I live in New York. I live in New York.

It feels unreal living in one of the biggest cities in the world.

I remembered back in 2004 living in the Philippines my grandparents would show us pictures of their visit in New York and how I wished that one day I could go to these cities that I would only see on TV.

Now here I am. And it still feels unreal.

I always thought that the city looks beautiful at night and from a far. I purposely live out of Manhattan because I get to see the skyline of the city every time I go in and out of it. And at night, there is always this sense of calmness because starting my 40 minute commute to the city lets me get ready for the day then reflect on it on the way out.

I always visualize the building fading into black as the train goes further out and the sky becomes more vibrant like a transition in a Hollywood films. And all you see are the white lights from the windows of people working overtime and the bright blue glow of the sky. As if the city is saying goodnight to you.

My friend's parents asked me the other day why I love living in New York and I told them that the city is a mystery. There is always something happening on every corner. It feels like you are in a new city every day but with familiar structures. And I told them that yes there will be days that are very overwhelming or stressful but once you put your mind and heart in the right place New York becomes tranquil and you become more motivated to do your work. I always see New York in a different angle that it is filled with mystery and beauty.

This image is a picture of the Guggenheim Museum. Simple, balanced, and portrayed in a different perspective. Whenever I take pictures I always flip its natural form and see it through my own perspective. We have our own thoughts and opinion therefore we should start thinking as an individual. A black sheep will always be recognized by the shepherd not because of its color but because of its individualistic personality.

This image reflects to something that I always hear from people around me that they wished that it was a better time so I can really appreciate the beauty of the place. But I don't believe in the right time like looking at the weather if it's sunny or that it is more beautiful during the summer because its warm and the flowers have bloomed. I only believe in the present because if we are always waiting for a certain day then we waste the rest of it. Beauty surrounds us in good times and in bad. You wouldn't tell your significant other that they look ugly and hope they'll look better tomorrow (I hope not), you appreciate who they are no matter what they look, wear, or their health symptoms. Appreciate what you see now and don't wait for the future, but definitely look forward to it.

Fumio Sasaki, author of 'goodbye, things', mentioned how people in Japan waited for a special edition train ticket for hours to later find out that they had ran out. The unfortunate people were furious because of how much time they wasted on lining up for it. But this ticket had no difference to a regular train ticket except it has a different design. Unless you are a train ticket collector, having one of these special edition ticket will eventually lose your interest and will end up in the trash or lost in the abyss of your own belongings. And I used this as a reference because we waste so much time waiting to go from point A to point B that we never appreciate the journey between each points even if we have done this a million times. If you try in one of your commutes to stop reading, or looking at your phone and just be aware of your surroundings we start to notice things that we haven't noticed before, guaranteed that your commute will be extraordinary that day. Live your day like it is your last. You will always find beauty in the present rather than looking forward to the future. And definitely don't go back to the past.

If you think of it, the people that influences us greatly are the frame and you are the painting. A painting with a beautiful frame gives a sense of importance and makes the meaning of the painting even stronger. Surround yourself with positivity and no matter who you are and what painting you might be, you will have a strong structure and you will stay up on those galleries longer.

But also never forget who you are, make it known and believe in yourself. Don't listen to what other people think of you and only listen to your heart.

Even with your imperfection. People will always fail at something but those are the things that we tend to remember the most. Gregg Clunis, author of 'Tiny Leaps, Big Changes', mentioned that we shouldn't be afraid of failure because if we take the less painful way we will never progress in our lives. Learn from your failure and embrace it. Even if the painting shows a little imperfection it doesn't mean it isn't worthy to be in a gallery.

And always connect back to the people that cares about you the most.