The essay challenges the idea of "mainstream" because it shows how movies, reels, or even ads, often focus on aesthetically romanticized lives while ignoring lives of people who also deserves to be represented. I sometimes feel invisible because I cannot find my own struggles and even the small joys of my life reflected on screen—that the journey I have is irrelevant like there is little to no progress, and instead of letting that pain of reality crush my will and soul, I hold on to the belief that my story also matters and that it simply has not been given its time yet. I believe that one day, stories like mine will finally be shown, and when that happens, it will not only prove that every life, no matter how ordinary, deserves to be seen, heard, and valued, but it will also remind me that every effort and struggle I have faced was leading me toward that moment.

The essay challenges mainstream stories by showing that teenage life is not limited to the red cups, disco lights, and nightouts often portrayed in different medias. Personally, I used to think I was missing out because I never had those experiences, but instead I had long jeepney rides, drinking sodas in plastic bags with friends, yelling “para!” for those who want to get out of jeepney even if we don't know each other, and sharing small but meaningful moments like helping each other with my friends. These uniquely Filipino experiences made me realize that my own story is just as authentic and valuable as the ones I see in films.

The essay “Why don’t I see my own life on screen?” challenges traditional ideas about mainstream stories by making the readers realize that the Western media that we consume is not the golden standard of being a teenager—it is just a piece of highly curated, and somehow idealistic notion of teenage life. For instance, when I've watched some clips from Euphoria on tiktok, I felt like I'm not experiencing my teenage life to the fullest—from the the angst of their relationships, to their dramatic graphic liners. But I realized that life is not something that is always romanticizable, and picture ready—sometimes, it is the boring, no background music, no neon lights, that is somehow even better than what we see on screens.

Most of the time, people's minds are formed by how the screen depicts various ways of life, it is so ideal that most people are amazed.  The essay debunked the main stream idea by changing its point of view, which presented contentment and doubt in what we observed on the television.  Being the youngest in the family does not imply being the favorite, not all families are like that yet the screen has formed people's perceptions that practically every youngest in the family is the favorite.

BSE-Englsh 3A

The essay “Why I don’t see my own life on screen?” challenges the ideas of a "mainstream" story by showing that not all lives need to resemble those in Western movies, especially the ordinary but meaningful experiences of Filipinos. As someone who likes to watch Western films, I realized that I often compare myself on the perfect images of their stories and feel that my own life does not match just like my own experience of riding a crowded jeep, where I almost pretended to sit just to get home, clearly shows how local realities differ from the comfortable bus rides often seen in Western movies. However, the essay shows that even simple struggles are real stories worth telling. 

What you see is what you get. Well, the essay contradicts this phrase simply by telling everything that we see in any social media platform may vary depending on our social class. After I read the essay, I realized that I once dreamed to have the college life that I always saw in social media, it is fun, romanticizing life but, then after the end of the day, we need to live the life that we have and that's when I realized I need to work hard to experience some of those college dreams that I have. Right now, even though I don't have the means to fulfill some of it, I will surely make a way to still make my day occupied by doing the things that really matters. I always thought myself to be contented and live by what I have. And I thank you.

Personally, I have never had any experiences in joining educational trips/ field trips because of the two reasons; (1) We don't have sufficient money for me to join such activity because my father's income is only enough for our basic needs, (2) My father don't want me to go on such trips because it's too dangerous for me that he's only after my safety.

When I didn't know the reality of life back then, I used to hate my father for not letting me join such because I was so jealous of seeing all my friends come, just like the typical life of teenagers in western movie and that's when I realized that I don't have to join such activities to feel belonged. Understanding our situation is what pulled me back to reality—that fantasy and reality are the two pills I had to swallow hardly—I then promise to myself that yes, I may not be able to join any fancy trips, but I'll work hard to spoil myself in the future, with my father, travelling alongside.

Personally, as the eldest daughter among the five siblings, I don't have the luxury to always be as expensive as Regina George, or even pursue whatever degree I dream of early on, like Elle Woods—the only luxury I can confidently say I have is the fact that I have a loving and supporting family who always never failed to call me over when it's already dinner time and a work my auntie gave me for extra income. A carefree and cool life is possible, I do think it is—but never when you're financially unstable, never when your own country's government officials are corrupting the country to the core, never when the tax evaders/money launderers gets more richer as the poor gets poorer.