Author: Evan Tan
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A Softer World
“”Little Children on a Bicycle”, by Ernest Zacharevic (taken during my first visit to Penang, Malaysia in 2013) I’m lucky. Before I begin to even delve into the many things that I feel lucky to have (which is not the intention of this post), I understand that it sounds as if I’m smug about the…
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Counting Down the Days
A blur Where did the year go? (And how many people across the world are saying the same thing?) Truth be told, there were times when I’d remember a memory (the Coldplay concert in Taiwan, for example) and realize that it happened just not too long ago. A few days, a few weeks, a few months…
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Higit sa Salita
Dear Ate Belle, Kamusta? Alam ko na wala namang point na magsulat ng sulat sa mga patay. Pero iniisip ko, siguro, kapag pwede na ang mag-time travel, madadala ko itong sulat na ito sa’yo. O baka, merong makakabasa ng sulat na ito sa future, at magta-time travel siya para ipabasa sa’yo. Mahigit isang taon…
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Let’s Talk About Depression
Siumou Chow’s “Solitude”, taken during a 2014 trip in Penang, Malaysia Recently, comedian Joey de Leon got a lot of flak because of his insensitive remarks about depression. “Yung depression, gawa-gawa lang yan,” he flippantly said, and asked people to not support anyone who claims to suffer from it. He has apologized since. A lot…
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Of Growing Up, Getting Along, Letting Go, & Being Grateful (An After-Birthday Post)
Thanks Shaira Luna for this photo 🙂 After four years, my good friend friend Adele and I finally met again, like the old days. She was attending Muni’s zero-waste lifestyle meetup this afternoon in Makati, and since my Saturday morning was free anyway, we thought we should meet over coffee. (The coffee part was actually a…
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A Life More Valuable: Overthinking Mikhail Red’s “Birdshot”
You might have heard about (or a permutation of) the popular trolley problem in your Philosophy class. It goes like this: A speeding train which lost its brakes is about to hit five people ahead. They won’t be able to get out of the way in time. There is, however, one option to rescue all of…
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“If you don’t like where you are, move! You’re not a tree.”
Too literal, but you get the point. (Taken in Angkor Wat, 2013) This is really personal, but let me explain. A good friend posted on Facebook that status update a few weeks ago, and I suddenly remembered it today. I’m not one to position myself as a relationship expert, but when a married couple who’s…
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I Want More, But I’m Mourning: The Confessions of a Guilty Consumer
A scene from the documentary “The True Cost” A version of this essay appeared on 2nd Opinion. I write this while wearing my boyfriend’s white Zara shirt. I decided to put the white Topman v-neck in the laundry basket because I felt it looked, well, dated. It also felt less structured than before. After only…
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Pink Isn’t the New Black: When Marketers Pinkwash and Queer-bait the LGBT Community
The LGBTQ+ community is not a trend, so marketers should stop with the queer-baiting, and start giving us their concrete support. A version of this essay first appeared in Adobo Magazine‘s first-ever Gender issue. Any gay guy will tell you: it’s not unusual to hear a straight cisgender person ask, “Sino sa inyo ang lalake o babae? (Who’s…
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We Are Always Better Together
This essay was delivered during the launch of Baker & Mackenzie Global Services Manila’s LGBT+ Circle Allies Program in Taguig on June 23, 2017. My mom is not a bad person. I’d like to think she’s not. Like most mothers, she did the best she could, with what she had. But not being a bad…
A Writer from Manila 