Growing up with Walt Disney

     Were you born in the '90's? When animated films are at their highest height? Well if your were, you might be one of Disney's children. We all know that Walt Disney Films are successful in making traditionally animated musical films right? Well, there are just some kids who grew up with them and got influenced by them during the early years of their lives. One of them is me.

     Yes, I grew up watching Disney Films. Their songs are like the national anthem of my childhood. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dumbo, Bambi, The Lion King, Fantasia, Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, The Lady and the Tramp, The Fox and the Hound, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan, Pocahontas, Alice in Wonderland, The Sword in the Stone, and almost all of them are my favorites. My mom told me that the first movie I saw in the movie theaters was Pocahontas which was released on 1995. Though I couldn't remember watching it at that time because I was still one year old, I remember the memorable scenes of Pocahontas because I watched it almost every time and so are other Disney Films during my early childhood years. I just remember the magical moments when Snow White and Sleeping Beauty got rescued by their prince with a kiss from a sleeping death, when Cinderella turned out to be more beautiful than her step sisters regardless of the dirty rags she was wearing, when Alice discovered a land full of wonders and nonsense, and when Peter Pan invited common children, Wendy, John, and Michael to visit his home in Neverland. I cried during the part when Bambi lost his mother, when Simba tried to talk and help his father get up even though he knew that his father is already dead, when Quasimodo got ridiculed and got laughed at by the ignorant mob of Paris because of his physical appearance, when Tarzan found out that his parents got killed and eaten by a wild jaguar, and when Dumbo was separated from his mother because of the defensive act his mother tried to show when both the people and the animals in the circus teased him because of his large ears. I learned honesty through Pinocchio, bravery and honor through Mulan, and kindness through Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Because of Pocahontas, I learned to respect others no matter what culture they practice, what beliefs they believe in, and what race they belong to. I learned obedience through The Little Mermaid. I learned perseverance, determination, and contentment in Hercules. Not only did these films entertain me, they also taught me great values. I got inspired by the characters and it feels like I'm one of them. Disney Films really did play a great part of my childhood years and I thank them for that.

     That feeling of nostalgia when you try to reminisce these films and when you watch them again. It just feels amazing. Even though I am already a teenager, I still consider myself one of Disney's children. Although nowadays, Disney aren't already producing these kinds of classical films (except for The Princess and the Frog and Tangled I suppose), their old films will always be there to entertain, teach, and inspire me and I believe that one day, Disney will be able to make classical films like these again.

- Angelo Lorenzo

How I Chose to Become a Writer.

     When I was very young, I dreamed of becoming a movie star. To appear in films is just amazing. Who wouldn't want that? But as I grew up, when I was at the age of six, my perspective changed. At that time, I wanted to become an artist. To paint exquisite and remarkable pictures and to become as renown as Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and many more artists out there are my belief of my success and destination. I love painting back then. I remember the time when I painted pictures of fishes, the flags of the United Nations (even though the flag I find simplest to draw is of Japan and my American Flag had only ten stars on it), pictures of sunsets at sea, houses, and mountains and trees. My mom had me enrolled in an art school so that I can learn to paint and draw more beautifully.  I had fun in drawing though. Coloring, shading, and painting are my hobbies back then and I find it comfortable and relieving in my own little way. But over the course of time, at the age of nine, unbelievably, I dreamed of becoming a singer. I started to love music. Not that I'm musically inclined to any musical instruments though. I just thought of using my voice for a different purpose. Singing is actually fun. I remember the moments where I used to sing songs of Josh Groban, Westlife, Celine Dion, and Michael Buble, The A-teens, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, and many more famous artists at that time. I even did a duet with my best friend in our school competition and fortunately, we got second place. That was the time when I became a fan of Pop Idol, American Idol, World Idol, and those hit singing competitions back then. Believe me, I considered it the first "Golden Era" of my life. I made wonderful new friends in our school choir and did good not only in the field of academics but in the extracurricular activities as well.

     When I reached the age of puberty, I was twelve at that time, everything changed. My physical body changed, my point-of-view changed, even my voice changed. I suddenly lost my passion of singing. Although it's not a bad way though. I even thought of it as a good thing. Because by then, I was introduced to a new field. That is literature. I guess it all started with a movie. It was The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Way back when I was a child, I am so interested in mythical and magical creatures like fauns, centaurs, fairies, talking animals, and fairy tales. I think it was because of the bedtime stories my mom and dad used to read to me every night or the major influence Disney films brought me that made me love fantasy and fiction stories. Now, about The Chronicles of Narnia, I got so interested in it not only because of its characters, but because of the plot itself. C.S. Lewis is a blessed genius for those ideas. It's of a Christian allegorical fantasy type of story. It's just unique in its way. When I watched the film for the first time, I got goosebumps way to the end of it and I cried during that part when the White Witch killed Aslan as he offered himself to die for Edmund's place and also during the part where Aslan rose from his death and bested the Witch's curse which turned all the good characters triumphant in the end. The story is amazing and fantastic! After watching the film, I learned that it is based on a book. So, I decided to buy the book and read it myself. I read the book like I was watching the film. Still having goosebumps in a good way from start to finish. Then I decided to buy all the books of the series. Those were The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. My most favorite book in the series is probably The Silver Chair. But I won't spoil it to you because I suggest you to read the book yourself. It's fun! That was the time when I got interested in reading. From then on, I started reading not only The Chronicles of Narnia but many fantasy books as well. I've read J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy, Christopher Paolini's The Inheritance Cycle, Ursula K. Le Guin's The Wizard of Earthsea, and many more. There are countless books I've read and it still is ongoing. The list is just infinite. This was the time when I decided to become a writer. I was inspired by the masterpieces of literature and the products of it. From then on, I chose to become a writer.

     My dream and ambition henceforth is to become a published author. Although I still have to gather more ideas and create my own, I'm practicing to become a successful one. I want to be part of literature. I want to produce my own style and show do something for the world through the field of literature. As of now, although I still have the fantasy genre on top of my list of genres, in terms of reading, my type broadened. I'm reading Young Adult Fiction, Romance Novels by Nicholas Sparks (God bless that man for being so passionate and for knowing how to touch and tickle a person's heart), Thrillers by Dan Brown, and some inspiring books by Paolo Coelho. Someday, I hope to be one of them and I'm going to make that happen.

- Angelo Lorenzo

The Lord of the Flies

     Today I was in a bookstore for quite some time. I spent it with looking and lifting up books and reading its summary written on the back cover. I found some interesting books like those of John Grisham, Danielle Steele, Brian Jacques, and popular ones like those of Anne Rice, Dan Brown, and One Day by David Nicholls which is to be released as a film in theaters soon. But there was one book that caught my attention. That is The Lord of the Flies. One thing which made me like it is because I have heard of that book before. It's quite popular and it's sort of an allegory. I love books which are allegories most especially when they are in the Fantasy Genre like The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (both are based on Christianity). I also like allegories which are inspirational and full of learning insights like The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

     The Lord of the Flies is about a group of British Boys stuck on a deserted island. As they were there, they tried to govern one another until what they received as results are disastrous. The book was written by William Golding who is a Nobel-Prize award winning author. As much as I would want to buy the book, I chose to wait because I want it to be one of my birthday presents this year either from my mom or dad or my sister or my friends and so that I can save money for myself. I'm still trying to figure out why the author chose to name the book, "The Lord of the Flies" as its title. I guess I can figure that out when I am reading the book.

- Angelo Lorenzo

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

     Now I'm currently reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It's about this guy named Charlie and how he shared the happenings in his life. It's a good book actually. There are some chapters of it which I can relate you. It's about the struggle of growing up. About how you cope things and work things out, being independent and responsible, and learning the major things in life. I guess it's similar to the book, The  Catching in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Though I haven't read The Catching in the Rye yet. It's sort of mentioned in Perks though. Anyway, I'll read The Catching in the Rye soon. It's now officially one of my to-read-list.

     To all youths out there having the problem I have, I suggest you all to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It's a book which you can totally relate to.

- Angelo Lorenzo

Ups and Downs

     Have you ever had the feeling of depression? Is it normal for teenagers? Lately, I'm having some major switch of moods. Sometimes I'm happy then after some time, I'm sad. I don't understand it but I'm still trying to figure it out. Could it be because of my self-centeredness? Because I'm always thinking of myself. Maybe. Maybe I should stop focusing too much on myself. Maybe I should be more aware of other things. I should try counting my blessings learn to be contented. I know that there are many people who love me and I can feel it. I should try putting myself on other people's shoes and see how blessed I am. I should try shifting my mind to other things like writing and reading books. Well, writing is fun though. It actually helps. But sometimes writing is slightly difficult because every now and then you try to gather ideas and to collect words which fit to explain those ideas and then to check your punctuations and grammars. Well at least I'd prefer that than being depressed. I can handle it better. The thing about depression is that you over-think things and then it'll lead to negative thoughts. That's what I've done though.

     Now that I have found a solution and that is writing and found out that it actually works, I'll try to add a solution in the spiritual kind of way. That is, praying. I should really ask help and guidance from God. In that way, I can be enlightened not only by my mentality but also my spirituality as well. I believe that as I keep on doing these things, I can finally escape depression and enjoy life the way God wants be to enjoy it. I always believe in God. Even though I am sometimes stubborn and I turn my back against Him, He is always there to lift me up when I am down. Have you heard of the song sung and popularized bu Josh Groban? It's entitled "You Raise Me Up." That's a kind of song that I can relate to. Even though how bumpy my life gets, God is always there to be my refuge and strength.

- Angelo Lorenzo

Introducing Myself

     Hi. I am Angelo Lorenzo. My complete name is Jose Angelo Lorenzo S. Gomos. Sounds too long and complicated right? But you can just call me Angelo or Gelo. This is my first blog. Although I'm not much of a blogger, I love to write. Reading and writing are my passions and I want to pursue those fields. Literature is my language and books are my choice of things. But I still have a lot of things to learn. I could say that blogging is one way to start practicing my literary skills.

     To start of, let me introduce myself further. I was born on October 8, 1994 and to date, I'm sixteen years old turning seventeen this year. Would you consider that young or not? Hahaha! Well, I don't care about how old or how young I am as long as I am living my life to its fullest. Yes, that is one of my major goals. To live my life to its fullest. How? By aiming high, reaching my dreams, and do the best  I can to win this race. Talking about beliefs, I was raised as a Christian. Well, I was born as a Catholic but I converted to be an Evangelical Christian when I was twelve. Back then, I was pretty much zealous and passionate of my faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. But now? To be honest, I lost that zeal. I think it's because of being a teenager. Yup, being a teenager sucks. You have to undergo and discover a lot of things and it'll make you realize some things which will leave you in a state of confusion. I have gone through a lot and there are many obstacles which I will still go through. But I do hope that I'll stay strong. I was taught that as a Christian, our lives depend on what God wills for us. I do believe in that. And I do believe that God has something better than what we are expecting. The Bible states that God's major plans for us involves hope, salvation, and eternal life. Well, I guess I'll just hang on to Him no matter what the circumstances I'm in.

     Now let us talk about circumstances. In my previous paragraph, I wrote that I have gone through a lot. Are you curious of what those "a lot" are? Let me share it to you then. When I was a child, I could say that I was not that physically strong. I've been in and out of the hospital. I don't know why or I don't know how that happened, but all I know is that I was sickly. I get easily sick. There was one time when my doctor told both my mom and dad that I'm underweight. I guess I'm not really into eating at that time. But as I grew up, that seems to be fading away though.  When I was twelve, my mom and dad got separated. It turned out to be that my dad is going out with another woman and that he's fed up with my mom. It really affected me, my mother, and my elder sister. And that was the time that we found the Lord in our lives. That was the time that I felt the Lord working in our lives to strengthen our faith in Him and to help us find salvation and hope through His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It was a friend of my mom who introduced us to the local church and we started attending and participating in every activities they have. During that time, I converted from being a Catholic to an Evangelical Christian and from then on, I held on to the Lord's hand. When I reached high school, it was a roller coaster ride. I was bullied and I didn't really fit in at that time. But I don't really want to talk about it because it was a complete shame and embarrassment. All I can say is that bullying is completely wrong and should be stopped. Moving on, there was a point in my life where I became narcissistic. I started to be obsessed with vanity. Although it's still going on through now, but it's getting less and I believe that it's sort of a good thing.

      Now that I am still going on through my life's journey, I'm facing each sweetness and bitterness, every ups and downs, and every obstacle of it. I'm sorry that I didn't write much because I'm not really into writing autobiographies or memoir. Most especially my own story. I guess I'm still not comfortable enough to explain it in detailed form. I prefer writing fiction though. Fantasies like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, The Inheritance Cycle, and many more. Like I said, I'm still learning my literary skills. So anyway, I guess this is the end of my first blog. I'll write you all soon. My advice to anyone out there is to be courageous enough to face every circumstances in your life, have faith in God, live happily, and most importantly, live your life to its fullest! God bless you all!

- Angelo Lorenzo