drive ten-wheelers. That’s how you cook a sunny-side egg that will have Gordon Ramsey on foodgasm.
That’s how you will grow.
Your turn! What is your biggest failure in life so far? How did you cope and rise out of it? Share what you learned!
Have an inspired day, awesome peeps! <3
Other awesome articles to read about this topic:
Challenging Success-via-Failure | Psychology Today
How Fear of Failure Destroys Success | Lifehack.org
*Who do you think was the pathetic potato who said that? (raises hand)
**Is this the underground lava level with that dragon???
***Unless, you know, that person is a newborn infant. Then protect that precious lump of baby fats from failure until he’s all grown up to handle them!
June 17, 2017
What I Tell Myself When I’m Hesitant on Moving Forward
It could be as trivial as taking a shower at four in the morning when the water’s ice cold. Or maybe a step forward to personal development like making the first move at befriending someone (if you’re shy like I am that’s a huge leap).
OR, it could be something monumentally life-changing like changing career paths or being honest with myself.
There are–and will be–moments in your life when you’re standing at a pause. Maybe you’re standing at the edge of a cliff, or facing a forked path. The gist is: once you take a step, there’s no going back. You won’t be the same person as you were before. Because even the slightest change in you makes a different you.
Believe me, I know. I’ve been there. I’ve been in an edge or a fork several times now; I expect I will be several times more in the future. And I tell myself something when I’m at that “pause” phase. So what’s that?
“You can do this, Kate.”
Just that one line. Really.
I only noticed this recently, like several weeks ago. But I know I’ve been saying it too myself a lot. (Especially at four in the morning :D) For some reason, giving myself a mini cheer is, oftentimes, all the motivation I need. There’s something utterly wonderful at being your own best cheerleader.
I am the one pushing me forward.
Do you have a mantra that helps you move forward?
Happy Saturday, awesome peeps!
March 18, 2017
You Don’t Need to Understand
Story time.
As a kid, I was the scrawny, quiet one lurking in the corner. And I was often misunderstood. I guess even now, I still am hehe but I accept that now. Back then, it bothered me so much.
No one, not even my family, could ever get me and that was what made me upset most of the time. That they didn’t understand. At one point, the whining turned into a self-pitying excuse. “They don’t understand me. Why?” became “They don’t understand me. Why bother?”
I isolated myself from a lot of people. Not physically. But for a long time, in my mind, I was alone in the world. Only I understand me, that’s what I always thought. It all comes back to the whole “I don’t rely on others a lot” that I told you a few posts back.
Related: What I Learned from Pushing Too Far
Now I ache for the younger me. I feel sorry she had to see the world in such miserable lenses. But I also don’t want to be like her anymore.
Recently, I see so many people who are similar to younger Kate. Misunderstood and suffering alone and living in fear that nobody will understand them.
And I also see a lot of people who are too preoccupied with what they believe in, what they think are right and how things should be, that they don’t have space in their hearts or minds to see things in any other angle. Seeing these people clash against each other in a confusing mess, that familiar thought from my childhood resurfaces, if only they understood each other…
I had to stop myself. Because I realized now that the idea of people perfectly understanding each other? Sadly, that’s not possible.
See, there’s something I learned not too long ago.
Our experiences are our own. And so are our thoughts.
Okay, make that everything in our mind.
Everything in our mind is our own.
No matter how many people claimed to have similar experiences or ideas or thoughts that you have, these will never be exactly the same as yours. Kinda like how we have our own unique set of fingerprints, you know?
And that’s just how it is.
The reason why younger Kate’s grand ambition of Everyone Perfectly Understanding Each Other won’t ever come true is because we inherently can’t. We understand things in our own ways. And so we see and comprehend seemingly similar things differently.
So if completely understanding everyone is not possible, what will happen to us? Is a compassion to many people not possible, then?
Are we forever cursed to chaos and messes brought by misunderstanding and, ultimately, hatred? (That sounded like a line from a blurb of a YA fantasy lol)
The answer came to me in a form of a photo shared on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/camphalfblood/status/826197313278328832
Of course. Respect!
(Side note: I swear, I was tearing up when I read that letter. I had to stop myself because I was in the middle of a class at the time.)
I particularly love that line: “…they did not need to understand, but they did need to show respect.” Because in that one line, this anonymous teacher from Massachusetts, who wrote this letter to the amazing Uncle Rick, gave me the answer. And it’s so simple.
You don’t need to understand everyone. You don’t even need people to understand you. You just need to respect others, whoever they are and whatever circumstances they’re in.
Because that, my awesome and beautiful friends, is the best way to show compassion to people you don’t understand.
How will you show respect and compassion to a person today? 🙂
Have a passion-filled day, awesome peeps! <3
February 8, 2017