30 Photos Challenge: Photo #4

Photo 4)
A picture of your favorite hobby

Since I'd been cooped up in the house ever since I got back, trying to rest and let the little illnesses and allergies subside, my best friend has been my laptop and the Internet. (Notice that I get to blog everyday now. Hehe.) So I found this software on Chrome that lets me edit photos.

So as of today, my favorite hobby is funkying up my photos. YEPPY! :D

Cool and super aliw. :)

30 Photos Challenge: Photo #3

Photo 3)
A picture of your favorite food

ENOUGH SAID ;)

30 Photos Challenge: Photo #2

Photo 2)
A picture of your favorite place

My favorite place is the bedroom. Ok, maybe that sounds weird, but it's true.
I dunno. I just... Well, I don't have one of my own right now. And for the loooongest time, I'd been hoping and praying that someday SOON(!), God would let my family get a house or give us money to start the construction for the long overdue expansion of the church, or maybe, that He'd let ME move into my own spot. Someday. Soon? :P


I guess the idea appeals to me because I am a private person, and people don't usually barge into your bedroom diba? When you have your own room, people respect your privacy. They knock before going in. They wait to be invited. I guess I want to have that privacy. I want to be able to write and read and make music to my heart's content, not worrying about disturbing the neighbors or spending too much time lying on the sofa or whatever. I want my peace and quiet. I want to be able to sleep in without thinking about what time the visitors are coming because I'd have to get up way before they get here because I can't stay parked in the sofa. I want to be able to talk on the phone with a friend into the wee hours without having my brothers giving me a look, as if I'm cutting off somebody's head or something. Basta yun. This is my favorite place. :) Lucky you, those who have your own holes to retreat to. ;)

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

I have never had a boyfriend, so you might think I have no credibility to talk about breakups.
But hear me out. This is just a short blog. I want to share something that I learned today.

30 Photos Challenge: Photo #1

Photo 1)
A picture of yourself with ten facts.

Yes, this is me. And I am taking on the 30-day photo challenge. Here goes. :D

Fact #1: I am DeAnne Kerstin Lino Leones. My name DeAnne was coined from my parents' names, Dean and Ann. No kidding. I recently learned, though, that I don't have a unique name or even a unique backstory for that name after all. But oh well, I am special in God's eyes!
DeAnne is a variant of Deanna, which is an Old English word meaning "valley/church leader." Kerstin is a Latin / Schandinavan word (daw), a variant of Kristen, that means "Follower of Christ." I'm glad that I am living up to my name, by God's grace! :)

Fact #2: The main reason I took up AB Psychology, if I be honest enough to admit it, is to help understand myself better so that I can help young people like me deal with themselves. I really hope I could do that. Understand myself better, that is. :P

Fact #3: I learned to commute by myself only when I was in college. I took the bus to school everyday since the third week of my freshman year. I was forced to do it.

Fact #4: I am a thinker-relater. People think I'm a snob or my head is in the clouds, but honestly, that depends on my mood. And I am quite moody. (Go ask my best friends!) So if I'm meeting you for the first time, don't expect me to talk much. But you can talk all you want, I'll just listen. :)

Fact #5: Most people say my smile is what draws them to me. I win people's hearts with it. I can't believe that I have that kind of charm, but I guess I just have to accept it as true if a LOT of people say that about me. So I guess I can call it my asset. :P

Fact #6: My passion is arts. I live music. I live writing. I am not the best in either, but I think I can go places if I apply myself to the craft. I like to think of myself as kind of a free spirit. A kind, I say, kasi nga, thinker ako. I am naturally apprehensive, generally. But when it comes to my passion, hindi masyado.


Fact #7: I've worn glasses since I was 13. But I guess my eyesight had gone bad way before that.


Fact #8: If I were ever to hold a grudge against you, it would take an extra long time for me to get over it. I can be unreasonable when I am upset, but all it takes is a lot of time. Give me enough to think things through. Don't rush me, or else I'll snap at you. I don't like confrontations, but I'm learning to face it when I know I should. I have a handful of people whom I wish not to see or hear about again.

Fact #9: I started singing when I was three. I was a child wonder. But, alas, I grew up and became a has-been. (I'm not bitter. :P) LOL.


Fact #10: I am so random but so into this that it took at least 45 minutes for me to type all these words. I wasn't stopping. :))


THANKS FOR READING! More soon!

Is Your Love Right?

Last Sunday, our youth group had a forum about love. The whole discussion stemmed from this question: "Is your love right?"

Single: Sincerely, Seriously.

During a discussion on relationships in our college Sunday school class a month ago, our teacher (and my mentor) Ate Jen asked us to state our relationship status. She said, if I remember right, that there were 5 classifications under the "SINGLE" status:

Your Basic D.I.D. = Discipler in Denial

Is having the superhero complex a bad thing? I'd been wondering about it for some time now...

Superhero complex means, in my own words, the tendency (or urgency?) to save a seemingly helpless person from impending harm.

Last sem, in Social Psychology class, we had a discussion about helping. One of the points that I discussed was that people usually tend to help those whom they think need help. The implication of that is, when we don't think that a person is helpless, and/or when we think that his being in a tight situation can be attributed to his own...well, stupidity (i.e. poor choices, lack of foresight, little sense of responsibility),then we won't help.I think that's logical, yeah. But how about helping people whom we only think need help but actually don't?

In an earlier blog, I wrote some thoughts as to why I wanted to be a psychologist. I read it again earlier today, and it hit me that maybe I am guilty of having the superhero complex.

Simply saying, it's just that sometimes I feel that there's too many people who are too helpless or innocent to be exposed to, and even to experience, the wickedness of the world.

As Christians, we may call it empathy. We may see it as just genuine concern. We may look at it as goodwill.
But is it possible to maybe, just maybe, overdo being "God's special agents on earth," to the point that we become overzealous in saving other people from the snares of evil?

No, I'm not really talking about evangelism. Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of discipleship.

I just realized that it is possible for mentors to "baby" their disciples. To spoon-feed them with bite-sized Bible bits instead of letting them cut up the chunks for themselves. To strap them in a stroller and take them wherever. To keep them in a walker and let them explore, but only to a certain distance. Stuff like that. You could prolly read between and within the lines. Superhero complex in action.

Maybe it's the reason why kids nowadays are either too rash or too reserved.

:)

Nonetheless, I do recognize that mentors are there to guide and help mold us. Admittedly,I wasn't actually discipled by anybody, except, of course, my parents. But now as a discipler, I find myself wondering, "Am I doing this right? How long am I gonna let this person be dependent on me? How will I know if s/he's ready to stand on his/her own?" I'm not really looking for immediate answers, because obviously, this isn't something I can rush. (The discussion in Lead 4 class also made me think about this some more.)

I don't know if any of this makes sense. (Actually, I'm really sleepy already. LOL.) But this I say: No, I can't be a superhero. I can't even save myself from the bad things. And I'm not sure I am even worthy of being a discipler. But this I know: I want to be in the business of changing lives. For the better. With my best.

8 Questions: Tagged by Alyssa

Not sure how this works. Am I supposed to come up with my own questions to ask too? :)

Anyway, here are my answers to Alyssa's questions.

1. Who are your heroes? (Dead or alive.)

My mom, CILB, and my journal. They all keep me in check with my thoughts and emotions, and at the same time let me dwell on them when they know I have to.





2. What do you collect? Why?
PENS!!! I'd been obsessed with cute gel pens FOREVER. ;) Not sure why, though. Maybe it's because I like writing and I like writing in color. You should see how I take notes in class! Of course, because I am addicted to writing material, with pens I also collect notebooks and journals. (Oh, I'm imagining Alyssa's reaction to this. Hahaha!)
3. What is one book (aside from the Bible) you could read over and over again and never tire of?
Seriously, they're too many, and I can't really choose! ;)
But methinks this is one worth mentioning. This was the first novel by Nicholas Sparks that I've read. :)

4. If you could trade places with a book character, who would it be and why?

Lauren Kline from If Only It Were True (Just Like Heaven). I think I wanna try being a "ghost," too. :)

5. What have you always wanted to do but have never gotten a chance to do yet?
Write a book!

6. What is the most important advice you were ever given?
Don't aim to be better than somebody else. Don't compare yourself to others. Just be the best YOU that you can be.

7. What's the best gift you've ever received?
LOVE! Of God, of family, of friends.

8. What is do you want to do to make a difference in this world?
(Ano daw, Alyssa? Haha.) The best way to make a difference is to be the difference. I'd train myself to be disciplined, and influence others to do so, too. Ditch mediocrity! Haha.

On Idols

I really don't understand why some people want to meddle with the affairs of others.