I watched his silhouette turned smaller and smaller as he walked down the aisle further away from me. His face full of enthusiasm as he set foot on a journey towards a different dimension to chase his dream, masked his unrest as he leaves me alone. I fear naught for my own safety. I dread the monster of malevolence that may welcome him. No matter what, I made a promise, an implied one, to wait for his arrival. I have no doubt he would return. I know he would rush back into my arms. After all, he is my friend.

Days turned into nights. Weeks passed by. Months trudged on. It’s been so long but I see no sign of his return. I waited unwearyingly like a faithful dog waiting for his master’s homecoming. Neither a call nor a text, not even the snail mail from him reached me. Memories of us together seemed like light years away. Doubt started to devour me as my unwavering spirit begun to dampen.

At last, after I stopped counting how long we’ve been separated, gossips spread like a disease that he is finally home. Excited as I was, I rushed on his front door, eager to give him a big ‘welcome home’ hug. I bothered not that my hair is a mess or that I’m not wearing my best dress. I knew he wouldn’t care how I look like for as long we are finally together. He opened the door on my first knock. It was then that I saw reality unfold. I saw his familiar face but today he is glowing like he never did before. He was dressed not in his simple t-shirt and jeans but in a fashionable way he used to laugh about. He is with a different set of people, those exact people he said he’d never be friends with. Perhaps, he saw the shock in my face. He had always been capable of interpreting my emotions, of reading my mind. He took me to their garden now at its full bloom. He said I’d rather go now for he is busy entertaining his visitors. That was all he said. The words hit me like swords that I forgot how I was able to walk away from him. Not a smile or a hug, but those harsh words welcomed me. On my way home, I saw his Mom. She wondered why I never came to visit his son when he has been home for three days. I am at lost for words, disrespectful as it seems, I preferred to walk away without giving her mother a hint of my misery.

Having him around but not realizing my presence was worse than being apart from him. I tried to call him but he’s number is always busy. My text went unreplied. I tried visiting him but each time I did his mother would either send me home immediately or say that he is out touring his visitors. He ignored me in front of his visitors like I have a contagious disease, like I’m some formless creature. Maybe he thinks I’m a disgrace to him. I wear jeans and t-shirt unlike his social friends who dress like models and actors. I would look like rug next to his new found friends.

Waiting perhaps damaged my brain. It had been slowly processing a lot of things lately. Had it been functioning properly I would have saved myself from agony for this long. Had it been in perfect condition I would have grasped what his actions meant that moment I knocked on his front door. He has forsaken that special bond we used to have. He feels nothing for me except repugnance. He has found where he belongs, and that undoubtedly, is not with me. There is no vacant space for me there in his new world. He and I are like tangent lines now. We will only meet at one point in our life and never cross paths again.

I waited for his return. He did return physically. He left but the friend I knew never came back for me. His departure caused a rupture in my heart and life, an incurable one. The mirror of trust and memories had been broken and the shattered glass left an ineradicable scar in my being. Our contract of friendship had been crumpled and tore down to pieces and what’s left now are ashes. He left me here alone but I have no plans of dying. I am still young and I have plenty of time to look and choose for friends who would never do the same thing he did to me. He taught me a lesson. He opened a new door for me to venture in. But one fact still lingers in my mind: He was my friend.

Some things need to be done according to plan while some things are better left unplanned. Sometimes, those unforeseen events, those spur of the moment decisions, produces the most bizarre yet unforgettable outcomes.

The original plan was to watch movie together but we ended up having a fun ‘walk’ and flying of balloons together with Amnesty International (AI) – Iloilo. My friend Nica and former teacher, Sir Dennis, is part of this organization. They have been trying to recruit me to join the organization but I refused mainly because of school works and the fear of having to introduce the org to the rest of UPV. Anyways, Nica invited me and Felix to join them even for just one afternoon. I seriously have no idea what we are going to do there. Because it has been a long time since we got together, I agreed, notwithstanding the fact that we wanted Sir Dennis to give us a treat.

The event was the opening of the 16 Days of Activism of AI and was held at Esplanade. I knew little about the organization and I have no idea that there would be school representatives there. Although I wasn’t a member of AI, they never made me feel out of place. I even got to meet some students from other schools and got a chance to meet some UPV students from Miag-ao. Here’s the fun thing. UPV had the fewest number of attendees, mainly because it was just recently launched. When the parade begun, UPV only had two students around, me and Roy from Clovers. I was a little shy to approach him but I couldn’t let my fellow Isko to be left alone in that sea of people. The both of us ended holding the banner until his friend finally arrived. We have been walking for a few minutes when a child passerby laughed at us and sort of insulted us because of our number. I would have said something to that child, but since he was telling the truth and he’s still young, I just laughed at the reality. 

The event was fun, not only because it was my first time in Esplanade, but also because I got to bond and catch up with some of my high school friends. It’s just fun to be with them again. Sometimes, you feel nostalgic and miss them, and the memories you had back then. Sometimes you wish you could turn back time and make more memories with them. Someone more powerful may have planned for you to embark on new adventures but it does not mean that you should forget people from your past. Perhaps he’s giving us the opportunity to find new friends and at the same time learn to treasure the friendship that you have built over the years. The present and the future is important, but we should never forget that who we are today is a result of our interactions with people and experiences in the past. 

The curse is finally broken. After spending years at the bottom, we finally reached the top spot. It has been a crazy and tiring adventure, a long journey to the peak, but every struggles along the way and the few loses we experienced, made the ride all worthy. You’ll never know how sweet victory is unless you knew what losing means.

3 years had passed and we always rank last during Debits. This year we changed the course of history. We were finally announced as the Best Batch and won in nearly all the categories. What’s the secret for our success? Perhaps, it was the unity and everyone’s effort. Or it could also be because we just happened to had fun while doings things that needs to be done. Or it’s because we stopped settling for mediocrity and got tired of losing. But I still say it was because we had the most responsible consul general in the history of our batch. (No offense meant to the previous CGs.)

Although I felt I sort of disappointed my batch mates for not winning in the essay writing, they made me feel that what really matters is we are the overall champion. It kinda hurts when they really thought the announcer was going to say 2009 and when they started screaming and hugging me, only to find out that it wasn’t me. But let’s not dwell on that and just have fun celebrating our victory. The sweetest victory we ever had. 

Photos from the morning events: Impromptu Dialogo, Extemporaneous Speaking, Oration, Tall Tales. Too bad they don't have  a photo of the Filipino Declamation.

After winning the best batch for the CMPF last year, Acquaintance and Debits this year, I’m pretty sure there’s no stopping us in extending our victory stretch. Next up...CMPF! Watch out for us! 

It was almost midnight when my phone beeped. My mind was set on the poem I just started writing.Clearly, I don’t want any disturbances but that sudden text message made my heart beat fast. Though I’m having second thoughts of reading the message,I cleared my mind and decided to open it.The message was from an unknown number.Without reading the message I would know who sent it.

It’s been like this for more than a year: An unknown number, a familiar text style…I couldn’t have mistaken it for somebody else.How could I? When I’ve grown so accustomed to it for so long. With all the oddness this world has to offer,I wouldn’t bother deciphering what you’re up to with that message. I shouldn’t care anymore since I’ve already moved on. Except that I wouldn’t be at peace unless I’ve done the opposite. What was on my mind when I sent you a message back? Just a moment ago I was reading my poems.Most of which are written with you on my mind.Time had passed but had never erased the memories of what we used to be.But that night was like chalk and cheese.You weren’t so keen on insisting your feelings for me.I should be happy about it.This is how I wanted things to be.

Promises are supposed to be broken. You’ve taught me to believe in that ideology. But how come you’re reversing things now?There’s really no need for you to keep those promises now,I don’t care if you’re in a relationship or perhaps wooing a girl.It doesn’t make sense why you have to tell me these things.I have moved on and I’m happy that were on parallel paths. After all, I should be affected. I can’t. And I won’t.

Just now I realized what you’re up to...You wanted to tell me that you’re completely over me.Message received! So from now on, let’s forget OUR story and for the second time, I’m taking an oath never to write you a poem ever again. 

When you’ve been deprived of happiness, at times you best resort is food. Anything that could satisfy your cravings would suffice. However, at times, you really can’t satisfy you cravings because of monetary constraints and it could lead you even more to the depths of depressions. Sometimes, you just can’t help but have a taste of luxury, even though you knew perfectly well that it will leave you broke at the end of the day. This is exactly what I experienced in my stay in Boracay.

During the first night in Boracay, together with some fifth years, we went to D’ Mall at 11 pm and went back to the resort 2 am. Some went home tipsy, while some went home, heavy stomached and tired. It was Donna’s birthday so we coerced her to give us a treat. Well, she did, unfortunately, I forgot the name of the restaurant and I was shy to take pictures because we were eating with a different set of people. Anyways, it’s a pity I forgot what restaurant it was, because they serve really delicious food and it was worth the money you paid for it. The restaurant serves mostly Mexican food.

The 2^nd day was Ice cream day! Our first stop is Crazy Crepes! Obviously, we had a crepe. That is blueberry for me and Donna, and raspberry for Lecza and to top it off, we had a hazelnut crunch. 

With the hot weather, we can’t seem to get enough of ice creams. We then headed to Don Vito Restorante Italiano and had blueberry cheesecake and ferrero flavoured gelatos. It tastes so awesome. Had I known that the blueberry cheesecake was to die for, I would have insisted on getting two scoops of it. 

For the 3^rd day, the original plan was to experience the banana boat. However, Donna and I had some jitters and ended up convincing Lecza to switch plans. She’s so depressed that Donna and I insisted that we treat her to a fancy restaurant. The last day in Boracay was definitely not that good because we ended up hiking just to get out of the resort. Luckily, one of our classmate, saw how desperate we were to get to D’Mall so he gave us a ride. We were supposed to eat a Japanese restaurant but it won’t be open til 11 am,but since we were under time constraints, we had to move to out next option, which happened to be a Korean restaurant. Here's my first try at korean food.

So that’s it for out food trip in Boracay! See you next timeJ

Zoe Mei Beach Resort

In my opinion, the 8^th MYC is not a success. I personally don’t enjoy it. I thought I would learn something from it, but turned out, activities were just quiz bees and search for the AOG. I’m not the only one who has negative thoughts about the convention. Almost everyone complains about nearly anything regarding the convention: From the food, to the services of the resort, the activities and the inefficiency of the organizers and officers. Overall, I am totally disappointed in my stay in Zoe Mei and the 8^th MYC.

With the turn of events, it seems that I came to Boracay not for the MYC but to wander and have fun!