This is a reply to a comment by Easter House on one of my blogs, I figured it needs a page of its own so the message can be spread more easily. To view the original comment and reply, please see the comment section on my last piece, One More Day.

I don’t blame you for feeling that way. Truly, we all feel the pain and anger every time we see or read hurtful comments about Maine in TV and in social media. The natural instinct is to fight back and rally in defense. There is nothing wrong with that.

However, it is not as much as to WHY we respond but as to HOW we respond. Anger and pain almost always bring out the best and worst in us, the latter most often. We always think about how other people push our limits and we have no other choice but to fight back. We begin to feel that we are willing to risk polite conversation and turn it into a violent confrontation just to prove our point. At this moment, we have lost our battle.

Holding back and keeping our composure is a virtue. It does not mean we are weak- It means we are in control. We must not let our emotions get ahead of us. Gautama Buddha aptly described it: “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

Let’s all be positive and avoid confrontations. This is the best defense, not against the bashers and the negative thinkers all over the world, but against ourselves when we slip out of self-control.

Remember, even Maine once said: “There is no room for negativity in my journey.. Take it somewhere else.”

This too should be our battle cry, to ignore all negatives and focus on the positives- the good vibes. This fandom was formed out of happiness and love, the least we can do is to try to keep it that way.

I have spent a lonely lifetime

Waiting for my sunshine,

To break through the clouds;

I have suffered through sleepless nights

Wishing for my star,

To light up my world.

Until finally one day I found,

Hidden among the vastness of humanity-

The most innocent of all smiles;

The most mesmerizing of all eyes.

Before me I see

My forever looking right back at me!

And now a chance is given,

To get her nearer;

To get to know her better.

But how elusive still for sleeping,

For reality now is better than dreaming!

And I can’t wait to get to the day-

How longer still until Saturday?

One more day?

One more day!

Is Maine Mendoza really that good?

It has been argued that what you see on the outside does not really reflect what you feel on the inside, that there really is no direct correlation. In a way this is true. People normally present facial and body expressions that belie the real feelings inside- call it a defense mechanism, or a natural human instinct to ensure society does not discover our deepest vulnerabilities. We show what we want other people expect to see from us. We hide everything else.

But watching Maine’s facial and body expressions is like being plunged into a roller coaster ride of emotions! She takes us to familiar but far-off places deep inside our souls. Without saying a word, she speaks quite eloquently! That is why her charm breaks through generation lines because everybody can relate with her. It’s like she has always been there, just waiting to be discovered. And when we found her, we were forever entranced!

At first, though, we found the antics to be quite dull and hackneyed. Amusing. Ehhhh, maybe a bit annoying. But there’s something about the way she does them that is very contagious- we find ourselves unconsciously mimicking the contortions, the varied, wide-ranging facial and bodily movements so mesmerizing its impossible not to get hooked into. We find ourselves drawn to it, building up slowly but deliberately, confusion and clarity and everything in-between all coming in at the same time until a flood of emotions overcome us! We burst into a myriad of sensations, feelings and passions we never thought we had! And we begin to laugh, not at her but with her.

Suddenly, everything about Maine is very fascinating, appealing. She sings and we start singing, she dances and we start dancing, she feigns anger and we feel it- raw and unadulterated.

Is this what they call an addiction?

She winks and we wink back. She smirks, and we smirk back. She smiles and we smile back.

She shows us the spark of a new found love, the joys and pains of loving, the hopes of a love waiting to be requited, the magnificence of that first real sight of a love so long dreamed about.

Then all of a sudden, Maine sheds a tear.

We begin to feel that we are losing our senses. Perplexity. Bewilderment. We want to hold back, but we can’t. Our eyes begin to well up, no amount of pretending can withhold. All our inhibitions go out the front door and a final act of defiance- then the walls come tumbling down!

We cry, like we never cried before. Weeping, sobbing, captivated by the spectacle that is before us. She brings out an emotion inside each and every one of us, one that we have kept hidden so hard and for so long.

And much to our surprise, we find the whole experience somewhat liberating. Like a baby kept in the deep dark womb for so long, now suddenly discovering a vast world so bright and so warm.

Maine Mendoza, Emoji personified, once again triumphed!

Oh what we would give if our phones show Maine Emojis instead of what they have right now. But we need to remind ourselves that there’s a limit to all of these: we have to omit them from our Hashtags, or our mentions won’t count! ~ Vilo

I did not do as well as I wanted to on the test today. But a B is a B is a B, and I’ll take it- it’s not like I wasn’t distracted at all these past couple of weeks, lol! I have another three weeks, I think, before the next one and I’m hoping I’ll do better. Gotta have some cushion before the Finals, otherwise I’ll just curse myself and drown in the misery of studying a bit too hard trying to catch up! Well, we don’t want that.

But I may have some free time later tonight to wallow on some thoughts. Maybe I’ll write it down. Or maybe not. We’ll see.

Men get truly excited over “bad” girls. Yeah, the type that looks sultry, suggestive in a very sensual way. They are the trophies rich old men flaunt for the world to see. If you snagged one, you are the man! You are a winner! Everybody else just drool.

But most men do not necessarily fall in love with them. We fall in love with the “good” girl- the wife material, the one we want to spend the rest of our lives with, the one we can never live without. We are constantly searching for that one girl that we want to get lost with- and make us willing to give our freedom up to. Yep, that one person that we are willing to be trapped with, on a small island, in the middle of the Pacific, after a stormy shipwreck!

And that’s where Maine Mendoza made her grand entrance into our hearts.

The dubsmash videos have nothing to do with it, really. The first time we watched it was like oh, another attention seeker, just like the rest of the world, trying to make it big somewhere. Or so, we initially thought. But it all made sense later.

It was when she became Yaya Dub that we immediately sensed the raw honesty of Maine’s personality in the character. Her real emotions shined through. She is not there for the financial benefits of fame but for the realization of an ultimate dream. Her expressions are very revealing- the first time she saw Alden was looking, her eyes sparkled and grew big, she dropped her guard down and revealed the sweetest smile, the purest face a thousand ships would launch for. A few times her jaw dropped and she fell into a convulsive, very animated excitement. When she got the flowers and chocolate the first time, when she was handed the teddy bear and when she saw Alden kiss her standee, she was unable to hold back her thrill! She can’t get as real as that.

Very subtle expressions of candidness make her really endearing. We especially fall for those very slight animations, the little head twitches, the spontaneous contortion of her face, the little flaring of her nose whenever she‘s getting into a certain mood. And then there’s her eyes! By God, I could swear there’s something in them that just melts the bejesus out of any hardened heart!

And we stalk. Realtalk.

We find ourselves scouring the Internet for anything and everything about her. We feel a sense of accomplishment finding old photos and videos. It is like trying to get to know her well, without actually taking her out on a real date. We find ourselves smiling, laughing, crying over things we see and read about her. We become very involved- the infatuation has now become an obsession!

The attraction, not surprisingly, is not really sexual. Don’t get me wrong. Maine is most definitely, seriously, very sexually attractive! But this is not the primary reason why we fall head over heels. And contrary to popular beliefs that we usually try to take advantage if we find out that a girl is attracted to us, most of us do get a genuine thrill on knowing somebody is taking an interest- and we do find ourselves actually trying to reciprocate.

In reality, we identify ourselves with Alden Richards. We want to be THAT guy, the one that Maine Mendoza only has eyes for.

He is not just the man, he is the man’s Man!

And we want him to feel the way we feel, to champion the standards and principles of how real men fall in love- anything less and he becomes the bad guy. That may also be the reason why Kulas wrote the song Hopia- we feel a little angry, frustrated at the thought that Alden is merely there for the art, for the fame- that he is not so much invested in the emotion, despite Maine’s effortless expressions that she is genuinely interested- showing her real vulnerability.

We become very protective.

It is not as much as trying to win her heart from somebody else, but trying to make her feel that if that guy is not that into you, we are here. We get filled with so much emotions that we feel like the knights of old, willing to become violent to protect our one true love! But as soon as we realize that Alden is beginning to show real interest, we back off and cannot but feel happy for Maine. We get back into enjoying the show, confident and very proud that our representative is willing to do everything to get the girl of his dreams, embodying our ideals and intentions the way we expect him to.

There is more to love about Maine. We can never fathom the influence and the effect she has on people, men and women alike. But for us, the male species of this phenomenal fandom, she represents the princess in the attic. The one who live with a secret love hoping to be noticed- silently, patiently waiting for her Prince Charming. And once he finds her, he will never be the same again. He will never be able to let her go. ~ Vilo

Now I understand.

In your moment of joy, you cried.

In your moment of misery, you smiled.

  

A little bit drunk,
A whole lot hurting..
Since you’ve been gone,
Its you that I’m missing..

ALDUB McDo TVC
I so missed that smile! Thanks a bunch @McDo_PH for bringing it back!

Sana andito ka sa tabi ko.

To stay forever.

To SAY YOU’LL NEVER GO..