Face of Allure :Sabina Diaz Rimal
MANILA, Philippines – One can find beauty in eyes that seek meaning in life and its opportunities. These eyes not only capture moments that become treasured memories, they also find a deeper perspective in them.
“I believe beauty is a combination of both a subjective idea and an objective quality. Beauty is the judgment of taste yet also an aesthetic pleasure to the senses and mind. Our judgment and the qualities that please us change and are formed by our surrounding society, thus what is beautiful is dictated by the domineering forces in our community — the media, our parents, literature — mixed with our intrinsic senses,” says 18-year-old Sabina Diaz Rimal of Baltimore, Maryland.
Sabina, daughter of Nepali Rajiv Rimal, chair of the Department of Prevention and Community Health at George Washington University; and Ramona “Monina” Diaz, an award-winning documentary filmmaker behind the films Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey and The Learning, acknowledges her parents who formed the person she is today.
“My father has always reminded me to keep an open mind and practice the important human quality of sympathy. I’ve managed to apply this in social situations, in different learning environments and in small personal enjoyments like puzzles and books. From my mother, I understand the importance of personal and communal happiness. If this (happiness) doesn’t exist, it’s harder to accomplish so many things, and life is never as fulfilling as it could or can be,” Sabina shares. She also notes that she is thankful for the time she travels with her parents, which allows her to see the world on a wider perspective.
A recent trip to London with her mother to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum reveals Sabina’s fascination with fashion. An avid reader, Sabina was drawn to McQueen’s fashion theories as they were very much aligned with those of her favorite writers. “After experiencing Alexander McQueen’s fashion up close and personal, I couldn’t get enough of his innovative collections. The fact that one person could, in such a small amount of time, revolutionize an entire market fascinates me. His collections were absolutely stunning. From his crazy, naturally based materials in some clothes to the stylistically simple yet ornate details in others, Alexander McQueen has an uncontainable imagination that allowed him to design amazing dresses, suits, headdresses and more. He believed that one must be proficient in the language of fashion in order to know how to break the rules,” she explains.
Aside from her relationship with her parents, Sabina, who enjoys playing the piano and listening to music, also treasures the bond she has formed with her friends. “I value my friends’ opinions and talents. They don’t necessarily need to be highly opinionated but how they view a situation always allows me to see another perspective of my own thoughts. My friends are also incredibly talented. I believe some of them will be the next greatest musicians, or athletes, or they might advance their respective fields,” she says.
A freshman at Bard College, a private liberal arts college in New York, Sabina brought with her invaluable lessons from the past. One of these lessons is believing in her capabilities and talents. “I’ve learned that having the capability to do something is one thing, but allowing myself to believe I have the capability is another. Positive thoughts can lead to positive results, and this doesn’t just apply to individuals but to a society as a whole,” believes Sabina, who plans to take further studies and travel more to different countries. “Hopefully, 10 years from now, I’ll be able to apply what I’ve learned to the world around me. I also hope I would have traveled to a myriad of countries and would have met many more wonderful people!” she exclaims.
She also shares a turning point in her life when she realized how her teachers had created an impact on her and how they were important role models not just in the classrooms but also in the real world.
“I decided that one day, I will teach — not necessarily at a high school, college or university or something entirely different. This will most certainly be one way I’ll give back to the world,” relates Sabina, who loves the elements of the outdoors that allow her to discover her interests — swimming, lacrosse, hiking — and reflect on life in general.
Sabina believes laughter is the greatest catalyst for happiness. She surrounds herself with positivity through people that matter to her — family, friends, role models and teachers.
“Having people around me makes me happy. I could either be interacting with them or watching them from afar; and the things that people can do and say are all I need to be incredibly happy. The fact that each person has different thoughts, different desires and hopes, different ideas, different ways of expressing those ideas — it’s astonishing how much difference there is in this world,” this stunner adds.
“We should all be doing things that make us happy. But we should also strive to help others attain their own idea of happiness. If, however, what makes us happy hinders a group’s ability to become happy, then we should either reconsider this happiness or change society so that those people can, too, find what happiness is in their lives. If everyone thinks this way, I truly believe our world will be infinitely happier, and thus better,” she concludes. Photos by RamonA DIAZ
