Avatar: Mawie

Avatar Name: Mawie

HISTORY

One of my current and fondest nicknames is Mawie. It started when I was still in high school. I am fond of giving cute pet names or nicknames to my closest friends. Usually, I give animal names or animal-related names to them because I love animals and also because these animals resemble my friends’ characteristics in some ways. Example, I call one of my bestfriends Panda because he looks and acts like a panda. He likes to sleep and he likes the colors black and white. I call my other bestfriend Polar Bear because he a white, big and chubby guy like a polar bear. However, it was not really me who gave myself the nickname “Mawie”. I always give nicknames to my friends, however, I myself do not have any animal nickname at that time. I do not exactly recall how it happened. All I remember is that, somehow, I do want any animal nickname like wolf, fox or the like, but I wanted something that resembles me and at the same time sounds good to the ear. My friends tell me I resemble a cat because sometimes I look like one especially when my eyes become very round and shiny or when I smile or when I am bit sleepy my eyes become almond-shaped. I also say “Meow” when I do not know what to say anything anymore or if I have no specific answer to one of my friends’ questions. They say that my personality resembles that of a cat because I have a strong personality. Also, I am affectionate or “malambing”, and at times I am “makulit” and act like a kid who loves to play. Like a cat I love to sleep, but when I am awake, I can’t take it if there is nothing to do (di mapakali). For me, the best cat characteristic that I resemble having is the cat’s survival ability. Even if life is full of trials, hardships, and problems, I will be able to survive and make the most out of these things (of course I attribute this strength to God). However, at that time, I do not want to be called “Cat” so I ended up having the nickname “Meow”. Also at that time, I was the managing editor in the school paper. I needed a catchy name for my editorial column so I called it the “Cat’s Meow”. Eventually, during college, the word “Meow” evolved into “Maw” and “Mawie”. Somehow it does suit me better in the sense that in Chinese, “Maw” means cat. “Mawie” simply means little “Maw”.

DESIGN AND COLORS

This avatar is the embodiment of my “Mawie” character and personality. I have a light complexion so the cat is white. My favorite color is purple or lilac. This is why I added this color to some parts of the avatar such as the ears, stripes, and even on the eyes. There are also two purple circles on the eyes of the avatar not only to emphasize my favorite color, but also because I wear glasses in real life.