My Favorite Gifts That I Received

I've received so many awesome gifts in my life for Christmas and I honestly couldn't be able to choose one. So for the year of 2016, one of the best gifts that I received was my dog, Chichay. I got her on October, for my early birthday present and a majority as an early Christmas present. For my big birthday present that I guess you could count as a Christmas present was a trip to the Philippines on my birthday week, so that meant I got to skip school, which I was very happy about. I'm glad that I spent it with my family that I never see a lot and I am so happy that I received my dog, and I couldn't be any more grateful.

My Name

My name is Jillian, you maybe, probably already knew that, but if not, then hey, I'm Jillian, and people usually just call me by Jillian. People don't usually call me by any nicknames all the time, and I wouldn't mind what you would like to call me by, too.  There's so many names in the world and I wonder sometimes why my parents named me that. My name means youthful and child of the Gods. My parents named me Jillian because they wanted my name to be unique from any of the other names in my family, so as you can see, they didn't want to base my name from someone in my family. Also, my parents wanted some of the letters in their names combined into my name. The first letter of my name is a J, (obviously) and so is my dad's. There's also 2 L's in my name, and so is my mom's. And why not add in my middle name. My middle name is Faith. My parents, and some other parents I bet like to call their kids' middle name as their "second name," which is really weird, and then they would give my middle name as my mom's maiden name, yes, pretty weird. Anyways, my parents used named my middle name, or second name, or whatever you wanna call it Faith because they had faith in me being born, because I was not gonna make it being born because I was a pre- mature and was in an incubator for a long time. Welp, that's my name!

If I Were to Work at a School

I wouldn't imagine my future teaching at a school. But, if I really were to have my future career at a school, I would probably be a music teacher.
            The reason why I would choose to be a music teacher is because I've been playing instruments for about 6 years now. I first started playing the piano, then I took violin lessons, learned the guitar, the flute, (but quit a couple of months later because I basically passed out from playing it) and I also play the ukulele. So as you can see, I've had a lot of experience with music. I can teach them things like dynamics, beats and measures, and things like that. If I were to teach music for a grade, I would probably choose 1st or 2nd grade. I would choose 1st or 2nd grade because I'm really good with little kids, and though kids are really crazy at that age, I think I can handle it. I could maybe even do an after school program of teaching piano or orchestra; it doesn't matter to me if it is at a school, or what age level, though.

My Gratitude List

As I am sitting in my English teachers' classroom while working working on my blog, I hear my stomach growl. I look around my surroundings, and think about how I have so much to be thankful for.

1. I am thankful for my family. I am super grateful that I have a family like them and never seem to bring me down as much as they annoy me sometimes. I'm glad that they've been by side since day one.
2. I am thankful for my friends. Whats life like without them? The answer to that is very boring. They make my day with funny jokes and insults and they just make me smile. I'm glad I get to see them in school everyday so even my school day won't be boring either.
3. I am thankful for Darren Espanto. I'm glad I found out about him so I have something to look forward to listening everyday while doing homework, or something to wake up to so I can look on his recent posts on social media. (I know I'm weird but you have to tell me you do it too!)
4. I'm thankful for food. I am super thankful for waking up in the morning to have breakfast on my plate and having lunch and dinner as well. Oh and being able to eat junk food. :)
5. I am thankful for my home. I am glad that I live in a warm shelter with people that I love and make memories from.
6. I am thankful for music. I cannot stand a day without listening to music. If you make me do that I'll go crazy! I feel like without music, days will be gloomier, the sky will be darker, and everyone will always be sad. So I'm glad that someone created music in this world.
7. I am thankful for my country/nationality. I am thankful, proud, and glad to be Filipino. I am thankful for all the traditions my Filipino family have every holiday and just being able to go to the Philippines to see the lifestyle there.
8. I'm thankful for technology. I'm thankful for the invention of computers and phones to communicate with friends and having social media. And of course, having Google for an open encyclopedia, dictionary, or just having an open world of the internet on my hands.
9. I am thankful for school and being able to have an education. I know, I know, school sucks. I agree with that too, but imagine that this is a step on being successful in your future.
10. And lastly, I am thankful for my health and being able to go to places I want to go and having the strength to.

Food, Glorious Food!

Whenever my parents would ask me what I would like for dinner, I would most likely just ask to order a pizza. But not any kind of pizza...Giordano's pizza! I love Giordano's pizza, especially the cheese stuffed deep dish pizza. The reason why I love it so much is because once you take that bite of thick, crispy, crust, and about 10 inches of melted cheese topped off with just a delicious mess of sizzling sauce, it makes me think of all my fears and troubles vanishing away as the sauce and cheese start to warm my stomach. Did I get you hungry? Because I just did, yes I just got myself hungry. But once you take that second bite, its like your just having a normal day eating a slice of pizza. Relatable?

Childhood Memories

When I was young, I was the only child, so I always got the attention. Well, I have an older brother, but he lives in the Philippines, so I still am the only child in the house. But anyways, as a kid my aunts, uncles, and grandparents always gave me the spotlight. They made me dance and sing in front of them and my grandparents would teach me how to speak Tagalog very often, without them, I wouldn't be able to understand a thing on what my family say in the house now. In Kindergarten, I started to watch T.V nonstop after a long day of school. I watched Arthur, Little Bill, Hannah Montana, Kim Possible, the Rugrats, and so many more that I cannot name or else you'll be staring at your computer screen for what will feel like forever! But, the best of all, I LOVED Max and Ruby. That show was literally my childhood. I loved it so much because I loved all the silly things Max did like building a cake out of worms or trying to hide away from Ruby. Believe it or not, I tried making a cake out of mud and worms in my grandma's garden outside of my house. Looking at Kindergarten Jillian, I can say I had a good childhood, but quite odd considering I had no one to play with but myself.

My Trip to The Philippines

                      Over the summer this year, I went on vacation to the Philippines for the 4th time in my life. I always love going on vacation to the Philippines because I get to meet all my family and get to experience a lot of things that you would normally not experience on a daily basis in the United States. While I was there, I got to go surfing in the beaches of Baler, Bamboo rafting at the national park of Minalungao, and go to the coolest waterpark in Northern Luzon, Poracay! But the best of all, I met my all time favorite celebrity, Darren Espanto on July 3rd. it was an amazing experience and going on vacation this year to the Philippines was an unforgettable 1 month. :)