Moshi moshi ola ola hello hello kamusta guys!! My last post on this blog was about Christmas 2016 and I suck, I know! So much has happened the last six months. One event that still has me #shookt is the war happening in Marawi right now (more of this at the end of the blog so if u wanna read pls do so!) Because I was not able to post anything on here, here’s a nutshell of some places I’ve been to for the first half of 2017:

Pansol, Laguna

I have a set of friends that don’t just draw their outings! Haha it was my first time to go to Pansol, not to mention also my first time to have an overnight swimming, and also my first time to have an overnight swimming with my blockmates. I can’t remember how much we paid for the resort rental but I know I spent less than Php 1,000 on it inclusive of the food! We were about 10 people in there so it was an affordable deal. I don’t really know how to swim (it’s a bummer, I know) so I spent most of the night singing my lungs out through karaoke and talking about anything until dawn.

Laiya, San Juan, Batangas

I went to Laiya with my family for the first time! Did I mention I don’t know how to swim? I like going to the beach but I can only swim where my feet can still touch the sand huhu. Laiya gives some of that Boracay feels but I wasn’t able to try their banana boat and jetski and kayaking and other fun stuff you want to do when you’re in the beach :( I remember watching Riverdale S01E10 and I also finished reading 13 Reasons Why on this day though haha 

National Museum, Planetarium, Ocean Park

My bff from high school went to a uni in the South and she wanted to go to Manila so we did! It was my first time to go to Planetarium and during that time (this was on April, a few days before Holy Week) the admission was free! I had La La Land feels the moment I entered HUHU. We watched a show about planets where humans can possibly live and I forgot the title but it incorporated Goldilocks in it. It was really enjoyable and knowledge-filled but if you’re a person who is malula-in like me, you might feel like you’re gonna be swallowed alive while watching lol

Brgy. Litlit, Lipa, Batangas

And lastly! We were supposed to have two fieldworks for NSTP but you probably know about the suspension of activities outside the school premises so our fieldwork was reduced into one fieldwork only. To be honest, NSTP was a super hassle subject for me especially during my first term bUT when we had our fieldwork I swear I almost took my wordsback and I had felt so much positivity about life huhuhu I love the kids we encountered and I have ma boy Earnest, there on the left of the picture!! He is so full of energy (Gary V?!) and still so hopeful to achieve his dreams even though he has experienced some situations he shouldn’t have experienced at his age. I hope to see this kid where he wants to be someday.

Back to Marawi. I was in my dorm reviewing for my final exam. I was still shookt with the news of the Manchester bombing when my roommate barged in and told us about Marawi. Guys, my level of shookt was beyond the fear of failing an exam. I was in my dorm, frustrated over acads, while schools are being burned and innocent people are getting killed islands away from me. Reality was hitting me on the face. That was a month and 10 days ago. And now, the war is still not over. Children are starting to get sick, residents are starting to have mental health issues, people are still dying. During Independence Day, I remember seeing the news that government officials in Marawi couldn’t help but cry as they raise the Philippine flag in commemoration of the country’s freedom from years of slavery. Right after the flag was raised, the deafening sound of airstrike bomb ironically planted itself on the land of Marawi. I couldn’t help but keep my tears at bay at that emotional moment. I’m just hoping and praying that all of this will end now. And I hope that the residents of Marawi will not lose hope despite the situation making them think otherwise. God is in control. We will not be shaken by hate.

AND THAT GOES MY HANASH FOR THE MID-YEAR! I feel so bad for not updating huhu but really, most of the time I just study, sleep and watch vlogs, tv series and kdramas so I think this Tumblr is not missing out a lot haha! 

School has invaded my life but thank goodness I found the time to blog! We had to make a scrapbook of our greatest treasures for English so I put out 5 things which I consider my precious stones in life.

EXO // My happy pills, these boys. I’m a multifandom but not since this boy band debuted. After that? I couldn’t bring myself to stan other groups. Reality has woken me up but when I get old and move on from kpop I know I won’t regret that I spent almost all my teenage years wasting my time on them.

Books // Who would’ve thought I could travel the world (and even the other dimension) without moving my feet? I get to escape reality but at the same time I get to learn how it is to walk in other people’s shoes. “She reads books as one would breathe air to fill up and live." 

Friends // These are the people who are with me through this one helluva ride of life. They are the reason why my stomach aches because of too much joy and laughter. Despite having diverse personalities we seem to find our common ground.

Family // Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind. They are my first teachers who taught me that I need not to be afraid of stepping out and live, who told me Bible stories and force me to go to kids’ church, who let me do my own thing and when i fail, they tell me it’s okay, who taught me to be independent and know what is right from wrong. 

And last but definitely at most,

My relationship with God // I learned in our Values class that according to Ecclesiastes, life is meaningless–our labor, wisdom, pleasures, wealth, youth and vigor are all meaningless if we do not have God in our life. I know that it is true because once we reach the top, that’s it. The happiness doesn’t last forever because one day we are all going to die and we can’t bring all the success and material things we have attained in life in heaven. 

*I give full credits to the owners of some of the pictures I printed and I swear I didn’t use them for commercial purposes.