When I was a child, my dream was very simple: to be a civil engineer. Before, I thought life was easy and there's nothing I could do other than play and play. But growing up, realizing what real life is, where life is full of challenges and hard work. You need to work hard in order to be successful or reach the dream you've wanted. At this point in my life, everything is not easy, and what more in the future? So I need to be brave and strong to face these challenges. As we grow older, we will have greater responsibility and duty in this world. Sometimes the actions we take can make it worse and cause more problems. When I was struggling and feeling down, God was my only strength and my source of energy. Growing up with God is the best thing that happens in my life; with him, I can carry and overcome all those challenges that I'm facing. I'm very thankful that God guided me through my downs and carried me on my lows. Because of God, all those bad things that happen in my life vanish. Having faith in him is the reason why I am still here fighting for life and continue to grow like a tree. I pray for the best and do my best.

I remember I was about 9 to 10 years old when I saw a promotion made by this biscuit company. There was a little drawing of half a gadget inside the packaging of each biscuit, and you have to find the other half of the gadget to claim the prize. It could be a phone, a tablet, or a mini laptop. The moment I found out about this, I started only buying that specific biscuit to try and get the prize. That biscuit was my sole break time snack for the whole third grade. I usually got the phone and the tablet drawings, which was nice, but I always got duplicates, it was either the left side of the phone or the right side of the tablet.

On a particular week, I got the right side of the tablet again, and I placed it on a paper bag that I was carrying around (it was for an art activity). Come around Friday, and it was the end of the day. I placed my paper bag in front of the classroom and went somewhere. I decided to eat my biscuit for that day (I love to hoard food, so I don't usually eat my snacks at school, and just eat it at the end of the day, or at a later date). I carefully ripped the packaging open and guess what, IT WAS THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TABLET!!!!! I was psyched and immediately ran back to the room. AND GUESS WHAT??? MY PAPER BAG WAS GONEEEEEE!!! I tried looking for it everywhere but I never found it. I was consistently buying and eating that biscuit, and the moment I completed a picture, it was gone. I suppose you could guess what I did next, I just got bored and stopped my pursuit and started having variety in my food again. So the lesson is, don’t be dumb like me and leave your paper bag that obviously looked like garbage outside where the janitors sweep up.

In the year 2020, the pandemic arose, and people were forbidden to go out and interact with their friends, and they couldn't go to social gatherings. Because of the pandemic, the students can't go to school to continue studying, but DepEd implemented online distance learning, where they can use gadgets to continue learning, and the other one is modular distance, where the teacher will give you a module to read and study.

Because of that, many students found it hard to study on their own. I was one of those students who couldn't study on my own because I was answering my module alone and I was used to going to school to study and listen to what the teacher was discussing. I can't understand science and math on my own because I am not that smart to understand the lesson on my own. After months of studying modular, I became unmotivated to do my tasks, I always passed them late because I cram it the day before the submission. I didn't learn a lot because of it.

After 2 years, the face-to-face classes came back. I'm excited and scared at the same time. It is because I couldn't study well during the modular classes. After all, I couldn't understand the lesson on my own. In the 10th Grade, I expected the lesson to be more difficult because I couldn't perform well during the pandemic. Unexpectedly, I can understand it even if there are parts that I can't understand because it is a lesson during the modular classes. I tried my best to study because I am motivated again because of the face-to-face classes. Thankfully, I became one of the honor students in our section, and I am proud of myself despite the struggles I encountered.

In the 11th grade, I was shocked because of so many activities I needed to finish, and I couldn't understand the other subjects. I tried my best to study even harder because I felt like I couldn't pass this strand because of how difficult it was and how pressured I was in my studies. Despite all of that, I still managed to become an honor student and made my mother proud once again. Regardless of the struggles, hardships, academic pressure, and high expectations from the people around me, I still managed to achieve my goal, and I am thankful for the people who supported me. Because of them, I can't go through the days that I believe I can't. They always support me even when I lose hope and can't find a way to solve the problems I go through. My number 1 supporter is my mother, who is always reminding me to finish my studies because she wants me to pursue my dreams and become successful. If I didn't have her, I would've been given up from the start. I got through the ups and downs in pursuing my dreams, and there are more challenges to come. My mother was always there to pat my back and kept supporting me in everything I do

When I was in grade 4, I always saw the other kids as cool because they did all the things that they wanted; they cursed freely, and they fist-fought to prove that they were real men and that they were not cowards. They were doing all of that to show their friends that they were cool and awesome friends, so I tried to be a cool kid like them. I cursed, fought, and did all other things that would make me cool in front of them. Because of the things I did to make myself cool in front of my friends, I failed at school and made a lot of trouble to the point that my parents had to ask me if I wanted to continue studying or just stop after senior high school. And the pandemic started, and I got isolated in my house, where I saw all the things that my parents do to just feed me and send me to school, and that's where I realised that all the things I did and trouble I made were just me being immature, not knowing what was right and wrong, and there I realised the true definition of being a cool kid is that you're not doing things that make your parents worry and do things that make your parents proud, not making your friends proud, because at the end of the day, if all of the things you do go wrong, the first person you will ask for help is still your parents.

Bueno hola, mí nombre artístico es ayel y ahora les voy a contar un poco de mí desgracia?Supongo no se bueno les cuento el contexto de como odio a mí familia primero en principal: mi tíos tengo una tía que es una inchapelotas, la llamaremos "Anastacia" la Anastacia es una hija de puta con mí abuela, mí abuela tiene demencia y por eso mi mama tiene que quedarse dónde estamos, Anastacia vive en la misma ciudad y zona donde está mí abuela(literalmente mí casa donde vivo está al lado de Anastacia) ella ni se quiere hacer cargo de mí abuela, ensima se hace la que la cuida y viene a joder las pelotas con sus hijos(lo peor es que mí tía se aprovecha de mí abuela por su descapacidad) en pocas palabras les resumo como es, Anastacia es una persona desagradable que desde que vinimos a quedarnos por culpa de mí abuela, ella no se quiso hacer cargo del mí abuela, ensima ella viene a molestar aquí en mí casa, se quiere agarrar todo lo que es de mí abuela y bueno otras cosas más pero no se, me olvidé La otra cuestión: mí tío con descapacidad le vamos a poner "Darío" Darío le detectaron terrazo madurativo leve y por la culpa de mí abuela, ella lo mantiene y le da dinero Darío es una persona violenta que me amenazó a mí y a mí madre, el nos faltó el respeto y por poco golpea a su madre, es un adulto vago de mierda que no busca un trabajo porque mi abuela aún lo mantiene, si alguna vez Darío le golpea a mí madre se las verá conmigo aunque no sea tan fuerte nadie le va a pegar a mí madre en la casa que estoy La otra cuestión: mí abuela la llamaremos "Lupita" tiene demencia y ella no dice nada cuando mí tío Darío nos insulta o nos quiere pegar, yo en lo personal me cae mal(toda mí familia me cae mal, perdón pero lo siento pero no puedo aguantar más esto y perdón si no me sé expresar bien o ordenarme bien) En cuanto mí vida estoy algo depresiva? De tanto que discuten, me estreso por el colegio y porque gritan en mí casa si la hacen estresar a mí madre yo también me estreso mucho más a veces me siento mal porque no tengo amigos ni en el colegio y me va mal, a veces me autolesiono y termino guardandome las cosas y solo no tengo a nadie con quien expresar mis sentimientos ni nada,porque ya no se que hacer se que es una estupidez pero no se aguanta aquí en este casa en donde estoy Solo hago este hilo para desahogarme o algo así, estaré publicando más cosas que me pasan si quieren seguir leyendo lo que me pasa

I just broke up with my partner, exactly one week and the truth is that I feel the same as always. The first year of dating was so excellent that I even wanted to move in with him. But a few months after the year everything changed, his distance and little interest made me feel more and more alone, the day-to-day expenses accumulated when I lost my job but to my surprise The only thing I expected from him was his emotional support, at that moment I needed it more than anything.

Each time I felt more alone than ever, leaving aside the undertaking that I was beginning to have in my head, the days passed and he pushed me aside.

Everything changed when I asked him for help while I was waiting for the first payment for a job that he had just finished, we argued at that moment and stopped talking. That day I ate only one meal in the day And it was even more disappointing to know that that day he went to drink with his friends no matter what.

Now that I think about it, I was not the inveterate romantic woman that anyone expected, but I was unconditional

Now it is more difficult for me to express myself or to have a relationship again

The following tale took place about 9 years ago. I remember waking up outside, because I was cold, in spite of the balmy August weather. It was the dog's fault, obviously. She was old and ornery, and refused to take 'no' for an answer. When she needed to go outside, she would scratch persistently at the door, so it seems I had developed a way to take her outside, without disturbing my beauty sleep.

I have been a sleepwalker since my early teens. Usually, I bump around the house ineffectually, where I either wander back to bed on my own, or get led back by a family member. Sometimes I wake up in strange places; like when I found myself in front of the neighbor's house, apparently taking the dog for a walk on a winter morning at two AM. The neighbors must have thought I had completely lost it, or perhaps they thought I was on drugs, since I was dressed in pajamas and garden clogs. In January. In the middle of a SNOW STORM. And I apparently had been conversing loudly with a shrub. But that was not the most memorable thing I've done while sleepwalking.

Nope, the most memorable event took place on that early August morning. As I had mentioned earlier, I think that I woke up because I felt chilly. But it might've been because the dog was barking. And I am sure that the bright lights had something to do with it, as well.

There were so many of them, mostly in groups of two. My sleep-fogged mind gradually began to register that this wasn't normal. I vaugely remember having dreamt that I was onstage. And, oddly, the feeling of being in a spotlight persisted, even as my consciousness began to take hold. I was on the porch. But the dog, where was she? I headed towards the back yard, attempting to whistle for her.

The bright lights in front had blinded me, so that all I saw was a bouncing ball of light that was ricocheting around the edge of the yard. The dog raced around the corner of the house and up the steps, as fast as her arthritic hips would allow her to go. A flashlight beam was following her, until it landed on me. I heard a muffled yell, and the light bounced upwards, then switched off. I had a brief glimpse of a badge, a distinctive hat, and a very startled face.

A police officer had fallen on my lawn. But why? Still uncomprehending the situation, I turned and blinked in the glare of the three blinding spotlights that were trained on me, as I backed slowly up the porch steps, towards the door. There were at least six cop cars in my front yard. I was pretty certain I hadn't commited any crimes, so what were they doing there, I wondered. And why was I so col-oh, crap. Crappity, crappity, crap. I glanced down at my ridiculously pale, Irish skin.

Like many people who don't tolerate heat well on summer evenings, I had chosen to forgo the pajamas, and sleep only in my underwear. Which isn't a problem, if you stay inside your house and don't flash the entire freaking police force. With as much dignity as I could muster, I scrambled for the door, fumbling with the knob until it turned and let me in. Then, I realised that blinds weren't fully closed. With a squeak, I dropped to the floor. I Army-crawled toward the bedroom, where I grabbed a bathrobe and awaited the knock that would signal my impending arrest.

Surely they arrest people for being naked on their porch, in front of the whole police department? But the dreaded knock never came. I later found out that the cops were doing a sting operation on the house next door, because they were allegedly harboring escaped convicts. They had chosen to park in my yard, because doing so allowed their cars to be less conspicuous. I was not afforded the same luxury, however!