Conquering Mountains: Mt Pulag Adventure

I'm posting this today because we are celebrating Araw Ng Kagitingan. Incase you don't know what is it, it comes from the word Magiting which means "Bravery". I asked some of my friends what bravery is for them and here's what i got from them:

1. "to take a step forward even if the odds are not in your favor"

2."Being able to face problems and standing true to one's word" 

3."enacting your previously not so laid-out plans"

4."plugging wires in a socket"

5. "pursuing the love of your life"

There are so many ways, little or big, bravery can be proven. In a medical student's view, i think it is something like conquering mountains. The mountains stand for bunch of exams every week, group discussions to stand for, and a whole lot more the school requires you to do. You know you can't do it with the mere strength you yourself have but still you go to your school, enter the room and take your exam. For me, that is bravery. And amidst this braveness I think I have, i know Faith resides within me. Faith, not in our own capability, but faith in Someone who is not yet finished in what He's doing in our lives. I am reminded of the verse from Matthew 17:20 that says "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

And guess what: I'm almost done with my first year in Medical School! With no failing grades! And no removals! Hallelujah! The moment I knew I passed, I sent a message to my parents and I received a reply of "Because that's what we are praying for". Haha Oo nga naman!... It's not easy i tell you because first, I got surrounded with people with different attitude from mine- they have negative outlook towards everything and the no-hope-anymore vision to what lies ahead. And there I am, listening to all their blabs. Second, there's this subject i am putting myself on a thin line between failing and passing. And here i go again, witnessing how faith really can move a mountain! Huhu GRACE. Thank You, Lord! I just pray that my positivity towards life may shine on everyone that they may also put their Faith to You and You, alone, with a hundred one percent.

Last week, I think I am brave enough to conquer something - a real mountain (literally speaking) that i only have just read on for over years: Mt Pulag. If you've not known or heard about this, this is the highest mountain around Luzon and second around Philippines, located somewhere in Benguet, with an elevation of 2922m above sea level. I have 4 layers of clothing, so you get the point. There will be times that the weather will fall zero degrees, so if you're planning to go... be prepared. (Shoutout to pareng Guyton of Physiology, I have just experienced the high altitude and low oxygen level. HAHA )

Our trek to the summit of Mt Pulag started around 1am, having a goal to reach on it before the sun rises. The trek was easy but the temperature is not (really not) and it has been a long trek, it took us almost 5 hours to reach the summit. It will use up a lot of your ATPs, so you need to have food to eat like chocolates or any other trail food your mouth is longing for. Haha The mountain has many peaks, so if you can't make it to the summit, you can get yourself there. I remembered that there are times when we say "Diri nalang ko. Makita ko man ang sunrise diri"/ "Kapoy, tama na" then, we will encourage one another "Lapit nalang. Kaya ta ni". After another mountain, thinking that it will be the last to traverse,  it will surprise you... voila! 3 more mountains to conquer. As what the song of Miley Cyrus says "There's always gonna be another mountain..." Hehehe

What I enjoyed during the trek was  you  get to encounter other people, with the same struggle yet being able to greet each other with "Good morning po". Awwwww! To cut the story short, we have reached our goal. Though I am expecting to see the sea of clouds (we haven't because as what the tour guide have said, there should be a rain during the night or day before), the skyline during sunrise is enough to take your breath away. I never thought that a reward like that will bring me in awe. Beautiful, just beautiful! When the sun finally came up,we went  back from where we started, and we get to enjoy through discovering how the place that we've sojourned, during dark, really look like.We got ourself back to the ranger station at almost lunch time. Kapoyest day ever! But worth it! This will not be my last mountain adventure. In fact, this is a start. So Mt Apo, Mt Fuji, Mt Kinabalu, Mt Everest. Relax lang kayo. Hahaha

If you wanna know how to get there, just read on some other blogs. :p

 

 

  

 

21 THINGS LOVE HAS TAUGHT ME SO FAR

I started this thread every love month since I was 18 and now that i'm eh eh eh eh eh eh eh TWENTY ONE.... i'm down to the 21st thing love has taught me. Hooray!

Disclaimer: These aren't absolutes, laws or principles. What's right for me may not be right for you. These weren't just all plain personal experiences but also something that i have pondered upon people around me. 

1. FIRST LOVE NEVER DIES. You may consider someone, may it be your ex-girlfriend/boyfriend or your crush when you were at gradeschool, as your first love. As for me, Jesus is my first love. We love because He first loved us. He isn't choosy to whom He will give His love and i tell you, it's only His love that is Unfailing. If God wasnt loving,the universe would be loveless. Because, really, God is Love.

2. Love is like taking a drug. In my three years in the Pharmacy course, I've encountered a lot of professors wherein they can associate lessons to love. Amazing as it was, I have these tattooed on my mind.. When you love, it is like taking a drug: first, you have to take it and it has to pass through certain barriers to be able to do what it is supposed to and it takes time to take an effect and reach its expected outcome.Thus, it needs to consider those adverse reaction and side effects it could probably do.

3. Different dosages. Each person you love are like different dosage forms. You also love differently just as according to dosage strengths, it may be low dose or high dose. What matters most is what is it that fits for you.

4. Cry if you have to. This world is full of heartbreak-inducing people. You are not weak when you cry. The moment you stop crying, you'll realize that it's worth it! Then, you'll laugh it all up.

5. There is no such thing as CTRL. You may control things: your wealth, your health, your schedule but you can't control love and yes, people, no can do. The best thing you can do is enter and scroll with life. Use backspace if you need to.

6. Heart abuse. Each human body comprises 206 bones but only 1 (one) heart. So if you're breaking someone's heart, try to consider breaking first one of the bones of that person. I guess, it hurts less. 

7. People change. The only constant thing in this planet is change. Yes, people do change, not abruptly because it really needs time. But still (back to number 5), you can't force a person to change. It's a matter of showing someone a deep understanding of why is she/he like this or like that and in the process, you'll see and discover what that person can actually be. Remember that if we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living.

8. Bs in Bitterness. If only this course exists, maybe half of the population were enrolled or better yet many would be topnotchers, considering myself. Badnews: The world doesn't care. 

9. Love is like playing cards. We serve as player and each of us must accept the cards life deals on us. Once they are on our hands, ourself alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game. Did i mention about some player that cheats? Beware.

10. Love is a mystery. Since I was in gradeschool, I'm fond of reading books about mysteries. As you turn the pages of the book, you're a kind of excited about something that you just can't bring down the book or close it, not until you finished reading it. Love is somewhat a kind of a secret that is yet to be revealed, it doesn't come just out of the blue. And once it has been unwrap, I swear it'll be a mystery anyone should seek for. The truth is in your hands. It is best when you yourself discover about it, not merely on stories that others are spicing up for you.

11. Heartbreak formula. It is from one of the published sorts of The Rock, my college student's publication. Though we have a lot of formula that is needed to be memorized at school, there is this something that i couldn't just forget eventhough i just encountered it on one-read. Length of relationship multiplied by the amount of tears divided by the happy moments equals time a person needs to overcome such heartbreak. :)

12. Letters are the sweetest. This may be old-school for some but i guess it is worth-reading than those lengthened text messages the world of communication now offers, considering it has been unlimited. haha! I just want to experience the snailmail the old people have had plus the encounter to the beautiful handwriting of the person who wrote that letter. And another plus, the A for Effort. I just wanted it that way, got a problem with that?

13. Love knows no plagiarism. It doesn't come with what you see in movies, people. Well, if that's the way how you make your relationship work, I can probably say that it wouldn't work. Because first and foremost, it isn't your story. Just like in movies, if people already knew about how that will end, they would go home disappointed, wasting their money. Your story is your own, consider it to be somewhat worth-watching!

14. Past is past. The more anger you have carried in your heart from the past, the less capable you are of loving in the present. The word "move on" now enters.

15. Love is like a business. Invest on moments for it will be soon cherished memories. It may soon make you rich, not for the money but for the superb experience, sadness or happiness all over. 

16. Love is a game. Some may lose, some may win. Well as what Barbara De Angelis said, "You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back" 

17. (1 Corinthinas 13: 1-7) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

18. The best love story is your story. . My story is yet to be told. Wish me all love in the world!

19. Do not date anyone if you don't have any intention of marrying him/her. I do sound like an expert in love, right? But NO, i concede, so put your eyebrows down please. Who wouldn't find it amazing,to the power of infinity, if someone will just love you immensely?. ... The future is forever, so why waste time with someone whom you knew from the very first start that you wouldn't end up with, prior to the future starts to unconceal. 

20. Love is like taking board exam. Some people failed on their first try, but that doesn't mean its gonna end there. The world keeps revolving and you need not to give up. Try again. The good new is, it is inevitable: You'll be a professional, hence you will be called "the lover of someone". It will happen and arrive in the best time God has set for you. Always remember that the heaven knows first before it gets online.Thank God I passed my board exam but in love, NO...NOT YET. Still not giving up. :))

21. We love because He first loved us, 1 John 4:19. I may have encountered this verse a lot of times in my whole life but now, I'm highlighting this just because I tend to forget such powerful truth. Even though we are undeserving of this kind of love, the noblest of all, He still gave us this because He is gracious. We can't do anything to top God's love for us or make Him love us less. Grace- under this, which is showered upon us, we enjoy the love that is everlasting, love that the Lord wants us to experience and the love that we can extend to other people around us. 

 

A perfect letter for me

Disclaimer: I just read this around ThoughtCatalog and can I just say that it brightens up my 3 am. (The sun isn't rising yet Hahaha)

A LETTER FOR THE SINGLE PEOPLE WAITING 

TO BE LOVED

By Lauren Jane Williams

Dear You,

Single doesn’t mean less-than. Single is whole. You are everything, now, in this moment: fully formed, a force to be reckoned with, all you need to be – and will ever need to be – in one perfect soul. One is a round number, remember. 

Also remember that you are enough.

You are complete.

You are loved.

They’re on their way. Your person. It might not be today, though – in fact, it’s probably not today, or even tomorrow – and that’s exactly how it should be. You’re not with the person of your life because you are the person of your life. They are extra. It will happen when it happens. But it will happen.

Don’t sit and wait. Don’t simply pass the time until they arrive. You are worth a thousand more dreams than that. Continue, with full speed ahead, to be wonderful, to be you, to live, because your one? They need you to have stories. To be in full colour, already, without them, so that they can spot you in the otherwise black-and-white crowd. 

And then, when you meet, finally, they’ll be so very much to say.

You’ll need days, weeks, years, a lifetime, to fill each other in on the details you have missed. And still it won’t be enough. Store up your stories for late-night pillow talk and early morning murmurs. Know that you’ll understand their life so much more, because you understand your own. You did the work to be your best self. You’ll know how to fill the spaces in your togetherness because you learned to be comfortable with your aloneness. You’ll never need them to survive.

Appreciate your solo status. What you learn now will make you even better for them. Weathering a storm of uncertainty will make you a stronger anchor for when they lose their job, and need you to be the strong one for a while. If you pay attention to the beauty of your journey – to work, through life – you’ll never be short on ways to brighten their day. Master your favourite meals to one day share, take the trips so you know where the best, hidden away spots are, look after the relationships that you do have. 

Be the one you want to find, so that when the right mix of luck and serendipity explodes into a romance that you didn’t dare hope would look like this, they can marvel at your braveness. Revel in your adventure. Laugh at your worry that you thought this might not ever happen for you.

This was always going to happen for you. You were always going to go a little bit longer, a little bit further, alone, without them, in order to be ready for the love coming your way. Don’t, for one second, think that it might not happen for you. Don’t build that kind of energy around yourself, because then your person might miss you. Even the right people can fail to see through the clouds of “I’m not even looking for love, anyway.” Yes you are. Own it. Own the fact that you are so in love with your life that the only thing better than having these experiences alone would be to have these experiences to share with somebody who matters. 

Admit it to yourself, and then out loud, to others. Yes, you can say, I’m not looking for love, I don’t want to scare it away, but I’m open to it. Ready for it. I welcome love into my life. Like attracts like: when you say you’re happier to be single, the universe will take you at word. Make sure the universe knows that you’re doing your best to become the person you need to be. For them. For yourself. For the love that will be your life.

And then, one day, at the grocery store or a friend’s birthday, at a work function or at a wedding, you’ll know. They will say hello, and it won’t feel like the first time. It will be the kind of hello that means “I’ve missed you, and I don’t even know you yet.” The kind of hello that isn’t a question – it will be your answer. And slowly, you’ll unfold for them, and you’ll see all the parts of them, and you’ll say a prayer to the universe for ever blessing you with this much good fortune.

Your one will embrace you, and they will thank you. They will thank you for holding on in there, for waiting, for not settling with something less-than when they were right around your corner, prepared to be your more-than. They’ll say thank you for trusting that it was they who would come. And every last moment of doubt will disappear like a cloudless vapor.

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WOW, RIGHT?

My Semester-Ender: Bacolod

After passing the board exam, I have always prayed and thought of traveling to places, have a job and earn for it- try different foods, take pictures, buy stuff.. meaning, gumastos (Hahaha) but maaaaan, Medschool happened.

On the first month being in the City of Iloilo also known as City of Love (Naks naman), I had plans of going on to the other places alongside Visayas. Before Medicine officially started, I met someone (Hindi ito lovelife, okay? And besides, she's a she), who was introduced to me by a handsome friend, named Mia. She became my classmate. The first semester of our Medlife was exhausting yet fun, dreadful but .... DREADFUL. Hahaha. Anyway, this is how we spent the first and second day of our Semestral break: Bacolod trip! It's good to be away for a while.

We have talked about the place several times already, though both of us haven't been there ever since. Thank God for online informations and Google Map! Days before the trip which is during our final exam week, we were still contemplating if "Madayon ta?" because the thought of it is somewhat impossible for some. "Wala ta tulugan" was her statement, "The Lord will provide" is my mantra. On the last day of class, we finally decided to push through. Even though some have said that the place will be jampacked with different fellas because they are celebrating the Masskara Festival, we bought our ticket on the exact day that we were going. Everything was smooth except for one of the most important thing.. where to stay in for a night.

Our original plan is just to try foods as many as we can and visit the famous The Ruins. We walked along Lacson Street, where food chains line up and party was going on. You can see that everyone's having a good time, with or without maskara. We enjoyed the traverse while looking up for food to try on while, simultaneously, place to stay in. It took us hours to have known that almost all places were fullybooked. But that didn't upset us. One of the beautiful thing that happened to us is when i needed to go to the comfort room and I could see starbucks few meters away. We entered there and after a few minutes, the rain poured down. The timing was pretty amazing, isn't it? So we decided to have some caffeine for a while until the rain stops. After that, we continued looking for. ... love. Kidding! The place! We were tired but amidst everything, we both stay calm and even made fun of things that are happening to us.  I have suggested that we take the Jeepney so that we may come across some hotels or inns away from Lacson Street. Without knowing where we are already, the Jeepney stopped to a terminal. I don't know what came up in my mind to tell her, "Ayala tayo!" and without being hesitant, she just said yes. (Guyyyysss singaot niya na ako!! Hahaha Joke!) And so we asked some locals on how to make it there. We wanted to take a jeepney or tricycle because we are kuripot like that. Some of them answered "Taxi nalang kamo"...."Bus nalang kamo, baba lang kamo sa. .. tapos.." but there's this one person who told us "May free shuttle man pakadto Ayala", meaning there's a free ride. Yes, you read that right, freeeeeeee!!!!  You don't know how ecstatic we were upon hearing that. We arrived at Ayala around 7 pm and we have had shopping...Akalain mo yun? Nagsho-shopping pero wala paring matutuluyan. Hahaha We've come to a point that we thought of just staying in a 24-hour coffeeshop up until dawn. Oh, desperate measures. But behold for the great revelation of blessing: One of our friend/classmate, named Abby also known as Anne Curtis of our class (Bwahahaha) was in Bacolod, too. While we are strolling at the mall, Abby told us that she had a booking to a place and she needed to transfer for some reasons. Again, the Majesty has provided. Oh, good Lord!

The rest of the trip was purely fun, spontaneous and definitely memorable! We visited the The Ruins and entered 12 stops for munching/ swallowing/ metabolizing and fattening food- from lunch to the day-after lunch. Imagine that? Because there are a lot of foods to try on, we'll surely come back for more! Bacolod, for me, is a place for a foodie. To sum it all up, Mia and I wondered "Bakit 3 meals lang ang required per day?" Hahahahaha! oo nga naman. Why not 10 meals?! So many food, so little stomach. Eat pa tayo more!

Thank You Lord for this mini adventure! Everything that Bacolod has in store for us was worth the decision of letting You handle everything. God bless Bacolod and God bless my grades. Hahaha

P.S. Because there's just the two of us, most pictures were solo because you know the drill. Lol