FORUM

I cannot live without my books. If left alone, I will be lost without my books. The different books I have
read helped shape me as the person I am today. Rick Riordan taught me that anyone can be special and
be a voice for others. Cassandra Clare taught me that strength is not always about being physically
strong, mental fortitude is a far greater strength than physical strength. Sarah Maas taught me that our
past does not equate the person I am in the present and the person I can be in the future.

The worlds they have built has always left me with the hope that our real world still has a chance at
being a better and much more inclusive world.

If I have lived in a time where smartphones, computers, and the internet do not exist, I think my life
would be peaceful and relaxed. No internet trolls, facebook friends who only spy on your life through
the platform, no twitter toxicity. I would be spending my time reading and maybe even try a little bit of
gardening. And maybe when the time comes, I’d be a mother of two beautiful children and a wife to a
gentle and loving man.

What makes me proud as a Filipino is our being hospitable. I remember being an elementary student,
and being told for the first time that Filipinos are the most hospitable people in Asia. And my heart was
just filled with this warmth and pride that the Filipinos were known to be that way.