It Was a Blast

 

I originally meant to do a TOP TEN MOMENTS OF MY 2017 buuuut as I look back on my 2017, I realized God has been so gracious to me that it would be a shame not to include a couple of details that made my 2017 special. It may not have always been great times but, everything was worth mentioning. I sincerely pray that I have glorified the Lord’s name in these moments and that while I did stumble and slip sometimes, I praise God for helping me to my feet again and again.

“Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.” Psalm 102:10

February

Discipleship

Last Heartbeat, I committed myself to participate in God’s greater commission and it was revealed to me at that time that I would be discipling my college best friend and thesis partner, Xandy. It was easy to deny the call because of the feeling of dread and I was afraid she would reject my offer. But God rebuked me and changed my perspective when it comes to discipleship. God gave me a sign for the go signal and I asked her if she would want me to disciple her on her walk towards learning and loving God more. Since then, we’ve had so many fellowships and I even bought her a bible at this year’s Heartbeat.

May 2017

Dipolog Adventure

A detour from our main purpose for going to Dipolog, we visited Chapters and Grandma’s Best! They were all aesthetically pleasing, plus, the food’s yummy too!

June 25-July 2

Heartbeat for Christ and Advance Leadership Training

It was my first time to ride a plane! God even made the sky so beautiful! ❤

In my one week stay in Quezon City, I got sick! But the flu wouldn’t stop me from learning more about Christ. See the difference of my selfies! haha My eyes tend to be puffy when I have colds.

 

 

What’s worse? I lost my voice 😦 and I was part of the praise and worship team to sing songs to God! But I didn’t let that hinder from glorifying God through our borrowed talents.

We also got to visit St. Luke’s hospital and UERM. We shared a bit about God’s 4 spiritual laws and I got to say to prayer in the end! God has already molded each and every one of those students’ hearts and we got to personally witness them accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

I also got to meet a lot of new people from all over the Philippines! This group right here is extra special since I got to share some intimate details of my life and I knew God orchestrated these specific people to be in one group.

 

Meet my roommates! Heart to heart talk every night hahaha! I love how we jive and the nights we tried fitting ourselves into 2 beds!

FAMILY PICTURES!

 

July 20, 2017

First Wedding in Berchmans Family

Patrick is the first one to get married in our high school section! Congratulations again to Pat and Gizzy and to their 2 gorgeous children.

July 22, 2017

Sta. Cruz Island

It was, surprise surprise, my first time going to Sta. Cruz Island! It was so beautiful! I really enjoyed the scenery and the water, even though I can’t go very far into the sea because I don’t swim that well.

August 1, 2017

Officially a Third Year Student

Time flies! I can’t believe I’ll have 4 more courses to take and I’ll be done with PBL (problem based learning). And guess what? *spoiler alert* With the grace of God, I managed to finished this semester REMEDIAL FREE! I did not have any remedials both written and practical. I was amazed myself, but I know it was not because of me. God was the one who made it so, and I’m just glad to be an instrument to His master plan.

August 31, 2017

My youngest sister’s debut

I tried making this day extra special even though my sister didn’t want a lavish party. I can’t believe all of us are adults now!

October 2017

Acquaintance Party

A colorful “street” party that got us all hooked and roaring!

November 27, 2017

Last PBL Group and Last PBL Session

I still can’t believe I got to this point! I can still remember counting down how many more Summative exams and VOSCEs we would be facing before Clerkship comes. Now, here we are, dreading Clerkship as it looms not so far away now. Yikes!

November 29-December 9, 2017

Ateneo Fiesta

This was one for the books! For a long long time, maybe even the first time, the School of Medicine had a chance to fight for real in this year’s Ateneo Fiesta and not just lose by default due to lack of number. It’s the first time that the SOM particularly set a break for the Med students to enjoy the At’Fest! I got to participate in the tug of war, though we lost. I cheered for the women’s softball games and we even won a game! I even got to be a hair and makeup artist for a day! hahaha support all the way for the historical event that is POP DANCE. The competition was not what was historical but that SOM was competing! Even though we didn’t win, a lot of people still loved the first years’ performance ❤

Made to Worship

To sing in front of a crowd full of medical student around the Philippines is one thing, but to sing in front of fellow Zamboangeñeous and professional singers was an entirely new experience! It was utterly amazing and nerve wrecking at the same time! I got to sing At the Cross even though I was sick. Singing for the Lord in front of that crowd was surreal and I thank God for the once in a lifetime experience!

December 13, 2017

Public Speaking

Even though I have tried public speaking numerous times, it still leaves me breathless and palpitating by the end of it. Who would have thought that I, will be chosen to be one of the finalist for Extemporaneous Speaking? AND who would have thought that I, would finish FIRST PLACE (tied with a friend of mine) at the said competition? Well I DID NOT! But God does a lot of things that would make you question “Did I really do that?” and would make you realize that you don’t know yourself that well not like God does. Hooray for public speaking!

December 17, 2017

First batch outing and I was glad I came! I still had a blast even though I strained my ankle, got sand all over my clothes, got wiped out by giant waves and most importantly, got stranded for 2 hours! It was really a memorable day for all of us.

December 19, 2017

Annual Blitz

Every year we go to the hospital to go sing some carols and spread the word of God to the patients and their families. This year I was paired with Nikka! It was so fulfilling ❤

December 20, 2017

Meals for a Mission!

We did a fund raising event for our assigned community and it was a success! God really does do immeasurably more than we could ask for and ever imagined!

December 21, 2017

Blossoms Christmas Party!

On the spot exchange gift plus donut party! hahaha Aside from that, we got to hear God’s message for us through our discipler Mama Lovely!

December 23, 2017

Berchmans Christmas Party!

 

Every time our classmate Nikka goes home from Australia, we make it a point to gather together and catch up! It was a shame our moderator couldn’t come because he was in a motorcycle accident a day prior 😦 We got to visit him in the hospital after his surgery and thank God, he is on his way to recovery!

December 30, 2017

G6 Year End Party!

A night filled with laughter, karaoke and lots and lots of girl talk hahaha! High school barkada forever!

December 31, 2017

Closing 2017

Went to Fort Pillar and the Museum! We thank the Lord for all His provisions this year. He has always been faithful no matter the season we are in. We love you God! Thank you for an awesome year!

#Throwback to my wonderful experience in Dumaguete <3

2014, That’s A Wrap

So before January 2015 ends, I present to you… my 2014 🙂

January 11, 2014. Became part of one of my best friends Ariana’s Sweet surprise to her then suitor Nabil. So happy for them! What a start for my 2014!

My Shih Tzu, Twilight (don’t ask), gave birth to her 4th litter of puppies!

By this time around, the other brown died and not so long after this picture, the small black one died too 😦

January 28, 2014. Misty went home for her 19th birthday!

The day is always fun when I’m with them.

February 14-16, 20104. Immersion for our Philosophy class. Worked as a waitress in Alavar, one of the famous restaurants here in Zamboanga. Got to serve people at one of the busiest days of the year, VALENTINES. It. was. not. pretty.

My co-workers/undercover Atenean students. We experienced all sorts of customers from big tippers down to assholes.

The last day of work and Edmark and I had to go and help the other crew serve at a house who catered from Alavar’s. We have no idea where we were going not until I saw my best friend Jessa shouting my name and hugging me! Turn’s out, Alavar catered Ikoh’s family for a christening. Edmark turned to be Jessa’s classmate too in accoounting haha! I really was happy that the world is small :))

I got to help make my sister’s dress to her last prom.

Hiking plus mushroom hunting with fellow Biology majors.

February 11, 2014. Collaborated surprise birthday with ate Chum and Ikoh, Jessa’s big sister and boyfriend to celebrate Jessa’s 20th Birthday! 😀

March 9, Steph’s 19th birthday! Despite the fail surprise, we still made her happy on her day!

Steph’s birthday

The birthday girl with the gang! Plus boyfriends :))

These 2 months old puppies were sold by us to the people close to our hearts. We wanted to give them the best home and we’re glad we found them with our friends. The black one is now named Maximillian or Maxy (Sold to Christian, anniversary gift to Mitzi) and the brown one Taffy (Sold to Dane, one of my sister’s best friend)

We made them play one last time before they meet their new owners.

Facilitating a Microbiology workshop for high school students in our very own laboratory.

Day 2 of our Microbiology Workshop with the high school students.

Valerie, one of my sisters, graduated from high school!

An outing with G6 and the boys at Woodland Resort. Mitzi edited in her boyfriend after feeling left out because Christian will arriving late because of his work.

Learned to row a boat on their lake.

When Christian arrived, Ikoh had to go home early. We also had to sneek in Maxy, Mitzi’s dog in because the resort was no pet’s allowed HAHA!

April 25, 2014, spontaneously decided to have my hair cut short short. This is the shortest hair length I have ever had.

My sisters and I pampered ourselves by making a trip to a nearby salon.

I can’t get over how big of a change this was for me.

But I loved it!

Short hair.

April 26, obligatory summer sleepover at Jessa’s house before the start of the new term at school.

Attending parties with my best friend Lizzie

On our way to the party

I never thought I’d have that much fun that night!

June 14, 2014. Had to try out Mitzi’s new Xperia phone on our 83rd monthsary as bffs.

Stayin’ real, staying true. Vain best friends!

Everytime Misty comes home for vacation or school break, pictures like these are mandatory.

Goofy goofy pictures with the people I love on Mitzi’s new phone.

Summer, making the most of it with these people.

Still with my G6 girls at KFC. We always find new things to try, like not eating at Mcdo and Jollibee again :)) We always end up there. Time for some change 🙂

Xandy and I went on an open mic night in Kape Zambo. It featured 4 comedians that really made our night extra special. Shame, I never got the courage to go infront, grab the mic, and deliver one of my own pieces (a poem, or a song)

My hair has grown longer by the time school’s about to start.

Chilling at MyCrib with Steph and Lizzie after enrolling for my last 1st semester in my 4th year in college.

Jogging at Paso

Jogging for 4 Sundays in a row

While jogging, we witnessed a marriage proposal being done. It was so sweet!

jogging at Paso again. Trying to make it a habit.

Steph, Elzam and I baked moist cupcakes at Steph’s place haha but that was not the big deal of this day. Steph finally introduced Elzam formally to her parents as her boyfriend after 3 years of being together!!

Xandy, Kz, Mud, Kuya Niel and I went on a road trip to La Paz and Baluno to scout for our thesis. It was an epic day! We got stuck because kuya Neil’s car would not go up the mountainous/rocky road that would lead us to Sambales where Kz and Mud need to go to get soil samples. So they HIKED IT together with a local while Xandy, kuya Neil and I hang out in the middle of nowhere until it almost got dark.

During our La paz expedition before the Baluno detour, we went up up up the mountain to hopefully visit La Paz’s Mushroom farm but the car would not go up and we refused to ride those scary and very pricey hired motorcycles to travel Xandy and I so we gave up.

We passed this on our way to La Paz and apparently this is pronouced as PULLEY.

Xandy and I wearing kuya Niel’s father’s police hat that we found on the back seat.

Xandy and I wearing kuya Niel’s father’s police hat that we found on the back seat.

Mitzi’s 19th Birthday celebrated at Fat Monk where I ate crocodile @@

The Fat Monk, though you’d think the name is offensive, wait ’til you see their menu. They serve ostrich, crocodiles and the likes. As a biologist, I would shake my head and boycott this place. But the food tastes so good, it’s clouding my judgment.

Impulsively auditioned for Nadia:Un Chavacano Musical with Mitzi without knowing the synopsis of the story and not knowing it would be a Chavacano musical! Guess what, we got the parts!

A cast photoshoot for Nadia

Road trips with them

The Science and Information Technology courses are having their acquaintance party! 😀

Orange is the new black

I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be :))) A spy? Assassin? XD

Photobooth pictures with the third years

With the only fellow 4th years who came. Hooray for Biology winning the Hottest Criminals pageant represented by Kz and Mud (the leftmost person and the rightmost person in the picture)

Team Building with my fellow Biology majors! I’m the only 4th year who joined (except for Waylid who went but did not play the amazing race), but no regrets ❤

So glad I followed my instincts and attended the combuild. I had so much fun!

A growing family of future Biologists! Minus the fourth years who are busy except for me and Waylid who attended 🙂

During the SIT week, we decided to participate in the amazing race

Lo and behold, we won! 😀

We really did not expect this but we are so proud of ourselves

Boodle fight with fellow Biology majors

The only fourth years who attended the SIT fun day

Ariana’s surprise 19th birthday

Overnight at Mar’s place

Super overtime for endless school requirements

Class pictures with ma’am Partosa

Lunch with classmates

Lunch with classmates

During breaks from classes with them

Playing Head’s Up, manual style with them

Wash day Friday with them

Wash day Friday with them

At the college garden outside our Bio laboratory

Goofing off with my classmates

Going to Paseo del Mar with them after classes

At Kz’s cafe called Sugar Rush

Our final exam for Philosophy of Religion class! A lunch with classmates featuring your culture’s famous dishes! I belonged to Chavacano group even though I could also be part of the Chinese community and Tagalog community.

We brought Yuna with us when we visited our grandparents at their respective cemeteries.

Nadia photoshoot by Louie Bantilan! What a small world 😀 He’s the husband of our former boarder here in our dormitory and it’s been a long time since I saw him.

Our theme is floral because Nadia, the play, is about Nadia losing her flower garden during the war that symbolizes her dead brother.

We had a projector type of photoshoot and we had a lot of fun!

After the happy flowery theme comes the sad and ashes theme where we lost everything after the war.

These are outtakes we took behind the scenes of the shoot.

Some of the pictures taken

Some of the pictures taken

Some of the pictures taken

The picture we used for the official poster of Nadia: Un Chavacano Musical

November 8: Mud walk. We made a stand when we reminded people of the Yolanda typhoon that killed thousands of lives in Tacloban.

This is me and the director of Nadia: Un Chavacano musical.

We wore signs as we made a silent walk around our college campus.

We covered ourselves with ashes made from papers that featured Yolanda.

Everytime we stopped at a place, we would sing one of the Play’s song about hope that also served as promoting our upcoming play.

Mitzi and I

Baby sitting the very very big Maxy while Mitzi went to her class. Maxy’s going to have his first haircut! Can you believe he is just 9 months here?

November 12, 2014. My 20th birthday. Got surprised by my loved ones! An extraordinary day. Got to spend the afternoon with Lizzie

My very musical Nadia family exploding into a very glee-like happy birthday song with matching band as they sang and danced to greet me! They even gave me a cake made out of clay.

My gifts! I got a new pair of sandals from my thesis partner, Xandy, cakes from friends and a drawing of me from my sisters

November 16, 2014. Setting up the stage for our play dates on Nov. 20-23

Making the flowers for the stage

My best friend made a late surprise birthday for me! :))

It was really sweet of them although I surprised them just as they surprised me when we met unexpectedly on the way to each other haha!

I’m SO 20! Goodbye teenage years!

Nov. 18, saying goodbye to our lovely choreographer sir Karl! Thank you for all the things you’ve taught us. We will never forget.

The evacuation scene

Evacuation scene

The scene where we refused to leave our homes

I play a second role as one of Nadia’s flower fairies

November 21, 2014. A Tv guesting at No Limit on channel GBPI to promote Nadia.

We talked about Nadia and sang songs on the show.

Promotional pictures

Promotional pictures

I play “Kumare” or the protagonist’s mother, Diana’s best friend.

A lot has happened in my 2014. I can’t summarize it in just a few sentences. I just loved my year all together and I wouldn’t change anything even if I had the means to.

C’est la vie

Creatures of the Night Book Tag by Katytastic

THE CREATURES OF THE NIGHT BOOK TAG

This tag was made by miss Katytastic from the BOOKTUBE community in Youtube.

Click HERE to see how it is done! 😀

Because I don’t have a booktube channel yet, I’m going to do this here since it’s Halloween and I’ve wanted to this for some time now. So here it goes.

These are some books that are my personal favorites and in my opinion, is/are the best series/stand alone book to represent each creature of the night. 😀 I couldn’t possibly choose one, so if there are more than 1 books/series in a category, please note that they are arranged in no particular order and they are all my favorites.

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. READ WITH CAUTION.

1. Vampire

Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

BEST. VAMPIRE. BOOK. EVER.

I have yet to read the spin-off series BLOODLINES. I’m just waiting for the final book of that series and I’ll marathon it maybe after school load is lighter!

Melabeth Series by E.B. Hood

I got these books as an arc from Mr. E.B. Hood and it follows a girl named Melanie Elizabeth or Melabeth, as she is called by her parents, is faced with a path that will lead her to fulfill her revenge to the guys that caused her death. Gifted with a second life, she is given a choice to fulfill her revenge or to forget the past and live her life (afterlife) to the fullest.

Check my review about these books here and here.

2. Werewolf

Darkest Powers series by Kelly Armstrong

This book is full of paranormal creatures because that is where the story is developed.  Among those paranormal creatures of the night, I have this huge crush on Derek! :)) He’s the werewolf that is not the “HOT, HE’S GOT 6-PACK ABS” kind of werewolf. Though he did became hot *wink wink*. Derek is a 16 year old guy that is undergoing a sort of “change” that involves acne, body odor, greasy hair and body odor. Need I say more. But as his change finally ends, his acne starts to clear, his body odor lessens until non-existent, and his body become more muscular. For short, he got REALLY HOT by the end of the series. But that is not why I like him though :)) He’s such a great guy beneath his brooding persona and he protects what is precious and dear to him. So yeah, I love Derek the werewolf :))

2.b Shape-shifter / Skinwalker

They are not actually werewolves but I just want to feature these series since I so love it.

Rebirth Series by Becca Vincenza

I received the first book as an arc from miss Becca and I loved it! I have yet to read the second and last book, since its a duology, but I would love to read it someday.

Click here to read my review.

Darkest Rising Series by Kelly Armstrong

This is the spin-off series of the Darkest Powers trilogy and I equally love it, if not more! This series stars Maya, who is a skinwalker and can shape shift into a cougar. I love her character so much.

Read my review here!

3. Zombie

Darkest Powers series by Kelly Armstrong

Okay, I chose this series again because I haven’t read any zombie books yet. Though this book has some zombie aspects in it too. This books stars Chloe who until recently thought that she was crazy hallucinating things like ghosts and whatnot. Later on in the first book, she realizes she is a necromancer that has the ability to bring or raise the dead back.

Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

I also placed this series because of Nico who raises the legions of the dead from the underworld to help them fight their battles against Gaea’s forces.

4. Ghost

Darkest Powers series by Kelly Armstrong

Yet again, this book :)) I chose this book again because of Chloe. Because she is a necromancer, she can normally see and speak to ghosts. When her roommate, Elizabeth Delaney, at the Lyle House was murdered, she could see and speak with her. At first she thought that she was haunted by a poltergeist who likes to throw stuff and all. Later she realizes that she is actually a Volo half-demon and recognizes all those poltergeist activity happens only when she is angry because she still couldn’t control her powers. Even though she is now a ghost, she helps the others escape and fight their enemies whenever she can.

New Soul series by Jodi Meadows

I chose this series for this category because of the sylphs. Well technically they are ot ghosts, more like souls that were punished to roam the earth because of their ambitious wishes to be immortal. I love this series so much and I think it is underrated. This series needs more love people! Read them!

Click to read my review here.

5. Witch/Warlock/Spellcaster

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
 

Magnus. Bane. Period.

and

Tessa Gray too! :))

Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins

An academy/reform school for supernatural teenagers who have gone “waywired”. :))

Here’s the synopsis of the first book,

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It’s gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie’s estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it’s her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag-along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott

I’ll quote myself from my short review in Goodreads “This series blew my mind. I’m sad that many people have died throughout the story. But still this series is a great read for people who loves mythology.“

I chose this series for this category because of their powers that is based on their aura capabilities. Each person has a different aura and a different “smell” from them. This story follows twins Sophie and Josh Newman who are thought to be the twins from the legend that is said to save the world. Their auras match the description from the said legend about twins with one silver aura and the other a gold aura. They were tasked by Nicholas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle to keep the Codex – or Book of Abraham the Mage from the hands of John dee. Sophie and Josh’s magical capabilities were awaken by different people that pose different elemental magic.

The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan

Carter and Sadie Kane are siblings that lives separately since their mother’s death. One night during their reunion together with their father, all hell broke lose. They discovered they were magicians and are hosting the Egyptian gods Horus and Isis.

This is one badass series that I definitely recommend you guys to read.

Review for Serpent’s Shadow, click HERE

Darkest Powers series by Kelly Armstrong

Did I forget to mention that Derek has an adoptive brother? His name is Simon Bae. Simon Bae’s father adopted Derek and the two formed a very strong bond. Simon is a sorcerer just like his father. Another sorceress in this series is Victoria Enright or Tori, who initially had a crush on Simon and later found out he’s actually her half brother and that she’s actually Victoria Bae. And since her father is a sorcerer and her mom is a sorceress, her powers are kind of out of control.

6. Fairy/Fae

Rebirth Series by Becca Vincenza

In this series, there is a fey featured, Marcus. Marcus is a fairy from Scotland that is working for the York Clan as a spy in Braden clan. In the end of Damaged, he helps Audrey escape from her prison cell and helps reunite her with Stone (Gabriel)

7. Demon

Review for Clockwork Princess HERE!

~SPOILER~

Tessa is a warlock which means that she has a demon for a mother or a father. In this case, she had a demon father and a unmarked shadowhunter mother.

This book has one of the most beautiful love stories ever!! The only series where a love triangle has been resolved so smoothly. A love triangle where they are all soulmates. :))

8. Angel

Penryn and the End of Days series of Susan Ee

The series is yet to end. Previously announced to be 5 books but are now down to 3. @@ This dystopian type of series features fallen angels that wanted to rule the human world. But some fallen angels like Raffe, would want to save the world from the hands of these bad angels.

Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand

Read my reviews here, here and here!

Those are all for the three books, separately.

9. Alien

Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout

Review here :))

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

I think by now you have seen the movie and it is pretty much the same one though there are still a lot of differences but the plot is pretty much the same.

This is planned to have a sequel that will hopefully be released soon. It is entitled Seeker.

The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore

I have yet to read the Revenge of Seven because I’m planning to read it after the last book has been released :D!

Don’t watch the movie of I Am Number Four!! As much as I adore Alex Pettifer, I hated that movie soooooo much.

Review for the Power of Six —> Here

10. Superpowered human

Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi
 

Review for the second book: here

Partials series by Dan Wells

Click for Ruins review here.

Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

Review for Shatter Me: here

Sorry I got really sleepy so I just copied my reviews from Goodreads. Hope you guys will support these series! I love them all so much 😀

I recommend these books and I hope you’ll watch other booktubers do this tag in youtube! Must watch tags from some of my favorite booktubers: PolandbananasBOOKS, Thelittlebookowl, Jessethereader and abookutopia.

C’est la vie

Protected: Bittersweet

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Klutzy Kismet Kisses

Recently, I have read the book Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. I can say that it was not the best book ever but it hit me where it hurt the most. While I was reading, I found myself relating to Isla at some points in the book. She was too hard on herself and constantly reminds herself of her insecurities. It was annoying to read about how she goes on and on comparing herself with other people. Then I realized, I found her really annoying because she was just like me. Out of all the protagonists in the series, Anna, Lola and Isla, I could say I definitely related more with Isla. I’ve read some reviews on the book to see if other people shared my views and found that some people hated it because it was instalove. For me though, it wasn’t. The book started when a drunk-medicated Isla went to the cafe called Kismet and saw her long time crush Josh. At first I found her love for him kind of creepy because I thought she was obsessed or something. But then later on in the book, I realized that she saw Josh as a beacon of light. A person to whom she sees as an inspiration and yeah maybe she did stalk him on social medias from time to time. Who doesn’t though? haha! Then we read Isla coming up to Josh and all the words kept spewing out of her mouth. She couldn’t control them because she didn’t even know where she got her courage to say all those things. But it went well and the story picked up a few months later when their senior year was about to start. From there Josh and Isla’s relationship developed into something more. It was so surreal because in about a month, their relationship progressed so much. And for some people that seemed over exaggerating or impossible. But for me, it wasn’t. I myself have experienced this kind of love and I must say, you can’t help yourself but go with the flow. This is the kind of love that consumes you and it can be good or bad. It depends on how you control it’s intensity. Josh and Isla were evidently so in love that it was so blinding. Do you get it? There will come a time in our lives that we will meet a person and we instantly click to them. You’ll be so in love and live in a bubble of your own. This bubble may last or not it depends but it is not always good to be that way. People that are so in love becomes so detached from the outside world and their actions become irrational. That was what happened to Isla and Josh. They let their love consume them so they made irrational and impulsive actions. I myself did my fair share of impulsive and irrational actions before and I can’t guarantee I won’t have any anymore. It’s just how life is. Sometimes we have a one-track mind and we let that take control of ourselves. And sometimes, it is too late to regret for the actions we do and the words we uttered. Isla was so in love with Josh that she couldn’t believe it was happening. She doubted herself whether she deserved Josh and whether Josh really loved her. She was too hard on herself and I saw myself reflecting on her words. I may not have vocalized my worries but there really comes a time that when you keep it hidden, one way or another, it will fill up and burst and let the WORD VOMIT commence.

They say that no relationship is perfect and I agree to that. That is why, for me, it is so scary to be so in love, because then you’ll realize that whatever problems that will come your way will either be from family, friends, work or something made up. For me, it was his family. But let’s not talk about me. Josh and Isla didn’t see it coming when the problem came their way. Josh’s mom became a hindrance to their relationship when she purposely controls his life. His mom wants him to be a part of the campaign since his dad was running for senator. Sometimes we think that it is impossible for two people who loves each other so much to just get up and leave. When one of their problems got solved, in a way, Isla made another one when she pushed Josh away. She thought that the reason why everything was happening so fast was because Josh didn’t intend to stay and that he was using her to relieve himself off his miserable senior life. You see, Josh was also featured as a side character in the first book Anna and the French Kiss. He was best friends with Etienne St. Clair, who is the love interest of the protagonist. Etienne together with Meredith and Rashmi were all a year older than Josh. Rashmi was Josh’s girlfriend since he was a freshman but they broke up before Rashmi graduated. Josh and Rashmi were notorious for being so in love and from the PDA they’ve been doing all over the school. And this part is also relatable for me because sometimes the people we will fall in love with are the people who we already know by name but never really got the chance to be friends with. You will witness their growth and their awkward years and all that. The person you love would have had a previous relationship and people will always regard them as “Josh and Rashmi” and not “Josh” and “Rashmi”. The perfect relationship that people look up on and when it suddenly ends, people are dumbfounded and will regard the situation as a temporary settlement. The same goes for me. It will always be tough to live up to people’s standards when it comes to these kinds of situation because people will always find a way to bring you down and compare you with the other person. As for Isla’s case, she doesn’t deny the fact that Rashmi came before her but she can’t deny the ache inside her whenever she thought of how mush Rashmi touched in Josh’s life. You can’t blame your significant other when it comes to the “first times” in his/her life because you weren’t in their life yet when those happened. You may not be his first kissed but it will mean a lot to him for you to be his last.  Rashmi wasn’t just Josh’s first girlfriend and his long time girlfriend, she was also his friend. Rashmi has touched so much in Josh’s life that Isla feels it was too overwhelming to think about and that’s when things go wrong. We think about things too much, that it clouds our logic and rational thinking. Isla said some things she didn’t mean to and everything wen’t downhill from there. It is also hurtful to think that some people who knows Josh and Rashimi would definitely compare their relationship to that of Josh and Isla’s.

It was also pointed out in the story that Josh liked Isla before Rashimi and when he thought that Kurt was Isla’s boyfriend, he backed off and won Rashimi’s affection. For my part, he liked me when he was still in his previous relationship and opt not to be unfaithful so he let me go. Later on though, he realized he had a crush on me before when a friend pointed it out to him 4 months later when we were already together. Maybe that how kismet really happens. You don’t force it, you just let it be. I love how the story brought about its resolution and I won’t spoil anymore details about that part. I was satisfied with how it ended because as it says in the title, it was a happily ever after, but I would’ve liked to read about their future and all like a few months later when they were already in college and all. I just wish that my story will end in a happily ever after too, just like Isla and Josh’s 🙂

All in all I gave the book 4.5 out 5 stars. I recommend you read the series in its chronological order even though it is technically a stand alone.

C’est la vie

There’s This Girl

Disclaimer: The events and names of people used in the story are purely fictional and that I made this story out of the idea that popped into my head at 10:00 pm this July 23rd of 2014. If you find yourself relating to the events and names mentioned, I can assure you it is purely coincidental. I hope you enjoy this mini story I made out of the titles of some of my favorite songs. I also recommend listening to these songs in your spare time, they’re quite awesome, if I do say so myself.

One rainy night, there was a girl, who just wanted to runaway. She kept thinking that anywhere would be better, anywhere but here. She kept running until her legs could take no more. She stopped and panted, sweat, tears and raindrops running down her face. She scanned the place and noticed that everything seemed so unfamiliar. The girl was so terrified, she didn’t know what to do and where to go. She sat on the pavement and prayed to God, “please don’t stop the rain so I could cry without anyone noticing”. She realized that the rain stopped pouring on her though she could still hear it. So she looked up and saw a man holding out an umbrella smiling down at her. The man extended his hand and she accepted it gratefully.She stood up and asked the man “Who are you?”.

The man simply told her “It is you“. The girl looked at him questioningly and the man continued “You’re just the girl I’ve been looking for all night. Do you know where you’re going?”

The girl blurted out “I–I actually have nowhere to go.” She doesn’t know why but, somehow, she feels safe seeing the man smile at her.

“Come on, let me take you there“, the man beckoned her to follow him.

“Where is ‘there’ exactly?” she asked.

The man smiled and held her hand, “Home“.

The girl stared at their hands and looked up to see that the man was looking at her sadly. “When I look at you, there’s something I can’t quite place”, she shyly said.

The man adjusted the umbrella and replied, “It’s because you’ve met me before.”

The girl contemplated this and asked “Why don’t I know you?”.

“It’s because you forgot about me”, the man said quietly.

She heard it and realized that maybe she did knew him before. “I’ll remember you” she assured him. The man smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

After some time of walking, the rainfall was getting weaker and weaker. “Who was I to you?” She asked suddenly.

“You were the one that got away” he stopped walking and faced her. “I loved this girl once. But I set her free, I let her go. I realized I made a mistake and because of the mess I made, I knew I need to make this right and go back to you. I promised that I won’t give up and that when I find her, I’ll never let her go and I swear this time I mean it”

She felt her head start to hurt and she closed her eyes “what happened to her?”

 

The man lifted her chin and wiped her tears, “I was a little too late. She had an accident a few weeks ago and is under observation. She keeps forgetting people and events but the doctors say it’s only temporary. That she’ll need a lot of time and therapy to conquer her head trauma. So she freaked out when she saw me because she couldn’t remember me. She ran away from the hospital and we couldn’t find her.”

She knelt while clutching her head and cried. “I–I think.. I thi–think I remember now.”

The man knelt beside her and hugged her tentatively “I loved this girl once and I never stopped loving her. Not once.”

She felt her eyes start to water and threw herself at him, knocking the umbrella out of his hand, “I almost forgot what it was like to be in your arms Dylan. I knew I’d remember you, whatever it takes.”

————————————————————————————————————–

“Please stay. Don’t leave me”, she tightened her grip on Dylan’s shirt, tugging it toward her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay. You’ve already got all of me in here” Dylan placed his hand on her chest. “Now, why don’t you sleep and let me watch over you.”

She scooted a little on her tiny hospital bed and patted the place she vacated. He smile and took his shoes off. He climbed behind her and hugged her from behind. “When you’ll wake up tomorrow, I’ll still be beside you.” He whispered and kissed her forehead. In no time, he heard her steady breathing and he began falling asleep as well.

—————————————————————————————————————-

She woke up and felt the familiar fading headache she usually feels every now and then. Whenever she feels it, she gets worried that she might forget again. So she took the letter Dylan gave her a few weeks ago, out of the drawer. Making sure she doesn’t wake him up, she unfolds it and whispers the words to herself. “I am truly, madly, deeply and unconditionally in love with you Scarlet Henderson. Don’t forget that. Nothing will come between you and I. This I promise you. And if you do forget again, I will be right here waiting for you to come back to me. Yours truly, Dylan”

She folded the piece of paper back again and slept with it under her pillow. Beside her, Dylan opens his eyes and kisses Scarlet on her forehead and lies back down besides her. She doesn’t know it but every time she wakes up to read the piece of paper, he almost always wakes up with her and secretly listens to her whispering it over and over until she gets tired and falls back to sleep again. She stirs in her sleep and he closed his eyes in case she gets up and reads the letter again. It hasn’t happened twice before but maybe this time is an exception. Dylan felt Scarlet snuggling into his arms and mutters a faint “Dylan”. He hugged her tighter and drifted to sleep as well while thinking “I love this girl so much.”

C’est la vie

The Evolution of My Hair

Freshman year. I trimmed my hair shorter.

Sophomore year. i got fat haha. I trimmed my hair a little more shorter.

Junior year in high school. I cut my own bangs.

bangs.

You can see that it’s not straight so I got tired of it.

I begun clipping my bangs to the side.

At one time I wanted to perm my hair because of this play. I played Queen Elizabeth I.

At the start of senior year. My hair is this long.

It got longer and longer. This was during the greek fest. We played Egyptian gods and goddesses. (I know, ironic right? Egyptians in greek fest) I played Sekhmet, the warrior goddess.

I needed to be curly for a movie school project. I got my hair accidentally PERMANENTLY curled my hair when I dipped my hair in this solution I saw lying around in our house. In turns out it was a curling solution to make your curls permanent.

I still didn’t know it by then. I was gathering pictures because I thought by a few hours, my hair will be straight again. NOT.

I begun wondering why my hair isn’t straight yet after a few hours.

By December, I danced during the Ateneo Fiesta 2010 and my hair’s still curly. That white stuff is temporary hair spray dye.

by the end of senior year, I decided to slowly, inch by inch, cut the curls out.

Summer before college, my hair’s this short.

freshman year in college.

Still freshman year.

Sophomore year in college. My hair got long.

By August of 2012, sophomore year in college, I got my hair cut again.

By October 2013, junior year in college, my hair got longer again.

By December 2013, I got my hair trimmed.

This is my hair by summer (april) before senior year.

April 25, 2014, spontaneously decided to have my hair cut short short. This is the shortest hair length I have ever had.

Short hair.

July 19, 2014

My latest photo. My hair’s starting to get longer again.

I want my hair to be long again by the time graduation day comes.

My hair’s surprisingly gets longer quickly this time.

I’ve always had long hair. Some people would always describe me as “the girl with the long hair”. But what some people didn’t know was that I had quite a few changes done with my hair. Some were so ridiculous that I decided to not keep it that long. That’s why I did everything to hide my bangs, my curly hair and practically every bad hair day I’ve ever had.

I got inspired by my friend Joyce’s post about the evolution of her hair. I didn’t get the chance to change a lot in my hair but I still wanted to make a my version but in a span of 8 years instead of Joyce’s 4 years. I never did try any dyes because I’m scared it might not look good but maybe soon I’ll be able to take that risk. I have not also considered the idea of getting my hair heat fixed or rebonded because I have a really thin hair. Really, really thin. Sometimes I hate that fact because I can’t do much with it. I always take too much time in the morning trying to put volume to it. But getting my hair shorter made my hair look thicker so I don’t regret that impulsive move I did to my hair.

I hope someday soon I’ll be able to take risks like dyeing my hair or even getting a beautiful and proper perm this time. We’ll see. I’ll be 20 this November, maybe I’ll get myself pampered at the salon.

Ces’t la vie

It’s Beginning of the End

Though separation is inevitable, what we need to do is to never stop being friends. It takes a lot of effort but I’m sure we can do it.

Alxndra

Unbelievable. This is crazy. How come four years felt so fast? Now, only 8 months left until we have to part ways. From 28, we are now down to 14. It’s really sad that some people had to go but its just the way it was needed to be. At least now, I feel like everyone’s happy wherever they are now.

And now, the beginning of the end. It’s kind of scary yet at the same time fulfilling. We had our worst times together, breakups, misunderstandings, but I am glad we made it through cause it is the only way. I do not regret taking this course, even if I was and still are subjected to late night paper works, what make this experience worthwhile are the friends that I made, my mistakes, and the memories shared, the good as well as the bad ones.

To Yanyan, Mori, Jerica, Marcus…

View original post 130 more words

Seven Years Down, Forever To Go

Visiting Ann.

We played in the rain!

3rd year Prom

Sacha’s 14th birthday

When we were still classmates during 1st year

Sacha’s 14th birthday

1st year, where everything started.

Seniors’ night

Prom 4th year

Wear shorts dare at the Ateneo Fiesta

High school night 3rd year

Sleepover at my house after high school night

Ann’s 15th Birthday

Sleepover at Misty’s

When we try to go home together

Second year high school when we volunteered

We made mango float for our sleepover during my 14th birthday

High school night

Seniors’ night at Palmeras

3rd year high school night

4th year high school night

Second year

4th year prom.

Ateneo fiesta, pep squad performance 1st year.

High school pep squad performing at the coliseum.

A few more days before high school graduation

As we are waiting for the jeepney to take us to the main campus.

4th year Prom.

During our fourth year high school. Tree planting on the school grounds.

2nd anniversary with newest member Mitzi :)))

Summer before college at regency

Recognition day!

Random day at school where we try to eat lunch together.

Laorene’s 16th birthday

I got 2 medals! yay! hahaha

College days

The time when Picnic.com was so popular. Can’t find the original picture

Summer before college.

I really don’t know how my high school life would’ve been if i did not meet you guys. I wouldn’t have experienced all those crazy moments I had with you. You taught me how to laugh so hard I cried, you made me watch horror movies (with no sounds, while Ann is dictating when the scary parts will show) during sleepovers, you comforted me through my emotional times (even when the reasons are so petty like when I found out my crush likes someone else). I remember 8 of us rode in a tricycle going to Misty’s house when the rain was pouring so hard while we were wearing our gala uniforms and we ended up wearing Misty’s clothes while hanging out and goofing off that day. You guys made my high school life so memorable and I thank you guys so much for that.

We are not a perfect barkada (a Filipino word that means a group of friends). We had a lot in common that, even our taste in guys almost broke our friendship a bunch of times. But we got passed them, every time. Even when we were in different sections, we always made an effort to reach out and catch up. We took advantage of social media to interact with one another.

Our friendship has always gone through hurdles from the very start. A teacher once told us that when we got segregated into different sections, our friendship wouldn’t last until the end of sophomore year. When we graduated high school, there was that time that we got scared because we thought some of us will be moving to different countries and that some of us will be studying at different schools.

College opened a new chapter in our lives. Life dropped a few bombs along our paths summer before we even started college. Turns out, Ariana and Steph will stay in the Philippines and finish college before they’ll be moving to London and U.S. respectively. Jessa, on the other hand, was part of an exchange student program that will allow her to have a year off from college and study in France. Misty, Ann and Laorene will be studying at different universities, though Laorene’s will just be within our city. More bombs got dropped as we entered college. We thought Mitzi will be the last member of our group when she transferred to our school junior year. By August 19, 2011, literally hours before Jessa’s flight to Manila and to France, we welcomed the newest member of our barkada. I remembered crying while you guys hugged me when we saw a small, pink, hairy boy struggling to get out of his cocoon of white linen while we gathered outside the nursery. From that day on, our friendship has never been the same. We grew matured, stronger, sillier, smarter, and more closer than ever even though we don’t hang out that often. Even when Jessa went home and studied at the same university like the rest of us, we only see each other occasionally. All of us majored in different fields, aside from Steph, Ariana and Sacha who are studying the same degree program.

Now that we are in our 4th year in college, some of us will be graduating this year and will make it much more difficult to hang out. Maybe that will be the challenge for our 7th year because they say that the 7th year in any kind of relationship is the hardest. Maybe that’s why it’s going to be difficult. But nothing’s impossible guys. We will go through this together! When there’s a will, there’s a way. We will always be best friends for life no matter what happens because seriously, I think all of us has gone through a lot in the past 7 years than a normal person has been through in his last 20 years. We’ve dealt with heartbreaks, death, courtships, motherhood, godmotherhood, bestfriendhood, and a lot, lot, lot more. I would not be the person I am right now if it weren’t for the 8 of you. I love you girls ❤

Happy anniversary to us girls! :3 It’s better late than never! hahaha I prepared something for you guys. I hope you’ll watch it.

P.s. all of the pictures I used are from our college days and if you guys wanna see the high school ones, just watch this video I made for Sacha’s 18th birthday.

C’est la vie