The Leadership Training went good; I was so energized and inspired to do better, just what I need for my remaining five months of work here. I say it's one of the best training sessions I've attended so far.

The food that was served was better than expected. I actually proposed to our President last Staff Meeting to replace the caterer due to previous problems we had with their choice of entrée and utensils but, they definitely revived their reputation yesterday.

My workshop went perfect. I actually felt a guiding hand when I was preparing the outline at 5:00 AM in the morning and while doing the actual workshop. It's so good to know that I got some divine help, for I know I could never deliver such a discussion relying on my talents and abilities alone.

I discussed three possible reasons why some people aren't doing the things they should be doing and not being who they should be, namely:

First, they don't know "it". Second, they don't understand the point. Third, they don't love "it". ("it" being the thing they should be actively engaged in and/or the person they should be)

It's been quite a long time since I last posted an entry here. I never even thought that I would be here again, sitting in front of my computer, wanting to relive the things that had happened over the last 8 months of my life. And to tell you honestly, I miss blogging.

Before I start storytelling about my life here, I would first want to let you know that I was (and still am, actually) really, really surprised to see how much things had changed here (the blog-o-sphere, I mean). The first thing I noticed is that, those bloggers that I used to know changed how they write. Some changed from writing life stories to just posting poems and photos- which made me not interested anymore. Another thing is, most of the links on my blogroll no longer exist. Oh boy! That is truly sad. I miss reading their beautifully written blogs. They used to inspire me. I’m now hoping that they just changed their blog URLs and I would be able to find their blogs once again.

Talking about changes, I too had experience and still is experiencing a lot of them in my life since last summer up to now. Let me enumerate them:

1. I didn't attend summer classes (which I should have attended) but instead chose to go to Singapore so that I could relax and forget all about the bad things that had happened- which made me an irregular student for the rest of my college life.

2. I auditioned for Teatro Tomasino, the University-wide theater guild in UST, and was given the name YOO for some reason I don't want to tell anymore because it was a dumb story (seriously). I was then asked to join their first major production for this year as a part of their requirements for membership. Eventually, I got assigned to be both an Assistant Stage Manager and an actor to the play "Fuente Ovejuna" directed Mr. Dennis Marasigan – which gave me sleepless nights, no time to study, and made me went home late (around 1-2 AM). But don't get me wrong, the experience I had is still unforgettable and amazing.

3. I quitted participating in Teatro Tomasino's production. (Does failing Calculus not a good reason enough?)

4. I lost my best friend in a My-Best-Friend's-Wedding-kind of way (except for the "wedding" part). Gotta start singing "I'll Be Okay" by Amanda Marshall, I guess.

NOTE: I'll just blog this stuff next time 'cause I don't feel like telling it now. I guess I’m still not over her.

5. I did something horrible that I never thought I could ever do in my entire life. And you know what? It made me unable to function for a week.

6. I'm not that optimistic anymore.

7. I feel more alone these days.

8. I don't think I write as good as I used to.


Changes... changes... changes...

Those things I have mentioned are just a part of the looooong list. Unfortunately, most of those are not so good changes. But then I wonder, don't all of those changes also made me a much stronger person? Did they happen because I needed to learn something? And, don't I deserve those changes?

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Photo by:
Aksicnn
"Green Green Grass"

One thing I'm very sure about people is that, everyone in this world wants to be happy. Of course we do. Who doesn't? We usually do every possible way to find that happiness that will make our lives better and more colorful. We try new things, make new things or look for new things.

However, sometimes we do unnecessary things that we think are the best to feel happy although the truth is, they will just drown us into the depths of disappointment and sorrow. Also, there are times in our lives when we, ourselves, are the one who do not realize that we could actually feel happy every time... if we just allow ourselves to.

In our Guidance Office in school, there is a wall where you could write anything (by using post-its) that would make you happy. I think it's made so that we could actually think about what we really want in our lives. And by knowing what those are, we could eventually think of present and future actions that we need to make in order for those things to happen. I can't exactly remember what I wrote in there for the first time but I think it's shallow since I took it off away after a few weeks. But after that, I wrote there again something that at least much better than the first. I wrote, "Finding my Princess". As a result, our Guidance Adviser asked me if I already found her. But obviously I said I still haven't since that's the truth. Then my classmates looked at me. They were surprised to read something like that from me. Yeah, I don't really talk about that thing. I mean, love. Well, I do talk about it but only occasionally. But that time, I guess I just really wrote there the truth. That finding my future eternal companion will make me happy.

Have you ever heard the story about Ali Hafed? The man who used to be one of the wealthiest Persian but sold all his possessions because of his search for a precious gem?

The story goes like this…

There was a man named Ali Hafed. He owned many lands in Persia. He was really wealthy and rich. He also has a lovely family that makes him feel everything is perfect in his life.

One day, there was an old priest who came and spoke to Ali. He told Ali that if he'll be able to find a diamond as big as his thumb in a river full of white sands, he will surely get richer.

So, Ali then sold all his possessions to travel around the world to look for that diamond and even left his family with his neighbor's care.

Ali traveled for many years but was unable to find what he was looking for. He suffered a lot of pain and suffereings during his travel.

Meanwhile, the man whom bought Ali's lands went walking with his camel one day to Ali's old garden. While letting his camel to drink in the stream, he suddenly was surprised to see something glittering below the water. He reached for it and saw a very beautiful gem. Later, it was revealed that it was the gem Ali was looking for all his life.

If only Ali didn't travel around the world and sold his possession, he could have been more rich and wealthy than before.

The story tells us much about what's happening in our world today. Sometimes, we try to look for something far from us just to achieve the happiness we want. Unfortunately, what we don't realize is that, the things that could actually make us feel the true happiness are already in front of us. These are our family, our friends, and the gospel and love of God.

Since the beginning of time, God has this wonderful plan for all of us. He calls it the Plan of Happiness. But because of our choices, we often times do not receive the blessings of this said plan. Now, what we should only do is to direct ourselves in the right path in order to gain that happiness. And this is by being obedient to the commandments of the Lord.

Being happy isn't really that hard. In fact, there are lots of things that could make us feel the joy. Some of these are just simple things like being with the people we love, seeing the innocent faces and smiles of babies, listening to uplifting music, praying every time and feeling that God is always there to guide us and help us and many more.

We don't need to be one of the most successful men or women in history just to be happy. We just need to be optimistic and appreciate the littlest things.

See the best in everything. Make the best in everything as the quote above says. If we do these, we will surely adore life.

Like the cliche goes, happiness is a choice. It's only we who could help ourselves be happy whatever life brings.


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Photo by:
MotyPest
"Laugh and Tears"