aLi-ve: Softwares That Matter to me the Most

I've been on this Earth for 24 years and along the way, I realized that, next to studying and learning new things, there seemed to be nothing more fun for me than collecting and doing hobbies. To make it sound a bit more profound, I have been looking for ways to fight off boredom while maximizing my capabilities. Among my many hobbies, I have my main three subjects of interests: music, stories, and art. Correspondent to them, of course, are softwares or applications that enable me to do them more conveniently, process and storage-wise.

Starting with the first one, music.

I used to be a singer. Not just because I sing for fun but, you know, as in -- I was someone who was called upon, requested or invited to come up on stage and sing for entertainment or competitions. It all started with intermission numbers at an early age of five, to joining contests in school or from town to town at the age of six and onwards. Like most good things, however, it came to an end; something happened to my vocal chords, I got diagnosed with acute bronchitis later and then found it difficult to sing my usual vocal range and then it came to a point where my parents had me go through a therapy of some kind by enrolling for voice lessons. It got better but without regular sessions, my voice couldn't keep up. I guess that was really it, I was just not able to accept it right away and tried to find ways to at least get back what I once had. Now, although I no longer sing in public, I still have this skill with me and my voice doesn't ring wrongly in my ears just yet. On top of that, I learned how to play musical instruments such as guitar, flute and piano keyboard. While I was in college, I discovered about "youtaite/utaite". I was already in love with Japanese music and the idea of recording had not appealed to me before as much as it did at that time. It got me acting impulsively that for my eighteenth birthday, I asked my parents for money to buy a professional microphone (which I still have with me today, by the way, it has been 6 long yeeaaars!). I do recording nowadays, usually covers of Japanese and English songs, using the software called, "Audacity."

It is the "a" in the title, "aLi-ve." I don't really want to call them, "softwares I can't live without," but figuratively, yes, that's what they are, which is why I decided on that title. The logo of Audacity is shown in the illustration above.

Going back to the topic of recording, although I do make projects on Audacity, I almost always don't publish them. They're mostly just saved and stashed away in the folders of my personal computer. Here's a sneak peek:

There is just something satisfying about making them -- it is the process that makes this software indispensable for me. It makes me feel good that I am still capable; as well as, to have that confirmed. When it comes to my hobbies and interests, the only validation I need is one that comes from myself. Audacity makes this possible. It's a free software, too!

Next: stories, or the act of consuming them: reading.

I am a late-bloomer when it comes to reading. I only discovered that reading is fun when I was seventeen, some time after my first year in college. I came across a really good novel series on Wattpad. It was a cross-over of almost all known mythology and religious stories. The writing style, humor and plotline hooked me too strongly that I remember a time when we were in the middle of the exam seasons and even then, I still made sure to take some time off my tight academic schedule to read the novels included in that series. After that, recommendations came one after another until I finally got out of Wattpad and made it to actual novels registered in Goodreads such as those from various parts of the world, originally English and translated-into-English ones (mostly from China and Korea). Then I discovered e-books that can actually be read offline, especially those with "epub" format. The app I have been using for so long to read these files is, the "L" in the title, "Lithium" with this logo:

With this app, I can read anytime and anywhere. Books become so easily accessible. In addition, I could highlight, leave notes or comments and bookmark pages. Because I love this app so much and owe a lot to it, I upgraded mine to the Pro version at a reasonable cost.

Lastly, and my most favorite at the moment: art. Specifically, digital art.

I still can't forget the first time I explored into this unchartered territory. Pandemic happened, right? Both work and classes got suspended for a month and a half at that time and what better ways are there to make use of such free time than to discover and learn new things? I had already known how to draw traditionally (on paper) ever since I was young but that was just it: I can draw trees, clouds, humans in simple perspectives (just the face, I think). During the COVID-19 Pandemic, I wanted to enhance that skill but digitally but then I found out digital art was like a whole new world entirely. A lot of apps were recommended online but the most frequently mentioned that was best for beginners was the app called, "IbisPaint" or "IbisPaint X". This is the "i" in "aLi-ve".

The first time using the app was terrible: the white canvas on the screen made me feel so little and helpless; the nothingness was too loud; drawing a single line made me feel so insecure. I didn't know what I was doing. Fortunately, I didn't give up and explored the app almost everyday. It has been three years since then and because of practice, perseverance and using references, I can say that my art has improved.

This is the first digital art I ever posted on my Instagram account:

And this is one of my latest creations:

My hobbies keep me sane, grounded and whole. I guess this is the ultimate reason why I need these three apps in my life -- they are a few of my absolute necessities.