North Luzon Monitor

North Luzon

Coping with Creativity

Leslie Dulfo
Latest posts by Leslie Dulfo (see all)

As a mental health advocate, I haven’t been often led to many avenues and even courses that consisted of my passion for the arts and creativity. Not to brag, I do hold a college degree in management, a law degree and a masters in public administration.

That’s how far my academic background has led me to avenues even making me overqualified for typical employment. It is a grueling journey where sometimes I am even embarrassed to talk about. On the bright side, writing has always been a passion and the arts has always been a lovely thing.

They have made me cope with the realities of life and have often taken my overthinking mind to calmer waters. I have written poems, read books, listened to soothing music, danced my way to a Tiktok tutorial, drew cartoon characters, took photos to capture moments and slumped over craft papers with my own calligraphy imitation. So I guess, these make me a multi-faceted individual! My mental health journey included various coping strategies where I try my best getting tired of perfection and believing that I can only give my ultimate best.

I do know that we have various vast experiences and one coping strategy may not work for others. But in between things, I realize my strengths and weaknesses and often, creativity has been a great part of me. In-between my fits for lucid intervals, I chanced upon alternatives to coping – from devastating shopaholic to a wanderer/ traveler and beginner yogi experiences. However, although my mind may be in a better state, my pockets weren’t.

I decided to go low-key with much thought about the costs. Considering all things, when you don’t have money then you get back to that deep and dark place – especially when you don’t have enough for your needs. Now, I am trying to achieve that balance and get back up no matter how many times I fall with my trial and error experiences. That’s how I learn and sometimes, that’s how the world works and how my mind works sometimes which is a scary waterloo. Recently, I enrolled for Animation NCII under a TESDA course with the guidance of Cordillera School of Digital Arts. I am enjoying the journey although I first thought it was an Illustration class that turned out to be an animated one! I saw individuals more animated than me. They were great and I am slowly thinking and realizing, I should better stick to writing! But I comforted myself, saying, I am there to learn to improve through creative outlets. I also enrolled in an output-based short course under the Baguio City Creative Council with the mentorship of Gian Carlo De Jesus, an alumnus of Thames International.

This is another scholarship offered to creatives in the city with a two-day face-to-face course and a continuing online course. I am excited for outputs of the creatives which will be pitched b June and exhibited by November. So there it goes, shout out to my professors and classmates at Cordillera School of Digital Arts and to the Creatives under CBCC. The Creatives are called BI for short as Baguio Imagineers and not per se – Bad Influence! Thereby, giving a creative disruption to the colloquial BI word. Eventually, there will be redirections and detours in life.

Yet, I always believe that you will be led to where you are meant to be. It may take time, as it is for a mental health warrior or with a psychosocial disability, but remember it will come. Have hope! By the way, happy May Mental Health Awareness Month around the world! Let’s join hands to lessen the stigma arising from mental health.

Come May 18, the Books and Press Cordillera in collaboration with CBCC, now specifically called Dad-at Literary Creatives that is a writing community, will hold a talk on Writing as a Coping Strategy at the Baguio City Public Library with me as a resource person. Included in the program is the launching of upcoming Dad-at projects and programs plus the people and community heads behind the reading and writing advocacy. Until then, stay alive and kicking!

Carry on and stay strong!

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