Kick off your best school year yet with pen, paper and positivity
MANILA, Philippines - For most people, back-to-school season means the end of summer. It’s not just because June is filled with cloudy days and rainy nights, but the spirit of some kids falter to a dull grey. What some of them fail to realize is that the start of another school year is a beginning of something potentially wonderful.
Just like anything else, it’s all about perspective. Back-to-school season is like New Year’s Day; you have the chance to reinvent yourself completely. If your idea of recess food is cheap, greasy and fast, then this year is your chance to be good to your body and prepare fresh meals for your baon. If you slacked on schoolwork last year, challenge yourself to do a 180 and be a go-getting wonder student this year. Your classmates might get weirded out for a week or so but that’s a small price to pay for ten months worth of positive vibes. For all they know, you might just have had a life-changing summer vacation worthy of a John Green or Rainbow Rowell coming of age novel.
The truth is, what your year will be like depends on how motivated you are to keep going and pushing. It’s not really about performing your 100 percent every day for the rest of the year. Add that to piles of reading material for your history class or accounting lessons, it will be stressful. The trick is consistency and constancy. A little dose of positivity everyday will go a long way.
To kick off your best school year yet, we asked some of Manila’s biggest and brightest creatives about their back-to-school survival kit essential and mantra. As a back-to-school present, we helped pick out some materials that are both cute and functional. (Who doesn’t love the smell of new notebooks and the sight of freshly sharpened colored pencils?)
All you need is a pen, paper and a dose of positivity to help you rock the year ahead. And good thing for you, National Book Store keeps plenty of those in stock.
Ralph Mendoza, photographer
Mantra: “In high school, I would tell myself, ‘Just a little bit more, you get to go home and play Final Fantasy 8.’ Giving myself small incentives worked for me.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “I usually had a Panda ballpen set, Cattleya notebooks, and Faber Castell coloring pens since I liked to draw. During recess, an mp3 player, fish crackers, and chocolate milk.”
Sam Potenciano, Candy Magazine editor in chief
Mantra: “When I was (in college) I told myself that I was lucky to finally be studying something that I was actually interested in, and that I needed to start acting like it.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “I always had a stash of random hotel pens from trips, cute notebooks, those blue oil-blotting paper things, and magazines to read with my friends during lunch.”
Mito Fabie (Curtismith), rapper
Mantra: “Progress not perfection. There are people who try too hard to be the best in school or work that they forget about their health and keeping a well-balanced life. I think you always have to remember that you’re either your own best friend or worst enemy and constantly striving for perfection may mean you’re setting expectations too high and make you more likely to burn out.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “(A personal kit) with toilet paper... My school had the nastiest bathrooms.”
Marika Callangan, Woman, Create founder
Mantra: “Sleep in bed, not in class. Whatever the circumstances are, school is still one of the best opportunities for anyone to drink in knowledge. It is important to always keep open. What you think is irrelevant in the moment might just be significant in the future. Knowledge is something I just never want to refuse. Ever.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “My yearly planner, Post-its or any extra scratch papers, and a book during open hours where there are no classes, no friends to meet with or quiet time.”
Melissa Gatchalian, blogger
Mantra: “I motivated myself all throughout college by thinking that everything that I did then could open doors in the future. I treated all my school plates like I was handing in my work to a real client and not my professor. That kind of mindset made me work harder and made me give my 110 percent.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “Lip balm, lip tint, eyelash curler, spf, moisturizer, power bank, sunglasses, and sea salt hairspray.”
Samantha Lee, videographer
Mantra: “It’s good to have a goal in mind when you start a school year –– whether it be to get good grades, join a club, make it to the varsity team. So for example, when I was in college, I knew that I wanted to graduate with honors so whenever I had to decide between going out or studying I would pass it through this filter: ‘Will this help me graduate with honors?’ This method helps me keep motivated to this day, with working out or staying focused on work.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “Notebooks, and Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner Marker Pen in black or brown.”
Shaira Luna, photographer
“Don’t beat yourself up over something you physically and/or mentally can’t do.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “Lots of nice pens and organizers! Even though my academic life was far from perfect, my school supplies were always complete, and that, in a little way, made it more pleasant to work and study.”
Jelito de Leon, blogger/photographer
“What kept me motivated through college was knowing that I learned something new everyday. I also feel lucky that my family was very supportive of what I decided to take up in college and that also motivated me. “
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “I don’t really have a ‘survival kit’ but I make sure that every start of the term, I have a new notebook and a new set of pens. I’m not sure why but having new stuff to use makes me excited to go to school.”
BP Valenzuela, musician
“My back to school mantra, at least for college is ‘it will be sooner or later.’ Haha!”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “My survival kit is a coffee tumbler, constantly refilled, a Pilot Frixion Pen, earphones, and a healthy sense of anxiety over complacency.”
Jamie Catt, artist
“Be a curious collector. Learn from anything and everything –– most especially from experience.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “A small notebook or a blank sketchbook have always been a must for me. I’m fond of Moleskine’s Notebook because it’s convenient to carry around for taking random notes and ideas. It also holds my to-do’s which helps keep my work in check and my life organized.
Camie Juan, blogger
“My mantra was basically ‘learn as much as you can and have fun while doing it, but don’t kill yourself by taking everything too seriously.’”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “iPhone charger, snacks to last me until lunch break and a book to read if in between classes.”
Reese Lansangan, musician
“Immerse yourself. When working on a project I’m really excited about, I like to get lost in the research, the grind, the trial and error. I make sure I fully immerse myself in the subject by learning about it as much as I can so as to embody the task I’m about to undertake.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “I highly recommend the A5 sized bag organiser ones from National Book Store. It is a lifesaver, and a wonderful way to store the chaos in your life. Also a face compact, hair pins and elastics because sometimes, I like to change up my hairstyle mid-day so these are good to carry around. And a Pilot Frixion highlighter. It’s an erasable highlighter. Need I say more?”
AJ Pangilinan,graphic designer
“Blaze a trail! It was our official school mantra but personally, it was really the people I surrounded myself with that motivated me a lot. My group of friends were all amazing and they studied really hard. They inspired me everyday to not slack off and to carry on every semester!”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “An unlined notebook which I’ll divide to the number of subjects (by putting little flaglets on the side!) that I’ll have for that semester, a new planner and an assortment of Post-its!”
Esme Palaganas, fashion designer
“‘Prove them wrong.’ In an art and design environment, people can’t always agree on what’s aesthetically good and bad, so you really should have a firm understanding of who you are as a person/as a designer and stick with it.”
Back-to-school survival kit essential: “Friends. They will always, always make you sane even with the most insane classes. Always.”
