I Know Write MNL: 1st Teen Bloggers Meet-Up

Hello everyone! First of all, my apologies for not posting new stuff here. Been crazy busy the past few months with school, my 21st birthday (which happened few months ago already and I still haven't posted anything about it--YEAH! My sched's that cray!!!!), and trying to basically absorb the idea that I am now 21.. Teehee.. But I swear I'll try to post as often as possible..

Well, for my newest blog post after what feels like forevs, I've decided to feature what went down during the very first teen bloggers meet-up that I've attended: I Know Write MNL.

#OOTD: Bershka Polo, Topman Top, Aldo Dog Tag, Forever21 Skinnies, G-Shock watch.

Read more about my I Know Write MNL: Teen Bloggers Meet-UP experience after the jump!


So, you ask: "What is I Know Write MNL?". I Know Write MNL is a Teen Bloggers community mainly founded by Jodie Alejaga, Arielle Guevarra and Nina Alvia aiming to unite young bloggers and inspire them not only to write their hearts out, but to write responsibly. Hoping to inspire more bloggers throughout Manila, they decided to organize a meet-up that happened last 22nd of February, 2014 at Kuppa Roastery and Cafe, Fort.

The official event poster.

Eventhough I'm no longer a "TEEN", (cause yeah, I'm already a young adult *sobs sobs*) I was so intrigued by the fact that there'll be something like this kind of event. I was seriously so psyched the moment I learned about this meet-up and decided to sign up and register. Just thinking how many blogger friends I'll meet through this event excited the jeez out of my nerves! Also, I was looking to find inspiration on how to be a more responsible blogger. I wanna learn more on what to write and post on my site, how to capture the interests of general readers and how not to be someone who just rants and let other people read the bad thoughts they have (believe me, I can be a super b---h when it comes to expressing my feeling sometimes---yeah, most of the time!!!).

I Know Write MNL board.

Venue is at Kuppa Roastery and Cafe, Fort BGC. The place itself is so posh and chill at the same time. Loved the place's ambiance. Perfect for barkadas hanging out after class or just for your weekend coffee and pizza fix.

Kuppa Roastery and Cafe, Fort aka I Know Write MNL's Headquarters.

Upon arriving at the venue, I felt a sudden gush of embarrassment as I saw kids (like, literally young girls!!!) walking around fixing stuff and decorating the place. There I was, almost a 6 footer who just turned 21 a month ago that time, attending an event organized by teenage girls for teenagers! OHMYLANTA! I was seriously hoping someone near my age would show up and we could be instant BFFs but unfortunately, I was the oldest attendee! The next participant that came close to my age was 18 and the youngest attendee I think was around 12 or 13 years old. But in true Yannie fashion, I kept my cool, flaunted my smile and tried to charm everyone hoping they'd forgive me for crashing their event. And I swear, this is definitely one of the most life changing event in my life!

Giddy girls decorating the neat venue. So young and talented girls they are!

The feels is like a long-table meeting. Very chill, indeed! :)

Loving Kuppa's ambiance. Very chillax! :)

Our designated seats were adorned by this cutie patootie name tag made by Arielle.

The program started with us introducing ourselves and saying something about our blog. I didn't know that time that there are different kinds of bloggers: The Fashion Bloggers (the most common ones nowadays, they are the fashion freaks and blogs about the latest trend in fashion, outfit posts is a must on their blogs), The Art Bloggers (those who draws stuff and takes interests in anything artsy fartsy), The Food Bloggers (blogs about the latest trend in food, the newest and hippest restaurant in the Metro and reviews the fad food everyone's raving about), The Photography Bloggers (who blogs about their superb photography skills) and etc..

Also, the founders introduced a bit of their selves and how they came up with the idea of the meet-up, talked about the most common #BLOGGERPROBLEMS they encounter when writing their blog entries and facilitated a "Human Binggo" type of ice breaker that helped us know more about the people who attended.

Nina Alvia, Fashion Blogger. 1/3 of the I Know Write MNL founders. This girl is stunning! And I can't believe she's only a High-school student with her towering height and gorgeous face. I know this girl will someday be known for something, might be a model or a celebrity perhaps! So pretty!

Arielle Guevarra, Art Blogger. 1/3 of I Know Write MNL founders. Her art works are insanely superb! The drawings are like drawn by Disney artists! Gosh! Such a talented gal!

My personal favorite: Jodie Alejaga, Personal Experience Blogger. 1/3 of I Know Write MNL founders. This girl is super sweet and welcoming! She never made me feel out-of-place even if I'm the oldest among the attendees. She also led the prayer before the program started. This girl is like a little sister to me already and I love her severely!

These girls are beyond beautiful! I was amazed at how dedicated they are in making the event possible. My heart is genuinely happy to meet them. I've never seen someone of their ages who's willing to make time and effort just to organize a community of young bloggers. I know for a fact that these three will make it big someday that's why I didn't waste the opportunity to have a photo taken with them as a remembrance.

Jodie Alejaga, Arielle Guevarra and Nina Alvia, the founders of I Know Write MNL.

Food were served after the short chi-chi and intro. And boy, the pizza's super yummy! We were served different flavors of pizza and I can't help but to try each flavor (eventhough we were asked to have only 3 slices each, mwahahahaa!!!!), Kuppa's pizza is definitely something worth trying! We were also asked our choice of drink between cranberry juice and iced tea. I chose cranberry!!! 

During the middle of our snack time, we were informed that the guest speaker, Arianne Serafico, blogger enthusiast of wonderrgirl.com already arrived. And I just love her! She's a real trooper! She arrived wearing a white button-down shirt and an uber-cute blue skirt powered with a fab hair with faded blonde highlights, a great way to express how uniquely elegant she is! She had no qualms on jumping and sitting on a corner ledge despite wearing a skirt while giving her talk.

Such a trooper! Love her!

After sharing what she've been through while on her early days of blogging, she gave lessons on how to engage your blog readers with interesting and inspiring topics. She also shared some common blogging problems that she encounters. She encouraged everyone to be fearless and blog responsibly. Love how she interacts with the group, asking everyone their opinions before giving her insights. I salute how willing she is to give talks like this, and I adore how far she's gone from blogging and now making her own name in her chosen career. I do hope I'll be like her someday.

With Miss Wonderrgirl herself, Arianne Serafico.

Event cupped off with a sweet little bowl of fruits and milk served to us. A sweet ending to a sweet event, indeed! :)

Yummy Fruits & Milk!

Ofcourse, this whole thing won't be complete without lots and lots of selfies and picture taking! What do you expect when bloggers gather together? Hahahaa! Like what I've said, this is one life-changing event for me. Not only did I get to learn a lot on how to blog properly, but also I've met new friends. Cidee Despi and Lara Labitoria, these lovely gals are my I Know Write seatmates and I swear these two are deffo so cool! Love how prim and proper Cidee is and how Lara's the happy-go-lucky kind. We even did a shoot after the event at High Street. I honestly don't remember most of the attendees anymore but I still know Andee, another pretty and super nice gal who approached me and expressed her interest in Fashion. I just love kids who know what they want in life at such young age. I say, go for it Andee! I hope to bump into you on the hallways of SoFA soon! Also, I find Gabe interesting. I've been following her on Instagram and boy, this kid's got a knack in taking superb photos!!! Good job!!! I know since that day that my blogger life won't be the same cause of I Know Write MNL. They are my new family now and I love this team so much!

My I Know Write MNL family.

Wacky shot---a MUST! :p

Blogger selfies!!!

More photos... Credits to I Know Write MNL Facebook page, Arielle Guevarra, Nina Alvia and Lara Labitoria for the photos!

So young, yet so talented!!!!

Did I mention how gorgeous they are???

My blogger sisters! (P.S. I love how white I am at this photo! Lol)

While listening to Ms. Arianne during her inspiring talk.

Lovely gals!

Like what I've said, I Know Write MNL changed my blogging life. Why? I am proud to tell everyone of you guys that I am now part of its Elite Team alongside Jodie, Arielle, Nina, Cidee and Lara! Yupp, it is my honor to tell you as well that as of this writing, we are already spreading the word about the 2nd leg of I Know Write MNL's teen bloggers meet-up! Due to their commitments at school, Arielle and Nina won't be able to join us at the 2nd gathering that's why Jodie appointment Me, Cidee and Lara!

More about our Summer Party on my next post! So better keep updated cause our special guests are beyond huge! Something to wink about! Hehee..

XOXO,

YANNIE :))

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*huggs!*