PLAY

It's October already. Which means that we are once again nearing The Play Fest. This event is one that is always looked after by almost everyone. An Assumption school year would never be complete without a Play Fest.

The wonderful memories I have staging The Stiletto Club and Ibong Adarna with my classmates are still fresh in my mind. I am so excited over the fact that we will once again be doing countless auditions and casting. The actresses will again be cramming to memorize their lines. And the directress will again have wrinkles on her forehead. Yes, the play does cause a lot of tension and stress to everyone, but it is the great moments we get to have with each other that really pay off. I just can’t wait!

A scene from The Stiletto Club

XOXO....Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl Season 4 has surely got me all excited! Watch out Chuck and Blair fans. Let's still hope for the best!

WEIRD BUT TRUE

My Aunt who lives in Austria has subscribed for National Geographic Kids magazine for me about 5 years ago. Ever since, I would receive Nat Geo Kids magazines monthly although it only lasted for about 3 years. I collected them and now, I already have more or less 60 magazines. These magazines have been very useful and entertaining. They provide a lot of new information about animals, us humans, and many more! My favorite section in every magazine is the Weird but True page. It is in this page where you can find 10 or more outrageous facts that are very hard to believe but are certainly true. Here is an excerpt from one of my Nat Geo Kids magazines that I received last May 2007:

Weird But True Facts:

1.   

      It would take about 3 years of nonstop pedaling to bike to the moon.

2.      Koalas and humans have similar fingerprints.

3.       A waterfall in Hawaii sometimes goes up instead of down.

      Most experts believe that birds descended from dinosaurs.

5.       Earth travels about 1.6 million miles everyday.

6.       The first telephone answering machine was 3 feet tall.

7.       The United States once issued a 3-cent bill.

8.       Certain sharks walk on their fins underwater.

9.       Dirty snow melts faster than clean snow.

10   On sunny days, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, leans toward shade.

11    Parachutes were invented before airplanes.

12    The Liberty Bell weighs more that 2,000 pounds.

13    There is a village called zigzag in Oregon.

14    Some moths drink tears of elephants.

BIBLE CAMP

            “Bible Camp? Psssh. What the heck is that about? I bet people there would just be praying all day.” This is what I first thought about the Bible camp. But when the teacher announced that it’ll be 2 nights and 3 days long, only then did I take interest. The thought of having an opportunity to sleep somewhere else with schoolmates for that long just seemed so rare. Thus, I started to consider things. Just when I was about to say yes already, I realized that I had to make a serious decision. I had to choose whether to go to Manila or attend the Bible camp. It was hard for me to choose because it has been a long time since I have been to Manila and boy did I miss it there. But I could always go to Manila some other time. And besides, my family would still be going so I can still have them get something for me. Hence, I chose to attend the Bible camp and I can say that I never regretted it.

                Ever since that day I confirmed that I was going, I just grew more and more excited. I was even more thrilled when I started to recognize the people who were also joining. When it was finally the night before we were bound to leave for Holy Rosary Academy (the host school of the event) I was too excited that I crammed. I ended up packing my things at about 10:00 pm and slept at around 11:00 pm. But I barely had any sleep because of too much excitement.

                As we entered HRA, we were welcomed with students lined-up at the sides waving flags and greeting us with welcomes. We then went to our designated room carrying our luggage and sleeping bags. I was quite surprised to find out that there were all in all 1,000 plus delegates. By the way, during the raising of school banners, which was sort of a race, we were second. (Yey!)

                Since we were new to the event, we were sort of unprepared. So, while the other schools had pretty cool cheers and entertaining animations (intermission numbers), Assumption had a very simple cheer and simple numbers. In one of our animations, we performed the ‘square dance’ which I have learned to like since the Centennial Fair. For the Bible sharing, we had to be separated and I was devastated when I knew that I was the only Assumptionista in our group. But it actually turned out pretty fun especially because my group mates were very friendly and entertaining. Friendship hour is also a memorable experience because it was in this event where all delegates were gathered in the field and we were told to roam around make as many friends as we can. We also had this Bonfire which was pretty cool. I loved it when all the lights were turned off because then did I realize how pretty the moon was. It was so bright and round. When the fire was lit, we did the Exodus walk which is a choreographed walk. We held each other’s hands and walked in a spiral form doing the Exodus. It was sooooo cool. One thing I also like about the camp was the nightly dancing. There was dance music played every night at the field and we would dance and mingle with the other students.

                I found our daily routine very funny though. It began when we had our first night there. My friends and I wanted to refresh ourselves after the long day so we went to the bathroom. But after seeing the long lines, we started to hesitate. So instead of getting in line, we decided to wait until the bathroom nearer to our room was vacant. Even if it was already around 11:00 pm, we still persevered to wait. While waiting, we just watched a movie from Mr. Secular’s laptop and ate midnight snacks. We ended up taking a bath at around 1:00 am. We were too excited though that we weren’t able to sleep until about 2:00 am because we kept on playing and joking around.

                It will probably be too long if I write about the whole experience. There’s just too many to talk about. One this is for sure though. I never regretted joining the Bible Camp because it was in this event where I learned how to appreciate my religion. It was here where I learned that as a mere student, I could also do a lot of simple things like being a good steward of nature and a good steward for others that can make a big change. I learned to adjust to my surroundings and to enjoy even at times of discomfort. And I know how to respond to people of different personalities because of this wonderful experience. I can really say that this camp has left a good impact on me.

KATORSE

My brother, Andrei, and I celebrated only one party since his
birthday is only 6 days away from mine.

A picture of me giving tokens to my guests.

My 14th birthday will surely be very memorable. =)

It’s such a nice feeling when you know you have just made other people feel special. It’s just so wonderful to see others happy because of your efforts. This is what I felt when I celebrated my 14^th birthday last May 14, 2010, at the Gawad Kalinga Center of Ajuy, Iloilo.

                My 14^th birthday was quite different from my other birthdays. This is because instead of inviting friends, I invited people I barely know. In fact, it was only during that celebration when I first saw their faces. Instead of watching a movie or going swimming, I had a children’s party with children who were needy. And instead of receiving gifts, my family and I were the ones who gave gifts. But in a way, I also received great gifts, that is, in the form of realizations.

                I celebrated my birthday by gathering all the beneficiaries of the Gawad Kalinga Community of Ajuy and having a simple meal and games. I was quite charmed when some of the children surprised me with a dance number that they prepared. We had bihon, bread, juice, cake, and ice cream for food. After eating, we played games. Lots of games. For prizes we gave away toys, some new and some old, and other useful things. Actually, my mother was the one who suggested this kind of party. When she said her suggestion, I never hesitated and said yes immediately because I have been longing to do something like this for a very long time already.

                To be honest, no matter how simple the celebration was, it made me shed a few tears. It’s because it was just so overwhelming to see the children who barely even know me be somehow very excited and happy. I’m sure it was the very first time for some of them to witness a birthday party. They had this innocence and great joy in their eyes whenever they received a toy or a token which made me very emotional. 

                My birthday celebration made me appreciate more my family and friends and what I have. I am the kind of person who wants a lot of things and I often find it hard to let go of the things that I don’t need anymore. This event has made me realize that even in the simplest way of life, you can still be happy. You can still be happy even without those gadgets, clothes, shoes, bags, etc. I realized that sometimes, that the things that I may consider worthless or take for granted are things that others need but can’t even have. My birthday has opened my eyes to the reality that I have no right at all to complain whenever I don’t get what I want or when some things are not good enough because others don’t even have access to their needs. While I keep on complaining that I don’t have the right kind of shoes to pair with my shirt, there is someone out there who doesn’t even have slippers or worse, does not even have feet but is still very contented. I have made a promise already to be contented and to be happy with what I have. On top of it all, I realized that true happiness is not gained when you receive something. It is gained when you give what you have especially to the needy.