MidnightsIS S U E 0 9 J A N 2 0 2 3 www.mid nig h t s - u t s.c o m I n s ig h t s R e fl e c t i o n Vis i o n s C o p in g H a b i t s P e r s o n a l

Younger Self The definition of "Young and Free" Vs. Present Self Wherever theWind TakesMe While reminiscing the memories I had during my childhood, I found each and every one of them to be precious. Indeed, having lived a fun childhood is priceless and could not be exchanged for anything else. Moreover, I realized that change was apparent during the transition of being a child to the teenage period. Like any other typical kid, my younger self spent her time being carefree and enjoying each experience. I only saw the world in bright colors, lived without a care in the world, ran on the streets and parks, and came home all messy. Sometimes, I even played in the streets and got a bit of an earful for having too much fun. Truly, my younger self was a free-spirited and a happy-go-lucky individual. Moreover, I treasured the memories I made with the people I valued and held close to my heart. Despite being young, I not only had a bright and positive outlook on life, but I also did my best in everything that I did and learned from my experiences. 01 Understanding the Self

ASelf-Reflection Having already experienced tons of things, I learned to be resilient in the face of whatever came and I encountered. During the period of growing up came with the goal of finding oneself—my purpose, the goals I wanted to achieve, and the meaning of life. As Aristotle stated, "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." It is the process and the root of everything we do in life. It serves as our guide and directs our actions, thoughts, and way of living. At first, it sounds like a self-centered goal, however it is an unselfish process in discerning what path to take. Moreover, it involves recognizing who we want to be, fulfilling our own destiny, and ultimately, understanding ourselves. As such, now that I am in my first year of college, I found the dream that I want to pursue and the journey I am willing to walk on. I learned to be independent, brave, and willing to explore things out of my comfort zone. I also learned to develop my selfconfidence and self-esteem after a series of highs and lows, and finally learned to accept myself as I am. Moreover, as a determined individual, not only did I prioritize my goals, but I also sought out ways to induce personal growth, with the betterment of my well-being in mind. Maybe my present self is not as carefree as my younger self, however, I can say that I am now wiser, spontaneous, more grounded, persistent, and reliable. Present Self 02

01 INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION Now that I am beginning my journey in self-understanding, it's time to decide how I will do this. And it can be done in two ways: defining my life and identifying my purpose. LET'S GET TO IT! 03 Understanding the Self

Altogether, I realized that a keen understanding of the experiences we earned and accumulated throughout our life enriches our wisdom as well as engagement with the self and the world. I have found that an unexamined life will hold everything meaningful to it lack purpose and significance. Essentially, as human beings, we have freedom and privilege in making choices about our surroundings, setting goals in life, fulfilling them, and deciding the path we should take. Only in our hands lie the meaning and purpose of our lives that we have long sought for, and only through ourselves, can we determine and define our own life. Understanding the Self 04 DEFINING THE LIFEI HAVELIVED In finding the essence of my life, the subject, Understanding the Self, played a huge role. It enlightened my mind and opened my eyes through the philosopher's theories and urged me to conduct a self-introspection. It is something that I found interesting and, simultaneously, amazing because of the people who have done it. I, for one, only did simple reflections and did not attempt a complete selfintrospection. I did not think much about the life I have lived and just merely did what I was told to do. And from the famous quote of Socrates —“the unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates implied that one must investigate their life in detail to determine their own nature and purpose. And after examining our life, we can take charge of our own life and coming to terms with who we are. After reading this quote, I realized how much I left my life unexamined. It contradicts my profound realization— the aim of life is to grow in different aspects. I aimed for the growth of my overall well-being, while, I was not even aware and did not understand the significant matters of myself and my surroundings. My previous self lacked awareness and selfcontemplation to achieve the objective. Moreover, I also lacked proper analyzation and comprehension of the world, others, as well as myself.

05 Improving study habits Becoming a Veterinarian Becoming successful Maintaining a peace of mind Graduating Visiting Korea Visiting Amsterdam Understanding the Self

At end Concerts Creating Memories with my Pets

BAD HABITS Overspending Most of the time, I find myself buying things I want and not necessarily need. Two ways I found to improve this habit are by setting a certain budget for the day and setting priorities on the things I will buy. Overthinking One of the habits that I often unconsciously do despite not meaning to do so. There are three methods I practice to improve this habit: involving myself in an activity I enjoy, taking deep breaths, and acknowledging my wins, whether it may be a big or small. Impulse Buying Oftentimes, when I am stressed and emotional, I end up purchasing things on impulse. The two methods I found to improve this are planning ahead on what to buy and not buying when emotional. Being Unable to Say "No" The methods I found to improve this habit are being assertive yet courteous, being firm in your way of speaking, and setting boundaries for yourself. And How To Improve Them 07

Understanding the Self 08 & How I Cope With Them Personal Stressors We can call stress a natural part of life, which can be beneficial at times; Stress can motivate an individual to work and finish tasks. However, as many of us are also confronted with difficulties that can be stressful and overwhelming, and if we do not manage our stress, it can gravely interfere with our work, life, and health. Pressure from Expectations Being Away from My Pets Being the eldest one in the family, the people around me unintentionally places their expectations on me. Moreover, I also have expectations for myself, which doubles the pressure I feel and puts me on edge. However, I realized that I should not place unrealistic ones on myself and that it was fine to not meet them sometimes. Instead of being crushed by the expectation, I channeled my focus on my goals and completing the tasks at hand instead. Being away from home makes me miss our pets so much. Even though I know it cannot be helped since I am only staying at a dormitory where pets are not allowed, sometimes I still wish to bring them along to ease my loneliness. But I learned to cope with this by looking at their pictures stored in my gallery.

Fear of Failure Lack of Sleep Work Overload and Upcoming Deadlines Family Issues As a consistent honor student, failure is one of the things that scare me the most. However, I coped with this by learning from my mistakes and letting it fuel my future successes instead. As a student chasing numerous deadlines and completing successive tasks, pulling all-nighters are almost normal occurrences. I cope with this by compensating for the sleep I was deprived of. With a lot of tasks and projects piling up on our plate, it is not unusual to feel overwhelmed and stressed. But I coped up with this by practicing time management and removing distractions. Like any other family, ours have issues of their own. We cope with this by focusing on the issue at hand and directly communicating our thoughts and feeling to one another. 09

Admittedly, I do not have a healthy and balanced diet. However, with the goal of being a physically fit student in mind, I plan to prepare a well-balanced diet for appropriate nutrition, drink lots of water, get enough sleep, engage in physical activity—such as walking, sports, and dancing—and maintain this healthy routine. SELF-CAREPLANINACHIEVING AHEALTHYWELL-BEING Loving & Caring for Oneself As human beings, we deserve love and care not only from others, but also from ourselves. Treating ourselves should not be a reward, rather it should be given because simply, we deserve it. SELFCARE PLAN Physical. We should not only take care of our the physical aspect of our self, but also our cognitive self —our how we think and how we understand ourselves. By taking care of this aspect of our self, we are able to cultivate mental growth. I do this by reading novels for leisure, writing, trying new hobbies, and engaging in challenging puzzles. Cognitive. 10

It is important to also know that as a human being, we cannot live and exist by ourselves alone. As the famous quote stated, "No man is an island." Having someone by your side helps us prevent loneliness and at the same time, this will also create bonds and memories between the two, much like support systems. As such, I maintain my relationships with others and enhance my social wellbeing by surrounding ourselves with good people, meeting and bonding with our friends, and connecting with them emotionally. As much as our mental health is important, this is the case for our emotional well-being as well. This is most especially true since most of our stress stem from our emotional responses. Hence, the significance of learning and applying methods and techniques on how to manage our emotions. There are lots of ways in which I can nurture our emotional well-being: by meditating, journaling, practicing breathing exercises, utilizing affirmation mantras, setting time for yourself, and even talking things with a friend. Through these methods, I am able to cope effectively and overcome my emotions. Emotional. While prioritizing our emotional self, we also should not forget about our social self. Social. Achieving spiritual self-care includes activities that nurtures the spirit and mind. Some of the activities I can do to accomplish spiritual self-care are meditation, journaling, and spending time in self-reflection. Spiritual. Self-Care 11

9 Dela Torre, Juliana Marchelle L. DVM 1-1 GNED 08 Understanding the Self Midnights Midnights Understanding the Self