Hi! Welcome to my page!
I’m Leigh-Ann
Grandeza-Carillo. Please call me
Lilet. I’m a CPA by profession and a
wannabe artist (in whatever form) at heart.
I am 28 years old as of writing and happily married to my high school
best friend. I was born in General
Santos City, studied college and worked in Davao City, and am currently
exploring the possibilities in the Middle East.
The Love of
Writing
It was my Mom
who first encouraged me to write my dreams and emotions on a journal. I started writing on my personal diary when I
was in fourth grade (?). Well, as far as
I can remember it was the time when G-mik was a hit TV series. Thanks to Camille Prats’ “Dear Diary” intros.
Haha! True enough, it helped me
understand my emotions better and honed my communication skills. Plus, it helped me realize how corny my daily
entries were. >.< But more
importantly, writing remains a therapy for me.
I’d probably go insane if I wouldn’t.
(Nge!)
Now here comes
the drama.
At some point
in my life, I felt like I lost the drive to achieve. I sulked and allowed sadness to overpower
me. Then, I tried to write again. It was then that I realized that losing a
very important piece of my heart was at some point the triggering factor to go
back to something I love.
If I were not
a number-cruncher, I would probably be working for a magazine. Creative writing and journalism were actually
my top choices when I applied for ADMU and UP, respectively. Working for Candy Magazine or Seventeen was actually
one of my dream jobs. Well now,
thanks to modern technology anyone can create his/her own magazine-like online
portfolio. I'm looking forward to making my own.
Behind the Name
Lil-Grand is a
wordplay of the first few letters of my nickname, LILet, and my maiden name,
GRANDeza. The dash comes from the sometimes non-existent
but important punctuation mark in my first name, Leigh-Ann.
I found the
irony in my name amusing, personal and meaningful.
Life may give
us the extremes of everything – the littlest and the grandest. The dash is a symbolism of all those things
we experience in between. And that, my friend, makes life even more exciting.
I pray that in my own little ways, I can touch a life and make a difference in someone's "dash."
On this note,
I’d like to end this with Linda Ellis’ beautiful piece.
The Dash
by Linda Ellis
copyright 1996
I read of a
man who stood to speak
at the funeral
of a friend.
He referred to
the dates on the tombstone
from the
beginning…to the end.
He noted that
first came the date of birth
and spoke the
following date with tears,
but he said
what mattered most of all
was the dash
between those years.
For that dash
represents all the time
that they
spent alive on earth.
And now only
those who loved them
know what that
little line is worth.
For it matters
not, how much we own,
the cars…the
house…the cash.
What matters
is how we live and love
and how we
spend our dash.
So, think
about this long and hard.
Are there
things you’d like to change?
For you never
know how much time is left
that can still
be rearranged.
If we could
just slow down enough
to consider
what’s true and real
and always try
to understand
the way other
people feel.
And be less
quick to anger
and show
appreciation more
and love the
people in our lives
like we’ve
never loved before.
If we treat
each other with respect
and more often
wear a smile,
remembering
that this special dash
might only
last a little while.
So, when your
eulogy is being read,
with your
life’s actions to rehash…
would you be
proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?
