Lately, I’ve been reflecting on transitions. Both in life and in my career. Maybe it’s because life has been reminding me how fleeting it can be. My dog, now eight years old, was recently given a poor prognosis, even though dachshunds often live up to 10–15 years. That news made me pause. I was reminded that we never really know how much time we have, so I want to keep documenting the journey, the work, the learnings, the conversations, because all of it feels meaningful and worth remembering.
One of the things I’m grateful for during this transition is being able to join conversations about the creative industry again. Since midyear, I’ve been fortunate to lead and participate in several creative and professional spaces, such as:
And in person, I’ve joined:
In all of these, I went back to my mantra of listening and learning, then sharing. That mindset has guided me through this season of transition, being part of the dialogue again, but also taking the time to absorb and reflect before contributing.
Because my topic has always been about conversations, my mind has been constantly engaged in ongoing ones, from AI development and regulation to the Generalist vs. Specialist debate, and most recently, the evolution of design tools.
At the Canva World Tour, I realized how much Canva has been investing in supporting the Philippine creative landscape. They sponsored the International Design Conference, expanded their learning platform, and continue to conduct both face-to-face and webinar learning sessions. They are also toe to toe in the AI integration race.
What’s inspiring to me is that Canva’s co-founder, Melanie Perkins, has Filipino heritage through her grandmother. She’s a Filipino-Australian who became one of Australia’s wealthiest women, with roots from both the Philippines and Sri Lanka. It’s fascinating how her vision of making design accessible has resonated globally, especially among Filipino creatives.
I’ve been teaching Adobe tools to creatives since early 2018. Adobe has long been the industry standard, leading the way in creative innovation and even early AI integrations back when AI wasn’t as hyped as it is now. The only challenge then was accessibility. Canva, on the other hand, was breaking new ground by making design more approachable for everyone.
Thankfully, Adobe has evolved too, offering freemium tools like Adobe Spark (now Adobe Express) and growing a stronger creative community. I’m proud to see more Filipino Adobe Community Experts now, including myself 😉 . It is inspiring to witness both Adobe and Canva continue to empower more creators through accessible and meaningful tools.
When I was part of Social Media Academy, I taught sessions like “Overview of Graphic Design (Conceptual and Theoretical)” and “Social Media Graphic Process (Practical and Tool-Based).” In those sessions, I introduced tools such as Canva, Adobe Spark, and Photoshop, and I was reminded that as creatives, we have to stay open-minded not just in the tools we use but in how we grow and adapt. The medium may evolve, but our mission to communicate and connect through creativity remains constant.
Recently, I revisited some of my old demo files from 2017 to 2018. I couldn’t help but smile and give my past self a quiet pat on the back. We were going through something very difficult back then. Around that time, my sister was battling the big C. She was only 18 when she was diagnosed, and by 20, she had already left this world. Despite those heavy days, we still found the strength to be generous with our knowledge, to keep creating, and to keep teaching.
Looking back now, I realize that those moments of perseverance and generosity were not just coping mechanisms; they became a part of who I am. Teaching and sharing have always been constants in my journey. Sometimes I wonder if I ever truly finished grieving, but maybe grief isn’t something that ends. Maybe it transforms, quietly finding its place within the things we create, the lessons we share, and the people we continue to reach.
In a previous blog about the International Design Conference, I reflected on heartbreak and how I wasn’t looking for more. Yet, here we are. Life is fleeting, and so are the lives of the animals we love.
I’ve had pets all my life from dogs, cats, turtles, birds, fish I love nature which included appreciation for farming and plants. Growing up this way, I developed deep empathy. Sometimes, that empathy feels like both a gift and a burden: it fuels my creativity, but it also brings overthinking and sadness. Maybe this paradox, this tension between awareness and impermanence is what makes human creativity so profound. It’s something AI doesn’t have, at least not yet, because machines don’t experience the fleeting nature of existence.
That’s why I believe AI should serve as a tool a way to expand collective human knowledge and creativity, not replace it. I once read that AI is only as “good” as the abundance of human creations that trained it from writing to art to code. I agree.
Because of this, I believe AI regulation shouldn’t focus on limiting invention, but rather on ensuring accountability, transparency, and fair compensation for human creators especially while they’re still alive. Creators need to make a living, and they deserve recognition for the work that enables AI systems to learn.
I’m grateful to have shared this perspective during the “Art in the Age of Algorithms” discussion. I hope that as the Philippines continues drafting AI-related bills, we can build laws that protect and empower, not restrict innovation.
I remember back in 2020, we joined the 2nd Creative Workers Consultation and Study Session by the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, which helped shape the CREATE Law. Since then, I’ve already seen its impact: more creative events, such as DTI’s Malikhaing Pinoy Expo, have emerged to raise awareness. My hope now is for continuous improvement and integration of these creative frameworks into public education.
All of this the work, the reflections, the events circles back to one idea: life is short, but we can make lasting impact.
We may not have proven the existence of immortality, but we do know that our ancestors shaped our present, and what we create today becomes the foundation for the next generation. My hope is simple: that we can leave the creative world and the world itself a little better than how we found it.