Jeff's little life by Jeff Raiven Iway

About

jiway — 2024-08-22 12:33:55 UTC

I am Jeff Raiven C. Iway (he/him). I go by Jepoy for my nickname, but I prefer people not to call me by that; the people closest to my heart addresses me as "Poy" as shortened, which I find cute. I come from Davao Oriental, in a town called Cateel where I live all my life. I was never a photogenic (that would explain there would be few to nil proper pictures of me here). I love the arts. I love poetry and literature. I love many things and I love deeply and passionately (and hating too. I am a hater).

JOURNey

jiway — 2024-08-22 12:46:21 UTC

I have been a campus journalist for seven years (more or less) for my previous school's student publications, Riverviews (English) and Sibol [(Filipino) RVS], at Maryknoll Academy of Cateel. I am an editorial writer (I also write columns occasionally). I am a Jack-of-all-trades (at least, I believe so of myself). I can write news articles, feature, literary, columns, editorials, I can proofread and copyread, do photojournalism (yes, captioning included, which is often overlooked by the public eye), and basically everything that the moderator/s tells me to do. I am not whole without journalism.

RVS A.Y. '22-'23

jiway — 2024-08-22 13:43:36 UTC

This was the year where I first delved into what journalism really is. This is so because most of my years in journalism was in elementary and haven't been that active during the pandemic (although we would be assigned to make articles at times). Basically, this was my first high school experience in journalism. I was then appointed as Opinion Head for this A.Y's. editorial board.

DSPC '23 - I wasn't able to finish my article. I wept after leaving the contest room. Surprisingly, I won 9th place (I think I only won because I quoted Marx). I was not prepared for the competition.

Personality

jiway — 2024-08-22 14:32:27 UTC

I am an INTP according to MBTI's 16 known personality types. Marked as Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and possessing Prospecting traits. Knowing myself, I'd say this is true, but I don't rely much on MBTI's system on determining my character. I am naturally introverted, but would be extroverted towards people I am comfortable with. People would say that I am very creative and poetic and poignant and weird and all; but I'd let them decide. I don't really care about myself in this aspect. I let the world be the verdict. I act on my own and act when I think it is necessary and when I feel like it.

Likes and Dislikes

jiway — 2024-08-22 14:52:02 UTC

Likes (loves): Kimmy (left) and Stark (right), strawberries, peanut butter, books, plants, hugs and kisses, yogurt, fresh air, nature, the saline scent of the sea, coffee; music i.e.: rock, alternative rock, indie, indie rock, jazz, opera, and orchestra; my friends, anyone and everyone who has love, passion, intellect, and empathy (although, sometimes, I'd hate it because of my native pessimism).

Dislikes (hates): Politics, (some) politicians, capitalism, mathematics, the Philippine education system, monggo, noisy environments, traffic; egotistic, oblivious, and socially unaware people; conformity, and the stench of the Devil's breath: carbon emissions.

RVS A.Y. '23-'24

jiway — 2024-08-23 01:29:07 UTC

This was my best year in campus journalism, yet. Filled with joys, struggles, and tears.

A week prior to the editorial board election, I bumped into our moderator, she told me with utmost sincerity (because I was absent at the officers election), "Make sure you're present at the [editorial board] election. Run for a position. I-career nimo ni." I will never forget those words. A week later, I was nominated, with the most votes than of my rivals who are in 12th grade. The rest is history.

Our batch was the first to publish after 13 years since its last publication. Our batch was also the first to conduct and propose an annual campus journalism workshop.

Reading and books

jiway — 2024-08-23 02:00:19 UTC

I am a slow reader. I like to relish and indulge in the moment of the text. In spite of this, it has never hindered my love for reading. I think the first book I've read was Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. It was nice but very tedious because of the archaic words used (and does not engage with the reader). It was a bad pick for one's first book. The book that amazed me the most, and really sparked my interest was The Stranger by Albert Camus. Its first line was "Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday. I don't know." I would highly recommend this. It's not all about the content, but the writing style and the narrator's thoughts and dialogues. I have also read some e-books, approximately 18 of them. I prefer to read in physical books because of the sense of affinity one can have with the book. I am not currently reading anything, but hunting for poetry books.

The arts

jiway — 2024-08-23 03:39:14 UTC

I have a deep, passionate appreciation for the arts. Majority would think that "art" pertains only to paintings and drawings and/or being in showbiz (as the person being in showbiz is called an artist or "artista"). The arts could be music, dancing, and the like. Just about anything that would evoke a feeling within, good or bad.

At times, I try and do drawings—small sketches, but never turned out great. I mostly do sketches of nature and tress and landscapes which are fine. I haven't had proper knowledge about art, but i think I could be a great artist (as in drawing) if only I had the education.

I appeal most to Picasso's works (obviously, as seen in the background of this blog). His enigmatic and stirring works arouses my mind and curiosity. Surrealism is such a unique art movement. It goes beyond the mundane, it does not conform. That's maybe why I like it.

I also admire other artists like Salvador Dali, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Monet, and others

Poetry and writing

jiway — 2024-08-23 04:25:09 UTC

The art that I practice is poetry, flamed by only two people: my first love, and a particular local/national artist. I started writing prose then evolved into poetry. I write in themes of love, longing, seclusion, melancholy, the mundane, and of course, of my first love. I have a poem published in Dagmay: the literary journal of the Davao Writers Guild and in SunStar Davao (as seen above). I write when there is a calling, an epiphany, I seldom write poems deliberately.

Daily Media Consumption

jiway — 2024-08-23 15:17:18 UTC

In a daily basis, I consume about 5 hours worth of media. These includes: news, entertainment, books, and the media in the academe (and chismis). In the morning, right after I wake up, I open my phone to check the notifications, if there are any, if none, I immediately proceed to the bathroom to do my business (with my phone of course), and the day begins as usual as it gets. I use my phone in intervals, but I believe I am not addicted to it, I am just easily distracted. And when the ambience feels like it, I keep rereading my poetry books, I haven't started reading a novel in months.

I'd say the media appearing in my social media platforms are healthy. Because they resonate with me. They do not conflict with my interests. I am the one who shaped what media appears before me, I dictate what I consume.

Political news and memes cover my feeds most. This is a good thing, for my own political and social awareness and knowledge. I sometimes share these political posts if I think they are profound and critical.

The other half of my feeds are also mostly literature, excerpts from books, essay, and author; which I enjoy because of their convenience (the con that I observed is its lack of the full context, because its an excerpt). Though its just a small piece of a bigger whole, you can consume lots of it and learn because of the profoundness amid its smallness.

Aside from all of these, I firmly believe that media (found in social media), does not shape my mentality, attitude, aspirations, and lifestyle. My external and internal experiences would be the ones affecting the aforementioned. Media consumption is just a pastime for me, and does not control my way of life (if it does, for anyone, that's just sad).