Moving forward in 2023
“Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere and sometimes in the middle of nowhere you find yourself.” ~Stacy Westfall
All posts filed under: Youth
Catch your wave
“If you’re having a bad day, catch a wave.” ~ Frosty Hesson
Juan in the Land of Sugar and Smiles
It was a cool misty dawn at 5am when I entered Francisco Bangoy International Airport with a light luggage and camera bag, off to a destination I have yet to find out. Seriously, I have yet to know.
When kids stay positive
“Children are happy because they don’t have a file in their minds called “All the Things That Could Go Wrong.”― Marianne Williamson
Footprints
“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.” ~ unkown
Skimboarder at sunrise in Dahican Beach
Mati, Davao Oriental
© Jojie Alcantara
Waiting for the next wave
“Life is a lot like surfing… When you get caught in the impact zone, you’ve got to just get back up. Because you never know what may be over the next wave.” ― Bethany Hamilton, Soul Surfer
Reflectzen
“Look into your own heart, discover what it is that gives you pain and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain on anybody else.” ~ Karen Armstrong
Through a child’s eyes
“Through the eyes of a child you will see the world just as it ought to be.”
Lost in Benguet
“Being brave isn’t about being unafraid. It’s about functioning through the fear.” ― Jessica Andersen, Lord of the Wolfyn
Reality check
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ― Lao Tzu
Finding Vivian Maier in me
When it comes to street and documentary photography, I am a huge fan of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Steve McCurry, and the enigmatic Vivian Maier. Watching her documentary Finding Vivian Maier was overwhelming for artists like me, inspiring yet saddening to be discovered posthumously. We are so moved by the stunning photography that this quiet, reclusive nanny has sprung upon us unsuspectingly. And yet, where now is the privacy she so wished until her end?
Vivian Maier’s works are gaining recognition worldwide, yet the artist isn’t there anymore to accept or decline her fame. This very private person who grew old alone and died alone suddenly has her life exposed to the world, a past she so mysteriously guarded when she was still alive.
Street kids
“But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” ~ William Butler Yeats
Down by the sea
“If you’ve come in search of me, I can be found down by the sea. Feet in the sand, wind in my hair, the Sea and Me, an inseparable pair.”
On success and happiness
“Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it” ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
Know what you want
“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.” ― Paulo Coelho
Oh the places you will go!
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” ― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Be tough enough to follow a dream
“If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can’t accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.” ― Rosalynn Carter
Bayugyug: proudly Dabawenyo
“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice: It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” ~ William Jennings Bryan
Bagobo kids
“Making one person smile can change the world – maybe not the whole world, but their world.” Bagobo Kids Tibolo Tribal Village © Jojie Alcantara Foot of Mount Apo, Barangay Tibolo, Davao del Sur Taken in 2010 * * * *
Wandering Child
“I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with.” ~ Plato
Kids of Hope Photo Exhibit
KIDS OF HOPE A photo exhibit by Jojie Alcantara (with guest photographers) For the benefit of House of Hope, Davao Children’s Cancer Fund Inc. http://www.kidsofhope.org/ To be announced soon. * * * *
The Scene Stealer 