They say it's LEGAL.

Yesterday, June 29, 2009, I celebrated my 18th birthday. My day was full of emotions. I was happy and starting to feel the butterflies in tummy because in less than five days, I will be celebrating my 18th with my relatives and closest friends, I was conscious about the changes in my life because I am now finally legal and the most funny part is, I still don’t want to accept the fact that I am NOW 18 years old. I even asked my mom what was the exact time when I was born, and up to that last minute, I started to accept that I am now really 18!

My special day started at exactly 12 midnight. Two of my closest friends made an effort to call and greet me. I was touched and very happy that they started my day. After the two phone calls, many text messages came and my computer screen was filled with many YM windows. On the contrary, my mom was still awake and she waited until 12 midnight to greet me BUT when she went down from her room she saw her favorite actor, John Lloyd Cruz in TV. I was watching the awards night at ABS-CBN and the main award, Box Office King & Queen, was the part that she saw. I already had two callers and got many greetings from different people, my mom was STILL watching her favorite actor. I was laughing and teasing her, “Ma, ang dami ng bumati sa’kin, 12:00am na, hindi mo pa ko nababati. Inuna mo pa si John Lloyd.” She just laughed at me and finally, she greeted me and kissed me. Haha. After her greeting, she went back to her room and slept with my dad and sisters. I continued surfing the net, checking my mails and doing some stuffs for my debut until 4am. I also slept in my parents’ room that night.

I was having a hard time sleeping, maybe because I am excited? Or maybe because my cellphone didn’t stop beeping until the battery was empty. I fell asleep at around 4:30. After few hours, I heard my mom waking my two sisters for them to prepare for school. UGH! Too early yet it was too noisy. I was having the time to find my sleep again when my dad poured me water to wake me up. When I opened my eyes, they were all in front of me, singing happy birthday and holding a cake with candles. I was touched. They kissed me happy birthday and I kissed back with thank you.

When my two sisters left the house for school, never ending text messages were still coming. Then lunch time came. We ate at Palaisdaan then went back home to finish some stuffs. While doing those things, one of my friends texted me telling that he will drop by to get the invitations. I was not expecting anything from him but he gave me something. When he left, my tita, lolas and my mom were all excited and curious about his gift. When I opened it, I smiled. I liked it very much. It was a bouquet of lollipops. It was my first time to receive a bouquet and lollipop is my simple joy. So he hit two birds in one stone. My parents prepared a simple dinner to celebrate the exact day of my 18th birthday. So, together with my lolo and lolas, we ate dinner here at home.

I thought my day will be just an ordinary day. Yes, I am expecting something that I didn’t got BUT celebrating this special day with special people made me realize how blessed I am. It felt like it beaten my expectations for this day. I was blessed with people who really care and love me the way I am, the people who are always there in good or bad times, my source of strength, my supporters, my prayer warriors. This day, is a simple but a very special day for me that I will sure treasure to the ends of the earth.

Quarantine.

The word that I hate most since last week- QUARANTINE. Yes, I have been in my quarantine due to a close encounter with someone who had the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. So, Miriam College asked me to go for 10 days self-quarantine. That’s when my quarantine-story has started.

I immediately called my parents in Quezon to tell the news and they asked me to go home (in Quezon) that same day. I rode a bus alone, wearing a mask and not feeling well because I have bad colds and cough that time but I’m pretty sure that it was just my normal colds and cough. When I got home, my dad fetched me in the bus terminal and went home. When my two sisters saw me, they just said “Hi ate. Miss you.” But we can’t kiss nor hug each other. I went straight into my room to take a rest. I fell asleep as soon as I lay down in my own bed.

The first day of my quarantine (Friday) was not too good. I can’t get out of my room because I may have the virus and I may spread it all over the house. My parents decided to send my sisters in my grandmother’s house over the weekend. I thought weekend is enough but when I went to see my doctor, she advised my mom to let my sisters live in my lola’s house for my whole quarantine period. When I heard it, I was shocked and hurt. Why do they have to leave the house for a week? I can just stay inside my room and never get out until this crap ends just to let my sisters stay in our house but I can’t do anything. I feel helpless. That’s the most hurting part of my quarantine. I never get to see them, kiss them, hug them or even play with them. Telephone is the only way I can communicate with them and I hate it. We’re on the same place yet we don’t get the chance to see each other. It feels like I’m still in Manila. Well, I think it’s better than this way. Ugh!! Another thing is, I’M MISSING A LOT FROM SCHOOL! I missed my group reports, my papers, quizzes, recitations and all yet I can’t do anything!

Then my mom talked to me. She told me that I am not making this burden lighter but I’m making it harder to carry. She said that I’m being too selfish, self-centered. All I was thinking was my lessons and my schools. Yes, I’m being too selfish. I didn’t think that if my sisters are sacrificing, it was for me and for their health as well. My mom said that I should need to accept things as they were and to lighten up the burdens. Think that I’m still blessed because I was not the one who had the virus and I’m helping my school to prevent the virus.

Being quarantine for 10 days sucks but it is still a blessing. I got to do what I should do with regards to my 18th birthday, I got to help my mom in preparing for my grandfather’s birthday and I got the chance to rest for 10 more days. Of course, it is hard. I need to sacrifice a lot of things and I know that my family is sacrificing too but we all know that these sacrifices are all worth it.

Extraordinary Summer

Summer 2009 was the last summer that I will experience in my life basically because in the next summer vacation, I will be having my on-the-job training or OJT, then after that is my graduation year (hopefully I could find a job as soon as I graduated), so I tried really hard to spend this summer to the most I can.J

At first, I was so bored. I told my mom that this will be my last summer but how come I don’t have any thing to do or any place to go. I even envied my grandparents because they have their batch reunions, batch outings, ballrooms, etc. but as my summer goes, there were many activities that made it EXTRAORDINARY.

Right after the AY 2008-2009, not planning any outings or even hanging out with my college friends to celebrate the end of our sufferings for the semester, I excitedly went home to Quezon province to relax and to be with my family. The first few weeks in Quezon were really boring – surfing the net all day, watching TV or layout-ing/editing whatever in the afternoon and watch tons of movies and series the whole night. But when April 2009 came, my summer escapade begins!

I attended many activities of my community, CFC-Youth for Christ also known as YFC, I became part of our sectoral assembly, I was given the chance to deliver a talk in a Kids for Christ assembly and in other YFC activities, I attended youth camps, I went to places to serve and meet new people, I even attended activities with my family and the like. But the most exciting part of my summer was when I attended the Discovery Camp last May 23-24, 2009. In that camp, I feel so blessed by the Lord. He just tapped and affirmed me through the talks, activities and some camp materials that surely made my summer. In that camp, I was also given the opportunity to know the new generation of YFC-Quezon and to bond with them in two great days. I won’t forget the last activity we did in the last talk. The speaker asked us to write in the paper folded in boat shape that he gave all the hindrances in our life to serve the Lord fully and in the other side, he asked us to write our conviction to commit ourselves again with Him. After doing so, he gave us permission to open the paper and the message in that paper made me cry. It says, “You may be unworthy… but you are NOT worthless. Let me love you. –God”, it was amazing because in that camp, I feel unworthy of all the things He’s giving me, in serving Him and in all aspects of my life but God just embraced me tighter and He never lets me go especially in that point of my life. That activity struck me most and as I’ve said, it made my whole summer.

On the other hand, this summer was the best summer that I and my family bond a lot. Even if we are both active in our community, Youth for Christ and Couples for Christ, we never forgot to spend time with each other doing nothing. But I won’t give those nothingness in the world and I would always choose to spend time with them in dong nothing because I know that in that NOTHINGNESS, I will never fail to feel the love and care they give.

TRULLY, this summer was the BEST summer in my life and these people were really EXTRAORDINARY.

“I am SAVED to SERVE; I am HEALED to HELP.”