Warning: I may bore you with the details about myself, but go on if you want to (you never know). 

I’m Khae /pronunciation: try to say the letter K; yup, that’s exactly how it sounds like/. I was born and raised in the Philippines, and three days before I turned 15 was when I officially landed in a place that is 7,342 miles away from home.

I’m an introvert. I act different around certain people. Shy most of the times, but once I get comfortable, uh…I think I just have to leave the explanation to my friends if you don’t mind. I’m the resilient-type; I get over things pretty quickly. I am a positive person; I always look on the bright(er) side of life. My mouth can be two steps ahead of my head. Not thinking before speaking, but I’m trying my hardest to avoid doing that. I can be a real slacker sometimes, which is the thing that my mom dislikes the most about me (can’t blame her). I can be the most understanding person you will ever know, but there are times that even I, myself, cannot understand why I act upset and cry over silly little things (it’s probably because it’s the time of the month; yup, sounds about right). 

I have grown to love winter and fall. I love it when green turn to autumn leaves and drift to the ground in ribbons of red and yellow. I love it when I see a flake of snow falling from the sky to the ground, altogether making the whole world so pure in white. I love the sound and the smell of rain, the smell of sun-dried laundry that has been soaked with a fabric softener, the smell of fresh melons, the smell of books (old or new, doesn’t matter), and most of all, I love the smell of my mom’s cooking. 

It amazes me how you can learn a lot of things from a book or even in just a single page of printed words or a paragraph or a sentence, and if you let it, can change your perspective in life, and this is probably one of the most reasons why I love reading. I love taking photos. Photography has made me realize that everything—even the simplest and the almost unnoticeable little things in the world—has its beauty. My dad once said that I am the happiest when I’m eating, and I long have proven to myself that it is true. I love having food in my mouth. When I lie awake in bed at night, 93 percent, thinking of food, of what I am going to eat the next day; and the remaining 7 percent, oh, just thinking of some other things. Exactly the same thing happens when I get up in the morning: I am, once again, thinking of food. It is a never-ending cycle, and I know, I know that you totally understand what I am talking about. 

I always imagine myself lying in a hammock under the shade of a tree while the birds are singing for me in the background, or sitting on a bench up in the balcony that overlooks an ocean in where the waves are crashing with the sun setting on the horizon beyond as I read and let myself get lost in a book, escaping reality.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. It’s a cliche, but when it comes to God, there’s no such thing. Terrible things will happen, greatest things will happen; but we just have to believe that God has his reasons why he lets things happen in our lives. We don’t know what those reasons are exactly, but holding onto our faith is the best thing that we have to do. Those reasons may bring us happiness; they may bring us sorrow, but there is always something good to come out of everything. Because God has planned amazing things for us, things only best for his children. Always remember that. 

I am Khae, and I am forever thankful to God, who is unfailingly and unconditionally loving me and giving me life everyday. 

P.S.: Feel free to feed my box. 
P.P.S.: Smile, it looks good on you.