The sequel to her first Young Blood essay, "Tapping into my mother's mind," this one narrates the dreams the writer has had of her estranged father.

Natalya Patolot is a 21-year-old BS Communication Technology Management student at the Ateneo de Manila University who aspires to achieve her dreams and to inspire those around her. When she is not busy with her academics, internships, and business ventures, she does freelance writing from time to time.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

Get your calculators and have your pens and papers ready because on this episode, our featured Young Blood writer will talk about the importance of mathematics in life and in the current pandemic. One thing this pandemic has taught the writer, a math major tired of looking at math without numbers, is that math is necessary.

Of course, it is also boring, it is exhausting, it is tedious, it is difficult — but one can’t deny how important it is. And today, he talks just about that on this episode.

Jim Ralphealo Mijares, 21, is a junior at the Ateneo de Manila University, taking up both mathematics and education. He is currently in Dumaguete.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

Join us as we welcome December with The Quotation Marks Project (TQMP)! TQMP is a non-government, youth-led organization that aims to give voices to non-prominent people by showcasing how inspiring and relatable they are through their words, both written and spoken. The organization believes that everyone has a voice worth listening to, but not everyone has a platform in order to let their voices be heard. It would like to break the stigma that popularity is needed to be noticed.

Aaliziyah Cabauatan is the Founder and Executive Director of The Quotation Marks Project. She is a freshman in De La Salle University-Manila currently taking up AB Literature. She is passionate about sharing her ideas through her podcast and amplifying the voice of non-prominent people through her youth organization.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

Growing up in an unconventional family setup is difficult and at times, frustrating. Those of us who never had the chance to have meals with a complete family or perhaps to spend events and milestones in our lives with both our parents can attest to this. It is painful, but as what our featured writer says, this pain must be embraced. Listen more to find out why and how exactly he has done this.

Nathaniel Magpantay, 25, works as a communication instructor at First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities in Tanauan City, Batangas. He finished Master of Arts in Communication Arts at University of the Philippines Los Baños. He enjoys reading coming-of-age novels and watching Filipino films and Japanese anime.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

While some premature babies have serious medical complications or long-term health problems, many also go on to live normal healthy lives. Leah, this week's featured writer, is one of the lucky ones. But prior to that, she had to go through a series of milestones to overcome her sickly childhood before being completely free from serious negative impacts of her premature birth. She tells us more about her story on "Premature baby."

Leah is a ludicrously passionate individual who wears many hats. She produces The Young Blood Podcast while studying Applied Math and working with Cindy Pom, former CBS International Correspondent and Creator of Newsthink. In her other life, she is a computing enthusiast, a public speaker and a writer. Most passionate about innovation and social impact, finding creative solutions to exceptional problems is her 'why'.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

Opening up may be hard, but many patients with cancer find solace and unexpected benefits by sharing their stories. And this is exactly what Alexa did. She may have hesitated to reveal such a personal and vulnerable part of her life at first, but she summoned the courage to speak up. More so, with COVID19 at its peak during her diagnosis, Alexa struggled but fought on and bravely shared her story.

Alexa Grace Fontanilla is on leave as a Juris Doctor student at the University of the Philippines College of Law. She is proud of her indigenous heritage Tuwali community of Kiangan, Ifugao. She loves the outdoors, but for now she mostly enjoys baking bread, journaling, and reading books.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

For this month's Special Episode, we have "Sirang Plaka: Paano Laspagin ang Gasgas with Carlos Palanca Memorial Awardee Salvador Biglaen" in partnership with Miranda Training and Tutorials (MTT).

About MTT: Miranda Training and Tutorials is a community of inspiring and passionate mentors. They are dedicated to making a variety of relevant training and purposeful lessons accessible to students of all ages. We believe that everyone should strive to be wealthy in mind and spirit.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

If you're a fellow bookworm, this one's for you. Co-hosted by our Associate Producer, Grazziella Pillado, and our host, Michael Morales, this essay explores the life of an avid book reader and book-hoarder.

A self-confessed nerd, Christian, 28, is a college instructor of medical laboratory science at San Pedro College, Davao City. He is a registered medical technologist but he is also passionate about the arts and social sciences. When he is not working, he is content with reading books, watching films, and trying not to go insane in these anxious times.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

This week's featured essay is about the art of appreciating the mundane and making sense of the world around us. Co-hosted by our Content Manager, Joana Bartonico, and our host, Michael Morales, this episode tackles life's mysteries and gifts. As the featured writer says, "Some people are lucky to have overcome the mystery and gone on to discover the gift awaiting them."

David Hinolan is an avid fan of Asian shows, specifically Chinese drama and Chinese-pop. He is passionate about two things --- pharmacy and eating. During his free time, he plays Nintendo games.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.

Resilience, the very concept that we were conditioned to love growing up, is not unique to us Filipinos. Anyone from any place on earth, if given a challenge, would adapt to it and bounce back. But what could be unique to us is the chronic negligence of those in power to prevent people from having to always rely on their resilience in the absence of anything else. And this negligence goes back generations, resulting in complicated problems that spawn even more complicated problems.

Hear more about what this week's featured writer has to say about resilience on this episode co-hosted by our Content Manager, Yvette Fria. | Jairus Cabajar, 28, likes to tweet. He used to work in the frontlines as an internist. He hopes, just like everyone else, that this pandemic ends soon.

About our partner: The University of the Philippines' Consulting Group (UPCG): Now in its second year, The Business Building Bootcamp (BBC) of the UP Consulting Group aims to educate small business owners on ways to take their business to the next level.