AM I CRAZY?

Sharing to you a poem I first wrote in my Facebook page, A Poet's Sanctuary. Hope you will like it. ☺

CYCLE

Sharing to you a short poem I wrote last week. Enjoy my poetry and the feels.. Thank you and check my other blog posts, too!

Isang Linggo

(by maricar alquizola)

Isang linggo lang ang taning ko
Na mawala ka na sa aking isipan
Isang linggo mula ng tayo ay nagpasya
Na hindi na muli pang magkikita..

Subalit, isang linggo na ang nakalipas
Naalala pa din kita sa pinakasulok ng aking isip
Hindi ka pa din mawagli sa aking puso
Pinabibigat mo pa din itong aking dibdib..

Isang linggo, akala ko ay madali lang
Mali pala ako, sadyang andito ka pa din
Nakaukit pa din ang mga larawan mo
Sa bubong ng apat na sulok ng aking kwarto..

Isang linggo, Oo isang linggo!
Akala ko ay makakahinga na ako
Pero sa mga panahon na naglalakad sa kalye
Mga hakbang natin ang aking nakikita sa daan.

Isang linggo, mahabang isang linggo
Hindi pala talaga kaya ng isang linggo
Hanggang kelan ko kaya dadamdamin ito
Bakit hindi pwedeng hanggang isang linggo!

10/21/2015 at 12: 27am
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Tama Na!

(by maricar alquizola)

Tama na!
Utang na loob!
Patulugin mo ako!

Pagod na ang aking katawan
Napapapikit na ang aking mga mata
Pero mukha mo pa din ang nasisilayan.

Tama na!
Tigilan mo na ako.
Ayaw ko na sa'yo!

Sabi ng utak ko na pakawalan ka na
Pero kumikirot pa rin ang puso ko
Tuwing naiisip at naalala kita!

Tama na!
Iniisip mo din ba ako?
Sana tigilan mo na!

Dahil gabi-gabi hindi ako mapakali
Inaanatay ko ang mga mensahe mo
Ang walang hanggang usapan.

Parang awa mo na..
Tama na!
Hindi ko na kaya 'to!

Parang sasabog na ang dibdib ko
Pero nilalabanan pa din ng isip ko
Hindi na sila balanse ng dahil sa'yo!

Tama na, tama na!
Pagod na pagod na ako.
Taposin mo na ang bangungot na 'to!

Ayaw ko nang mabuhay ng ganito
Masyado na akong apektado
Kaya kung panaginip ito, tama na!

Written last October 20, 2015 at 12:20am
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Justin Adriel DeCastro (Up Close With The Boy Who Cried Books)

by maricar alquizola

10/19/2015

Discovery

One night I was so exhausted from work. I don’t usually watched TV but yeah, I took the remote and I saw the interview of “The Boy Who Cried Books” in GMA TV station’s The Reel Time episode. I was hooked up and so I helped myself and search some details from Google. Who is this young man by the way? His story seems so close to my heart since I also struggled during my teenage years. I was totally blown with all the questions in my mind.

So to cut the story short, I became a follower of theboywhocriedbooks for a few months in Facebook. I became Justin's friend and I get to meet him one Sunday afternoon and was able to ask him with some of my unrelenting queries.

Early Childhood Years and Books

At an early age of 3 or 4 years old, Justin Adriel D. De Castro commonly known as “The Boy Who Cried Books” was already exploring his interest in books. These were not just your ordinary kiddie books such as rhymes but he actually read encyclopedia and some golden books (a literary books for kids) as he recalled telling me since they formerly own a school in Romblon and he had some access to good books at the library. It was an act of self-discovery that led him to read countless books in such a fresh mind. Some of the books that he read earlier were The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Justin's top pick when it comes to books are mostly classic authors such as Oscar Wilde, Leo Tolstoy, Alexandre Dumas and Edgar Allan Poe to mention a few. For modern authors, he loves Paolo Coelho and Chuck Palahniuk. He loves reading textbooks and newspapers, too.

For him, reading books makes him more connected to people especially when it comes to discussing it with a friend or a group of people. He is so into politics, literature, law and philosophy books. His influence with books grow stronger because he believes that reading a certain book and being in the mind of each characters create a vast vision of the universe. “You cannot only see the universe by your own points of view but you also get to see it from a different perspective from the characters of the book that you are reading” confidently expressed by Justin.

During his elementary and high school years, Justin was actively involved in sports. He played as a captain in volleyball. Enjoyed playing basketball and he also played guitar rhythms with an OPM band. He had his fair-share of popularity with his intellectual gift, sports, music and even with girls at such a young age.

On Bipolar Disorder and Suicide

Justin was diagnosed with his bipolar disorder condition sometime around June 2013. He was 18 years old. The discovery was a terrible experience for him. “It's like a discovery that I have a cancer or whatever.. and then, there's these medicines that I have to take” recalled by Justin while thinking of that awful situation.

He admitted that part of coping with the diagnosis that time was to first deny that it happened. It was the most trying and confusing part of his life and his family, too. The medicine's effect took a toll in his life especially in his studies since the medicine acted as neutralizer for his mood. He can no longer feel his passion for his studies because he cannot feel the normal emotions of neither being too happy or being too sad.

One thing led to another and he decided to comment suicide two months after his diagnosis. Around August 2013 he was brought to the hospital due to sleeping pill overdose and had to undergo intensive treatment. Fortunately, he survived!

The Boy Who Cried Books (a test of character)

(Photo grabbed from the Internet) 

Another trial came to Justin's life after the suicide incident when one day, he found out for himself that he can no longer go home due to some family matters. It was around December 26, 2014 after Christmas. He only had P2,500 in his pocket and decided to do something for the money for him to live each single day. First thing he thought was to sell honey since he knew a supplier and decided to sell it in Tomas Morato and Cubao areas. The business was doing well. In a matter of three days it was sold out. His capital was doubled but the bottles of honey were a bit heavy and most of the people who bought the product were mere friends. So he realized that it wasn't a sustainable business. Secondly, he thought why not sell books? Since, it has been his passion. So last January 3, 2015 he started selling books with about 14-20 pieces and sell it at a very reasonable price on the street of Tomas Morato. After few months the number of books he had been selling grow more in quantity and it captured the heart of both his clients/customers and the social media enthusiast. A boy who sell books to go back to school was one of the success story of Justin going viral in social media but what made his story certainly peculiar? It is the determination of Justin to beat the odds of life. To prove to the young generation that there's so much to dream about life despite his being bipolar and the family problems. There is something larger than life. There is hope and a promise of his better future.

Today's Inspiration

(Justin doing his talk at Cavite State University last Oct 9, 2015)

After he rose to fame for the succeeding TV, newspaper and blog interviews, scattered photos in Instagram, shares of his story in Facebook, Youtube and Twitter for The Boy Who Cried Books. A lot of help poured out for the young man and he is now back to school at the University of Santo Tomas continuing his Political Science course, in preparation for his dream of becoming a lawyer. He aspire to become a politician in the future and help serve our country in changing the Philippine politics and contribute himself for good governance.

Aside from that he has been doing talks or seminars to different schools and universities in Metro Manila and outside Manila areas with topics such as literature, politics, health, life in general, books, leadership and many more.

When ask how does he joggle everything and what technique he does for maintaining his passion to study extremely? He had this astonishing response, “Sabi ko kaibigan pag tinatamad ka doon ka mag-aral, pagsinisipag ka doon ka mag-DOTA, doon ka makipagdate o whatever.. Kasi studying is supposed to be like breathing. Instinct lang. Wala lang, di mo dapat namamalayan. Ini-enjoy mo lang. So ganoon siya sa akin.”

Moving Forward with Life..

Despite all the trials that this young man went through. Right now, he considers himself being blessed, especially that he has reconciled with his family and is now living with them. “I think I am blessed. If you have good food, some good friends and education, you are much blessed than you think you are.. ” concludes Justin with enthusiasm in his eyes. 

Moving on with some of his tragic past, Justin also shares his typical day that makes him inspire to live one day at a time. “My day usually starts with me drinking a glass of warm water then, do some exercise. I do push ups and jog mostly three times a week. Then, I read the newspaper, do some vocabulary and read at least 100 pages of a certain book in a day. Once a week, I'll go to see a movie or learn one song. I study my lessons. Usually I have one talk or seminar per week. If there's another important matter to attend to just like this interview, so I break the routine because times like this is different from the routine stuff I do each day. Meeting people and talking to them is one way also of learning things”

As his parting words apprise us that “the best thing for me to do is to share my knowledge to people and I think the best and the most efficient way is to run for politics in the future and serve my country because that's one way that I can help many people. But I will still strive hard, little things still do matter. Everyday I will still do my best to help someone who needs me in a little way. Thinking big and doing small” - Justin Adriel Decastro

Indeed, there's so much promising thing going on with this young man that more than meets the eye. If you get to talk to him for sometime or most of the time, you will discover that beyond his beautiful mind lies a better and mature perspective in life. He is not just your any ordinary handsome twenty-year old guy in the corner of the street that you seek to admire only by his physical looks. He is one hell of a great pick. In fact, he is like a mysterious book in a bookshelf, you cannot fathom his truest story, his wit and his character unless you open and read it from cover to cover.. but you have to be interestingly, intellectually gifted to do so or else you'll only end up having a bad headache. Haha (kidding!) But yeah, the smart thing is true! You must be at some point..

TRIVIA QUESTIONS (See below how Justin Adriel Decastro answer some of the fast trivia questions)

Pol-Sci or Philosophy = POL-SCI

Family, Friends or Country = COUNTRY

Love or Career = CAREER

Rain or Sunshine = SUNSHINE

Coffee or Tea = COFFEE

Beer or Hard-drinks = HARD-DRINKS

Fiction or Non- Fiction = FICTION

Sweet or Spicy = SWEET

Writing or Reading = READING

Eyes or Lips = LIPS

(During my interview with Justin. It's always fun and interesting to talk to this guy whether personally or in any way of conversation) 

TWENTY DAYS

by maricar alquizola
10/06/2015 at 8:28AM

Short conversations
Happier longer talks
Smile and laughter
Over books or life…
Interview over coffee
Long walks being astray
Hard and noisy music
Meeting friendly faces
Soak in the cold rain
Part ways with a hug
Continuing wee hour chat
Bloody horror movie
Almond cream cheese sticks
Walking down the streets
Calming massage parlor
Savory subway sandwich
Harsh singing over tequila
Creamy tuna carbonara
Wooden frame of poem
A night before sunrise…

Oh yes, twenty days
With exceptionally but
Twenty lovely memories
Ending for the sake of
Usual commitment
Love for country
May - December gap
In its final goodbye,
No regrets inside
Only understanding
Just see you around
Hopefully, friend…

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