Day 4

The art of traveling

Traveling doesn’t need to be anywhere special. In fact, it can even be in your own back yard. What matters is the mindset of travel wherever you go rather than wherever you are. I always thoughts that its not about the place and time, its about the peace of mind. Anyone can be in a bustling city any where in the world, anyone can be in the small countryside of the world and all the matters is that you appreciate the moment in which you are in right now.

I mean its takes a sense of self awareness to truly be able to appreciate not only where you are at in the present moment but also who you are with because that is what truly makes traveling really fin. I like to travel by myself because I don’t have to wait for anyone and I can make my own decisions without worrying about pleasing the other company I am with. But on the other hand I enjoy traveling with my family and friends because it gives a sense of wonder and a moment to bond over the situation. Even as we get out of our comfort zones I think it’s a brilliant way to learn and truly work together in new situations. Life is about change and grow and its also about learning to enjoy connections and relationships with other people. I hope that in the end of life its about the process of life rather than what you did to get form point a to point b it should be about learning what works and what didn’t work its bout the little details in life that I enjoy and the way you can enjoy little things in life by being thankful for everything. I try to enjoy myself in everything I do, put my 100% heart in it and sometimes I do things just because I have to but yet in life it’s a wonderful thing to be able to do things because you got to. It s all a choice in what you want to do in life. I got to clean my room for a clear mindset, I got to go eat breakfast with my mom so we can enjoy each others company. I got to relax and allow things to unfold and yet I also have to. No I got to get things done and I'm thankful for having these things I need to get done like working on my dream idea and working on something bigger thatn myself

I want to create life that is ridiculously amazing by following and leading with my heart. I got to. Life is my art piece I will make it my masterpiece and work in progress at the same time, and I will and I create and express my life through music art and photography. I know that God has a plan and a beautiful purpose for all of us we must follow our “diamond” in our hearts. My heart sparked at the idea of the Thiel fellowship and I don’t know where it will lead me, but I think it’s a grand start- a great start into putting my dreams into action.

Day 3

Dear voice

Time is of the essence. At 21 I would be at my prime if I were a boxer like Muhammad Ali. In a blink of an eye being 16 or 17, or even 18 seemed like it was only yesterday. Yesterday I was in high school, yesterday I started college, yesterday I was in Europe. Yesterday…

I am thankful for many great yesterdays. I always think that the best are yet to come, and the only moment that I can really make the most of is right here and right now.

If I were to showcase my life as a movie, where would I be at? The climax? The character development? The beginning?

I like to think of my life as a movie, I’m the protagonist. God is the director of my movie, and with a bit of actor inspiration, I suppose I can ask God for more takes in a few more scenes. Hypothetically speaking I like to think that God gives us paths, and as we travel through life we can ultimately choose which path we take, the one that He shows us, or the other one. Whatever the path we choose, God is with us through it all.

God is my guidance, He is my hope, my everything. It took me some time, a lot of prayer and few deep moments in my life before I realized this fact. In my dark moments I had to face, I knew God was there with me and He never left my side, even when I looked away from Him.
I met a great friend of mine, she is an inspirational soul. She shares her God-given wisdom about life and how God works in mysterious ways in our life. She recounts studying extensively on the culture of Russia during her high school days. Now she is going on a missions trip to Russia! I believe that God truly has a way of preparing us for things even before we know it. Now it made me wonder, what did I study back in my high school or even middle school that may still have value for me now. Well for one, I went to a rigorous college preparatory high school, and in middle school I went to a transitioning medical school. Although my heart is truly in the performing arts, I chose the educational path, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Learning is one of my great loves, even as a child I loved to learn and to share what I learned. I used to talk to myself as if someone was always interviewing me, well I still do, just not as much. This imaginary interviewer would ask questions about my life and why I did this or that or my thoughts on philosophy and the esoteric ideas. I loved answering and asking questions. It seemed so natural for me. Then as I look back to my middle school days I remember my first major science fair project on kaleidoscopes. I absolutely loved colorful things that my teacher Mrs., Della Cross even suggested it to me and I was hooked. I loved the idea of looking through a kaleidoscope and knowing that you never see the same image twice, not only because of the many factors such as light, angles, color, but the personal experience and the perspective you have on the images that affect your emotions. I love that looking through the kaleidoscope I can sense this change in my mood, I become much more relaxed and my mind clears.

Time flies. So what will I do with my time right now. I like the idea that Oprah presents, she said to quiet your mind and allow your inner voice to speak. Listen for it, and it will tell you what the next best move is. Right now my next best move is to work on my idea and look into the Thiel Fellowship. Hoping for the best.

I also recommend this book called the Lotus and the Lily by Janet Conner, it is such a  beautiful read. It is helpful because it allows you to listen for your Inner voice. Just as I am speaking to the voice inside of you.

Day 2

Day 2

Life is an art

Today and everyday I will be a masterpiece and work in progress simultaneously. I’m perfectly incomplete, yet I know in my heart that everything will work itself out when I leave it all to God. Of course there must be work and effort in the direction I choose to go. I like to think that life is a combination of destiny and choice, we are destined to do great things, and as we journey through life it is in our choices that allow destiny to be fulfilled. I think that fear is the one thing we must fear, because it causes us to hesitate in taking the right course of action, or we impulsively take an action without further evaluation of the consequences. I have a special friend who explained life in this way. “Life is a series of adventures and you will learn something from each one. You can never be sure of anything in life, and that fear paralyzes some people into doing nothing. You have made a decision and now you must breathe life into it. Stop looking for reasons not to do it and start looking for the nuggets of knowledge. Some good, some not so good. Ultimately you will glean from these experiences.” My friend works for one of the most beloved media companies in the world, in fact she worked in two movies that depict strong heroine characters, one saved all of china, and the other could see the colors of the wind.

I chose to partake in this 500 challenge, writing 500 words everyday for 31 days.

So what am I going to do with this challenge of writing everyday? Simple, I want to develop the skill and love for learning and sharing my thoughts in a daily blog and hopefully, I pray that it will also help my skills in writing songs and storytelling. But how do I do that? I suppose writing the way I like in the stream of consciousness, no edits, unless I have the time to really review my work. It is really hard to edit work and break it down to become concise. I find it easier to simply say everything in my heart, but it’s not like we have all day. Otherwise my work would be a bit of my thoughts, sharing my adventures in life, and most of all my thoughts on the experiences I’m learning. I want to share the nuggets of knowledge, and simply sharing my story of taking leaps of faith. Now that being said I’m about to embark on a quest for self discovery, soul searching and suppose trying new foods all around the world. I pray that whatever God has for me I will follow. Writing makes my soul happy and I want to do more of that. Taking about God and the revelations He has shown me and how He continues to guide me every second of my life simply baffles me I love to share it with you and I also find it interesting to look back one day and reread these posts.

I must also print them out and have a physical copy just for sentimental reasons.

A few months ago I read an amazing book called “The Lotus and the Lily” It’s a great book for many reasons, its practical, fun, inviting to read and most of all it encourages writing down your hearts contents. From here I began to write “Dear Voice” and I love it.

Its an amazing story on how I found it. I was in a local book store that buys and sells books of all kinds. As I was scaling back and forth through the self-help section my eyes were drawn to the cover. It was of a butterfly and for some reason my heart felt so happy to see it. I flipped through it and I read the back/ “create the life you really want” and I was hooked. I knew immediately I had to get it. Now I know what it is to buy an item that speaks to your heart and soul, and I feel this way for many things I know I must have. In these cases, I try to find shoes like this, but it’s really different. Anyways. I will read it from a few months back.

Rythm of Life

Writing at least 500 words everyday for 31 days: Challenge Accepted.

Just Write. I enjoy doing what is called soul writing. Usually I write whatever is on my heart without editing myself. it is a lot easier to do by hand, but it is a lot easier to reread and understand on the computer.  Aside from that I simply enjoy the concept of “stream of consciousness” writing, its light and it doesn’t need to be perfect.

Like me, I’m anything but perfect. But I do believe in the eyes of God, Imperfection becomes “I’mPerfection” I choose to find the best- the flawsomeness in myself and others. That’s right, combine Flaws and Awesome and you get “FLAWSOME”. I took this from a popular comedian from the Philippines. Vice Ganda. LOVE HER, I recommend her to any and everyone. As an ally I support the rights for everyone on the spectrum. In my trip in Italy, I was introduced to the idea that everyone is somewhere on the spectrum and that not everyone is 100% straight. Which is something I can live with. I mean I would think blasphemy to say I did not admire a beautiful woman, hello… #WCW Women Crush Wednesday. And it’s not even Wednesday. Oh, wait yes it is. Well I should post something… I don’t know it’s hard to say. Do I emulate the beauty or the brains, my friends or family, celebrities, or myself. If there is someone I admire in this world its my mom. She is my #WCW officially in my life. For one, she gave birth to me, so she gets a headstart, and she also put up with me in her stomach for, I don’t know 8months. Well either way, she still puts up with me. I feel a bit ashamed to say it, but Mom I know… I doubt you would ever come across this page, but if you do read this. I messed up. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you stressed out for my inconceivable attitude. But I did. Now I’m facing the wrath of the “mad mom” and boy let me tell you it’s not a pretty sight. My mom with her all loving eyes and subtle smile just knows how you tell you everything you never thought you wanted to hear, WITHOUT saying a word. You know that look. Despite the misunderstandings, and maybe the multiple world wars between my mom and I, I still love her. It’s hard to be a perfect daughter, in fact if a mom and daughter didn’t fight, I would be worried. Not for the aftermath of the stress and what have you. But the process of learning. I will always want to learn for myself, yet somethings are better learned from the wise and left to the people who already made mistakes. If there is something I think my mom always wanted me to do and learn from her mistakes. Yet I still insist on making my own mistakes. I find that when you start to live life for yourself, in all it’s boundless wonder and glory you also start to forget the people who gave it to you. Granted my mom and dad did bring me up into this world, I have also forgotten God. It’s hard. I think I may be oversharing… Infact I think that’s what blogs are about. Sharing. Over sharing is a different level but still. I know God gave us the ten commandments, one of them saying to Honor thy parents. But I also thought that God gave us a seed in our heart, and this seed is our dreams, destiny, and soul purpose in life. It is our duty to fulfill it and allow the seed to grow. Protect the dream. But… then again dreams are not really worth having fulfilled if family and friends are not there to enjoy the bounty with you.

Today I learned the song by Freddie Aguilar, a Filipino folk singer/guitarist, called anak.

The lyrics and the translation are sooo touching. The song entails the story of how children are brought into the world by their parents, given all the love even by the parents sacrifices to provide for them but then the child changes and strays away from the parents and their counsel. I literally cried when I hear this song. It’s sooooooooooo touching. The story-telling style of this song is so strong, there is no repeated chorus except for the last lines. These lines translated in English say “Regretting and in your mind you realize, you made a mistake”.

I’ve made a mistake, a big mistake. I may even be bold to say I’ve failed in some way. But I look at failing as F.A.I.L. First Attempt In Learning. So I learned a whole lot, and one thing I’ve still got to learn is self control for my emotions and managing stress. Well then.

I will sing the song. Just kidding, here is the song lyric and translation. ANAK

Mom, Dad. I've made a mistake. I will work on fixing it. 

F8 reaction

 Upon watching the F8 conference

Building technology such as the Facebook airplane, gear VR and augmented reality and artificial intelligence.

As a strong supporter of net neutrality, I like the idea of a marketplace of ideas that Facebook will become a platform that gives the people power to share anything they want to with anyone. However the issues of ethical standards and credibility rise up as one of my main concerns. We each have a voice that we can share, it's only when some voices become louder than others, "group think" may lead people astray.

With the hopes to HELP solve the world problems.  I don't think naive is the right term, I think these intentions are good, however reading between the lines what may seem good, and power is corruptible. I think that we as humans judge ourselves by good intentions however it is our actions that truly speak for us. There are many generalizations in the speech about helping the world that seems to be stretched out; there are many contradictions; reading between the lines I am very skeptical about it. 

I like to think I'm an optimist, however it takes more than good efforts, but I personally look to the leader of the pack to determine how I perceive the group's credibility. Zuckerburg describes his vision to "bring people together" and that we must connect to make progress. Messenger will now have ways to simply message business or news sources for information. It seems very biased to me since that allows an algorithm to figure out what kind of news is important to you and simply cater only to that.

Free services, well there is no such thing as free, in fact it seems all too good to be true, to have free education tools and free medical information. I think that this free information will have an underlying cost to the reader. Net neutrality is important however this free vs. non free services makes me think that only some things are free and not others, therefore Zuckerburg focuses mainly on the free services.

In the topic about Artificial intelligence, to claim that if a computer can detect whether or not a person's skin lesion will lead to skin cancer, and jump over to say it will help save lives. Yes, there is prevention due to early detection, however just as humans make mistakes, the machines we create will also make mistakes. He continued that AI will develop perception, which I think is important, but did not go into further detail to what extent that would be. Emotions? Feeling? Morals?

 On the topic of Virtual reality and augmented reality, when used in moderation it is not a bad idea. However, I find it extremely ironic how using these services will bring people together. When used to the extreme it can be toxic.

Overall I think the visions are with good intention however we need to think for ourselves and use digression, to read between the lines and contradictions. As well as acknowledge that there is a lack of checks and balances for executing these points.

HERE I AM

Life throws unexpected obstacles at you. Situations where you want to leave, and situations where you want to stay. It's about a balance bewteen holding on and letting go.

Failing is the Key to Success
https://t.co/5X9HfAcEnm

— Haidy Andrada (@hellohaidy) April 10, 2016

My Life right now is all about failing in the right direction. Failure is essentially the seed that becomes success. It just tkaes time to germinate, time to absorb the water, to take the lessons that is the nutrients from the soil before it can truly grow.
Like the seed breaking out of the shell, it must get out of it's comfort zone. Out of the darkness and dirt and into the light and fresh open air. Only then can it become it's true potential.

Traveling near and far.

If you could create your life so far into a movie what would you name it?
I suppose I would name my movie "Caught in the Middle" as my life was caught in between what I thought I wanted (because it was expected of me) and what I know I need. The distinction was only clear when I finally decided to take a leap of faith and leave everything to God, and just live my life day by day with my goal in mind. That Goal is what I am currently working on. As "the director" of my movie, I call the movie of my life "Haidy: The Journey of a Songbird". This movie is playing right and fortunately for me, there are no retakes of the scenes, simply new scenes.

I'm a big believer in being yourself and simply discovering and learning about the world.
I am learning that what we see in the world is a reflection of ourselves, and by reflecting and knowing my self more each and everyday I am constantly growing my perspective of the world.

Being yourself is no easy feat. It is an unconditional love and acceptance of who you are right now. As we grow and develop our core values that make up who we are, I realized that by accepting myself I have also come to accept others. This open mentality is what helped me learn about other people and their cultures, languages, and personalities. As I embark on a journey that is 'near' (I am based in Orlando) and I plan for new adventures in a "far" away place, (A European Excursion)
This kind of journey is not possible without being present in the moment right now.

Traveling in time and space. I think there are five good reasns traveling will make you a good person. Especially in Italy, where you can learn to thrive in a new chaotic realm, admire the simple things, focus on the people around you now, and constantly try new things.