say it all now

23/365: Twenty-three!

The shot: Science High AL Building Corridor!

The story: I just turned twenty-three! Wow, I was planning to write this realllyyy long post today but I feel like I don't have enough strength do it. I posted this shot to say that I was able to visit SciHi a while ago and it felt soooo good! Wish I had my friends with me, though. Nothing is perfect but God's design is always for the best.

I'm keeping this short by saying that the year that I was twenty-two was a year of pruning. I truly feel that I am being made into a better person through the trials that have come my way. =)

I am so grateful to God for taking me this far in my journey. Thank you Lord for the year that was and the year that is to come. May you never cease in blessing my decisions so that they may be in line with Your plans for me.

Your pasaway daughter who You love without bounds,

Mishy <3

22/365: Bucket List (25 on 25)

The shot: The title. Haha!

The story: I noticed that the previous post was my 21st post and tomorrow is going to be my 23th birthday. SO, I decided to write another one on the same day to make up for lost time and to make my 23rd post 'significant'. HAHA! Okay, I've been inspired by a LOT of people to make a bucket list. My bestfriend, Maymay and one of my favorite bloggers, Anna Oposa are two of these people who have bucket lists of their own in their blogs.

In a way, I've been making bucket lists all my life but I change my mind (and heart) so many times that I never got to make a 100-item bucket list. Taking a leaf from Anna Oposa's blog, I'm going to settle with a 25-item bucket list muna. I'm sharing this to add pressure to myself. Haha, not really. I don't think I can get more pressured than I already am (*winks). Hahahaha! I'm sharing this so the universe may conspire to make all these things come true! Weee!!! Just thinking about these things make me excited! So, here it goes..

25 Things I Want To Do Before I Turn 25:

1. Finish my thesis and get a master's degree
2. Get a scholarship abroad for a second master's degree (hopefully on an area more relevant to my job right now) or a PhD (?)
3. Go to UP Diliman
4. Go to the AYLC Reunion (15th year)
5. Establishing a partnership with RAFI to have KAC for the college student leaders
6. Win in a Sunlife Contest Month
7. Eat in a Korean Restaurant
8. Bring my family to a trip outside the country
9. Learn a new language (Korean? Mandarin? French? Spanish?)
10. Write a book (on the Teaching of Mathematics or a novel)
11. Get one of my researches published in an international journal
12. Institutionalize the honoring of board exam passers with or without topnotchers
13. Learn to cook at least one fish, pork, chicken, beef and vegetable (!?!) dish
14. Watch another play
15. Volunteer in the Bayani Challenge 2012
16. Join a SFC-CLP
17. Buy a lighter laptop
18. Initiate a Career Path Seminar for the graduating students
19. Get a new hairstyle
20. Watch the sun set and rise in Mountainview
21. Go on a (romantic) date
22. Visit my high school
23. Finish all my blog challenges
24. Go on another trip outside Cebu (to a Philippine destination I've never to so far)
25. Enroll in a creative writing class

I'm not even going to explain WHY I want to accomplish each one. I'm thinking maybe I can write a post for every single item there that I get to achieve. Hehe. What I know is that it never hurts to have a plan. Most importantly, it is always good to recognize that each of us has the right to dream. Dream BIG dreams. We have, after all, a BIG GOD! =)

21/365: The Hunger Games

The shot: The cover of the trilogy's first book.

The story: I've been reading many FB statuses about the Hunger Games. I did not pay much attention to it until a lot of people started comparing it to Twilight and Harry Potter. I'm not a Twilight fan. Never was and I guess, never will be. I hope they don't get me wrong though. It's not the book really... it's just me. Haha! What got my attention was when people started comparing it to HARRY POTTER! My reaction was 'AS IN?! Harry Potter level?'. Yes, you guessed it right. I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan!

So, to cut the long story short. I downloaded the audio book for the first one. I was a skeptic at first. I was sure I would not like it since I doubt any other fiction book could knock HP out of my favorite list (as if I have one, haha!) but to my surprise... I got hooked. When I say I got hooked, some might think it's the I-spend-my-every-free-time-reading-this-book kind of hooked but for those who know me and how 'obsessed' I can get, they know it's the I-spend-all-of-my-time-reading-this-book kind of hooked. Correction though, listening, not reading. I found myself listening to all three books such that I could judge my week as unproductive. You read it right, I finished all three books in less than a week and this was a school-year-end-week! Imagine this from a teacher's point of view. Haha! In my defense, I met all my deadlines. :p

I was itching to write a post about the book but I didn't really know what to say. Until now. Haha, so I'm letting the words flow as I type. The weird thing is, I cried after I read the book. The reason was not really the story itself but it's effect on me. No, I have not joined any reality contest where I'm tasked to kill all other contestants except the boy who claims he's madly in love with me. That's the thing, I guess. I can't put a finger on why it has affected me that much. I had to wrestle with my thoughts for a while and I think there is really no ONE reason. I was affected at how practical the main character is. If you've read the book, you'd know what I mean. She chose the one who she can't survive without. See that? Can't it not be the one who makes the world stop turning with a smile? Or the guy who makes living worth all the suffering? LOL! Okay, stop it Michelle! I've had practicality issues recently but that's for another post. My heart broke for Peeta because I know how it feels... Hehe, okay. The drama stops right here. :p

This post can go on and on and on but it won't. :) I just want to remember the time I read the Hunger Games that's why I wrote this. Maybe just to remind myself that though life can seemingly give you the 'best', you should never stop discovering the rest of the beauty that God has surrounded you with. Thus, the HP-HG metaphor. Hehe! Through this trilogy, I have reawakened my love for reading. It takes you to another world and another life. It shows you the choices you could have, should have or would have made. It reveals to you some parts of your heart and soul that has been 'damaged', 'worn-out' or just plain set aside by the safety of everyday routine and day-to-day heartbreaks and failures. When I figure out what sets this trilogy apart, I'm going to write another post. PROMISE. =)

For now, I just want to leave you with one of my favorite lines which is a boy-girl conversation. I will not spoil the ending for you just in case my post got you intrigued enough to read it for yourself. The boy is going to be... Voldemort. He who must not be named. Haha, so the dialogue goes like this:

Boy: You love me. Real or not real?

Girl: Real.

20/365: Mapet's Wedding

The shot: Me with the bride (Photo taken from my phone)

The story: We went to Bohol today to attend Mapet's wedding. Mapet is one of my closest college friends.

My schedule went something like this:

March 9, 2012

10:15 PM - Ship left the pier. Cebu-Tagbilaran trip began

11:00 PM - Slept despite the urge to watch City Hunter over the TV set near my bed

March 10, 2012

3:00 AM - Arrived at the Tagbilaran Port. I woke up to make chika. Haha, where should we be at three in the morning?!

4:00 AM- Went down the ship to see Mapet who was there with her husband-to-be fetching a LOT of people (including us)

4:30 AM- Took a bath (against my will, LOL) because the bride insisted we have to start getting ready (thank goodness, she did)

5:30 AM- Went to Jollibee to get breakfast. They open at 6 AM but they allowed us to get inside and wait for the time

6:30 AM - Finished breakfast and went back to the hotel to prepare

8:30 AM- Finished with the hair-and-make-up thing + gown repairs (It's a hassle to be a girl sometimes but I have to admit I enjoyed it. Haha!)

9:15 AM- Wedding started, Mapet walked down the aisle to 'Ikaw'. She cried. I cried. We cried. Haha, we are a bunch of drama queens after all.

12:00 NN - Reception began

2:00 PM- Reception ended and we were back at the hotel to fix our things and be ready to leave

2:30 PM- Went around Island City Mall with my friends and I ended drinking a mocha frappe(!?!) from a store named V.I.P. It should be noted that I will not buy that drink again. Hehe.

4:30 PM- I was happily seated in Oceanjet and was on my way back to Cebu

6:45 PM- In SM to buy some things I needed

7:30 PM- In J Centre to buy the blank CDs that my mother needed

8:00 PM- Home sweet home

It was quiet a stressful experience. Even if I was not the bride, I could feel the anxiety, pressure, excitement and ka-warlahan building up as the hour draw near. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful wedding. As I told a good friend of mine, Charlie, I needed that wedding. So to end, I think I will leave you with my FB status (because I am lazy that way, haha!):

My friends' weddings always make me cry. I've witnessed how a lot of people have broken their hearts and yet they still have not stopped believing that what they seek is not just in fairy tales or chick flicks. Yes, marriages are not perfect and weddings do not always conform with the world's concept of 'ideal'. However, it is in these imperfections that we truly see the beauty of life, the miracle of mercy, the strength of His grace and the power of love. Thank you Myrva for reminding me about all of these. I wish you and Roel... happiness.

P.S. During the reception when you asked me to speak and the emcee introduced me as your 'best friend', my heart skipped a beat and hapit ko nihilak balik. Haha! I will forever treasure our friendship. I love you. =)

speech

A.K.A. a post requested by my bestfriend Maymay. =)

From time to time, people ask me to deliver speeches, pep talks and/or inspirational messages. You can call them anything you want, actually. Haha! Well, according to my mother, my speeches are inspiring. I suggest you don't argue with my mother. :p

Okay, I'm sharing this one speech which will be read (sadly) by someone else on my behalf this coming Saturday in front of our second batch of LET reviewees. Where will I be on Satuday, you ask? I will be in Bohol bridesmaiding in a close friend's wedding. For the first time. =)

________

Dr. Marcelo T. Lopez, SUC President III, Dr. Filomena T. Dayagbil, Dean of the College of Teacher Education, members of the university faculty and administration, reviewees and guests, good morning.

When I was asked to write a message for you, our second batch of reviewees, I was told that my message is for the purpose of inspiring you to give your utmost effort in the months ahead for your review and achieve the best results in the upcoming Licensure Examination for Teachers. In the process of coming up with this message, I can’t help but reminisce what happened on the day I took my board exam.

As a usual practice in our home, my entire family gathered to pray over me. I will never forget my mother’s words when she said: “Itugot Lord na si Michelle Mae Olvido mu-top sa board exam.. mu-top one.” Horrified, I looked at my mother. With a laugh, she finished, “Pero ug unsa may Imong gusto, Imong pagbuot ang mutuman.” Fast forward to November 16, 2009, I received the news that I placed third. By the way, November 16 is my mother’s birthday.

I guess the point that I am trying to drive at is this: reviewing for the board exam is a journey – a very challenging journey BUT it is a journey that you will not take alone. You have family and friends who will walk with you and pray with you all the way. When it becomes very tough, ALWAYS REMEMBER WHAT you are doing it for and FOR WHOM you are doing it. I quote an organization called EO Alchemy when I say:

“We’ve been led to believe that success is bestowed upon the lucky few. We’ve been led to believe that finding our way is about being granted access. But in reality, it is really not about fortune smiling upon you but asking yourself… how hard are you willing to work for your dreams?”

My challenge for you is not to answer this question through your words but through your unceasing effort in the months to come. Let us see your answer through your actions. Let us see your answer through the September 2012 LET Exam results.

You may ask, why do we want you to pass and top the board exam?

You ought to know that when they say ‘Cebu Normal University’, when they say ‘College of Teacher Education’, when they say ‘the first and only level IV AACCUP accredited university’, when they say ‘Teacher Education Excellence, when they say ‘From good to great’… you ought to know that they are talking about you, our dear students. You are CTE’s excellence. You are CNU’s greatness.

You can count on us to walk and pray with you. I hope that we, too, can count on you… to make us proud. God bless you all!

_________

AMDG

my happy song