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Menagerie

Dice, paper, and imagination: Exploring D&D in the Philippines

Dungeons & Dragons—commonly known as D&D—is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game that has risen in popularity in recent years. The game’s portrayal in the popular Netflix series Stranger Things was one of the primary catalysts for its sudden prevalence, with the show’s main characters being avid players of D&D and the main antagonist even being…

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Menagerie Menagerie Feature

Of Reiki and reinvention: An inquiry into energy healing

A new decade has arrived; more people are looking to reinvent themselves with a fresh slate. But with every social media post of embarking on a journey toward a “new year, new me”, how many of these people are truly taking action to change and heal themselves for the better? Reinventing oneself takes more than…

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Menagerie

A valid alternative: Understanding in vitro fertilization

The ability to bear offspring is often called the miracle of life. Given how natural conception is often considered the standard, it can be taken for granted just how many factors have to line up in order for this to occur successfully. The World Health Organization reported in 2010 that 15 percent of reproductive-aged couples—those who are…

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Menagerie

Foreign exchange students: Finding themselves far from home

For many, college is the door that opens to a world of opportunities—the stepping stone to widened horizons where one is able to cultivate experiences that compel them to look beyond themselves. Now, more and more academic institutions are offering opportunities to study abroad, and more and more students are choosing to take the leap…

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Menagerie

Dreams: The guiding forces of one’s unconscious

Everyone dreams.   According to the American Psychological Association, our brain conjures up these fantastical images more apparently during rapid eye movement sleep—a deeper stage of sleep. However, while everyone dreams, not everyone has the capability of recalling their dreams. There are those who do not remember the adventures and misadventures that occurred while they visited…

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Work, will, and women: Beyond fitness in an all-women’s gym

Going to the gym takes guts; sometimes the feeling of taking one’s fitness into one’s own hands is emboldening, but other times, it’s an act that can reveal one’s deepest insecurities. The journey toward physical fitness is best done in the company of others, which explains the growing popularity of gyms solely for females like…

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Menagerie

Holidays away from home: An OFW Christmas

In the Philippines, to say that the Christmas season is a long-awaited holiday would be an understatement. Filipinos are known to start the all-familiar countdown to Christmas as soon as the “Ber” months begin. For many, the Christmas season is one packed with family get-togethers and parties. This seemingly inherent reverence for the Christmas holidays…

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Opinion Opinion Feature

Endured

I found it funny how, as a child, I would often struggle with simple multiplication. Granted, I was four years old, and the concept was just taught to me in kindergarten. But the other kids were quick to understand it, and I could feel the mounting pressure of being the only one who could not…

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Menagerie

Framed in stars: The art of parol making

Twinkling strings of lights framing window sills, malls packed with shoppers scurrying to buy last-minute presents, and children singing carols with makeshift instruments—the sight of these are all good signs that the Christmas season is fast approaching. However, perhaps one of the most obvious ways to know when the holidays have arrived, at least in the…

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Menagerie

Hogwarts DLSU and the tale of the Potter Prof

Dark robes with colorful hoods contrasted against the iconic St. La Salle Hall facade. A gaggle of witches and wizards en route to their class, not on broomsticks, but through the Agno Gate. These are only some of the magical sights that students might see around campus once a year. Given how the magic of…