Volunteering/Civic Engagement

I started volunteering when I was in high school. My high school required us to do 100 hours of community service and that's when I learned what volunteering was. I volunteered at Mission Girls Program where I did my school to career internship when I was 16. This is when I started working with kids too. In high school, I volunteered for Glide too and that was my first experience in packing sandwiches for the homeless. 

Then when I was in college in 2008-2009,  I went to an event called Filipino Americans for Obama kick off event and their volunteer coordinator were looking for volunteers so I signed up. I volunteered in doing phone banks, and whatever else they needed help on. This was my first time being part of civic engagement and learning about politics. I got to meet a lot of people. 

In 2010, when I got laid off from my job, I volunteered at UCSF at their child specialist program and I learned a lot about how it was like volunteering at a hospital. It felt great doing art activities with the children, and make them feel as normal children even though they were hospitalized. I met really nice people there and it was a good experience. I volunteered at UCSF for a year or so. UCSF is a good hospital. 

In 2011-2012, I volunteered for Rob Bonta's campaign through KAYA Filipino Americans for Progress and this was my first time,. learning to knock on doors. Knocking on doors, I learned how to speak to people but at the same time it was nerve wrecking. Also, we did a bunch of drop lits too in supporting candidates in the city for Steve Ngo and David Chiu. Also, through the years, I voluntered at Pistahan and was in the table for Kaya Filipino Americans for Progress. Also, in 2012, we went to Las Vegas and knocked on door for President Obama's election that year. I also went to California Convention and that was an awesome experience and that's when I was became officially a MaSquad. 

In 2015, I started volunteering for One Brick Organization. What I liked about One Brick is that there was no commitment and you just choose which event in their calendar you want to volunteer for. I did different volunteering activities with them which was a lot of fun. I volunteered at the Food Bank, Glide, Anthony's foundation, and Precita Clean up through them. 

In 2016, I volunteered for Fiona Ma's kick off fundraiser event and that was a lot of fun because I haven't volunteered for a while. Then from july 2016 until election day in November, I volunteered for Marjan Philhour's campaign and my friend Melissa's campaign. This was such an amazing, fun, and busy experience. I learned so much about District 1 and District 9 that I never knew before. I met so people who became my friends now and who I learned so much from. I learned more about local politics. I learned to be so well rounded, going to debates, writing post cards, doing phone banks, knocking on doors, and so much more... Campaign was my life for 4 months. It was such a good feeling to help out. Also, did visibility. It truly gave me a purpose in my life and learned things I never knew before. December 2016, I started interning at Fiona Ma's office and until now, it's been awesome and learning so much. I want to keep improving and gain skills. 

This year, January from now, I have been part of Bay City Beacon in taking photos, doing beacon events calendar, and hidden gem. I also volunteered for United Democratic Club and took some pictures of their politics 101. I enjoy volunteering because I like helping people and it is very rewarding. With volunteering, I am exploring what career is for me and it gives me an experience for a future job that I might be applying for. I will continue in volunteering and hopefully with all these volunteering, I will have a good and stable job from it. Volunteering is my hobby too and I enjoy meeting new people and learning from them. When it comes to volunteering too, I am stimulating my brain and I am learning something new everyday. It is good exploring different things while I am volunteering. I am also learning about myself and learning from other people. I love volunteering a lot and I think I will continue in volunteering when I have time and as long as I can do it too. I look forward in helping with campaigns next year too. 

Cooking and Photography

So many things I love to do in my life that I can't even focus in one thing and what career I am going to pursue after all my treatments are done and when I am fully recovered.

Cooking:

I love cooking. Cooking is so relaxing and calming to me. I love combining different vegetables together and combining spices. I like looking at recipes when I get a chance and when I have time to cook something new and get inspired and motivated to get better at my cooking. Even though I do love cooking, I get lazy to do it too because sometimes I tend to cook the same thing. I enjoy posting what I cook at my instagram. When I have time to plan. I write things down on what I need to buy for grocery shopping but I also like doing the other way around where I pick what vegetables I want to eat and experiment of what dishes to make. Healthy cooking is important. I have always wanted to learn how to cook when I was 16, but I didn't really started cooking when I was 21. When I was diagnosed with my cancer in 2014, that's when I learned how cook healthy and I tried out so many different recipes and I love cooking for my friends too. I love Peruvian food a lot and I taught myself how to cook Peruvian food. I have to keep learning how to cook a variety of food to get better at it. 

Photography: 

When I was in high school I did an after school program for photography but I don't remember how often I went and what I learned. All I can remember was that I was interested in photography. I remember I wanted to have an old camera and I didn't want the digital cameras and everything. I don't know why I didn't take photography in college. I guess I was busy with my major classes that I didn't think in taking photography back then but I did take yoga, and a fitness class for fun. In 2010 my brother bought me a point and shoot camera and that was my first camera ever. I took so many photos. I took photos wherever I went like festivals, friend's birthdays, family get together, and etc... Then my camera broke in 2013, and I used my cell phone's camera. I didn't have an actual camera for almost 3 years. I still took a lot of pictures in my phone. For my 30th birthday, my brother bought me a camera and I was so happy. It was another point and shoot. It was so awesome and I loved it so much. I love how it was a canon. Since I had that camera, I continued in taking photos and I enjoy it a lot. When I became a part of Bay City Beacon Newspaper, I took photos of the Muslim Ban Rally at SFO and from there, I started taking photos of rallies, and events. I am lucky to have this opportunity to be the photographer of Bay City Beacon. There are a lot of things I have to learn about photography and I am only a beginner. I like taking photos of landscapes, and hidden gems around the city, Taking portraits were fun too and I need to get better at that. I hope to take photography class at city college once all my treatments are all done. I have to learn how to edit photos too. 

To be continued.... have to talk about: volunteering, civic engagement, fitness/health .. etc... 

Who am I? page 3

I was in 8th grade, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. I don't remember how I felt and I didn't know how to react. Did I even know what cancer was back then? I don't think so...  All I can remember my mom had clots of her period and it was so heavy. I remember how it fell down the floor and I needed to clean it. When she went to the doctor, that's when she found out she had uterine sarcoma. When my brothers and I found out, we cried a lot and we were sad. I went to some of her chemo appointments, and I remember sleeping at one of her appointments in the waiting room. She had good doctors. I don't remember if my grades got affected but all I can remember I visited her in the hospital. I remember not going to Lowell's high school open night visit. My mom was so strong. She lost her hair, she wore a wig. She beat it once in her first diagnosed and she was in remission for 5 years. I don't remember how I handled it when my mom had cancer. I remember though we had the Virgin Mary here in the house and we did the novena together. Maybe my mom shared a lot of her thoughts and feelings to my older brother or to my aunts because she didn't show us how she was really feeling and she was fighting it and she handled it so well. It's so weird how I don't remember. Isn't bad of me to not even remember this? I wish I did a better job in taking care of her. I wish I had a better relationship with her. Looking back now, I could have shown her my love so much more. I feel like I was a bad daughter because I talked back and I was selfish. Was I already selfish when I was in 8th grade? The clash of point of views, the generation gap, and the culture were the things that were difficult for us to agree on. But now growing up, I see where my mom was coming from and how being a single parent was so tough. She was so protective because she wanted what was best for me and my brothers. I thanked for everything that my mom have done for me and I wouldn't be the person I am today without her.