The Trying Hard Skill

ALMOST SPEECHLESS

In my high school years, I was called Super Geek. If not me, my friends would annoy me for being grade conscious. All they knew about me was my addiction to academics, programming, gadgets, and something that cannot be written here.

Some knew that I was a frustrated artist for they had seen me draw cartoons in our first year. I, on the other hand, didn’t even brag about this trying hard skill because I had two classmates who were (and still are) far way better than me. What could I do? He he!

“I’m an artist when sketching,” I told myself in my first year, but my friends would see the artist in me when making multi-layered board collages.

I’m an artist,” I told myself again when I turned into a sophomore, but my classmates would see me as an artist when dancing.

“I should be an artist!” I told myself the next year, but my barkada would see the artist in me when acting so great in theater plays.

“Omagulay, ayoko na, ha ha!” I finally told the senior geek in me. However, at that time, I was the one who saw an artist in me when composing songs…beautiful songs with the help of Danica, Carlo, and Renann.

FAST FORWARD…

Okay, I’m now in UP, so what’s next?

College is the real training in life for me to have a decent work in my field of interest. So Super Geek won. I’m now a student from the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute. But hey! I don’t take this the wrong way. I love my course. I want to be a respected engineer. I want to rule the IT world! Bwahaha (evil laugh)!!!

IT’S NOT YET TOO LATE

Sometime around March 2007, I began to scrutinize the elements of Adobe Photoshop. At first, I only edited skin imperfections, red eyes, and lighting. Nonetheless, after one week, I dramatically learned how to deal with this number one photo editing software! (Check out my Photos page to see all my works.)

After two years, I thought of not being satisfied with my works done with the aid of softwares. So, one afternoon at our tambayan (UP Aguman), I asked Kuya Bong to sketch me, but he failed to finish it. Being desperate to have a sketch, the trying hard artist in me took out a piece of bond paper, H and HB pencils, and a picture of myself; I started to draw the curves while feeling the sound of the lead of the pencils. Tada, the sketch looked like me! Everyone saw me being on a cloud nine!

“Omaygulay, I can draw pala!” feeling so mayabang na conio, I told myself. I even had the gut to ask for Ate Karen’s second signature for my sigsheet in exchange for a sketch of her.

From a small picture, her face was scaled to the size of a bond paper. Here’s how she looked like.

I know the shading is not perfect, but considering this as my second artwork, I myself judge my drawing to be great!

Days after she signed me, I realized that it’s not yet too late to express or show someone’s talents. There’s always perfect time for everything.

(voice over -> Super Geek: “Indeed.”)