I know what I did last summer.

For a couple of years and a half, I had been sleeping off my summer. In between are trips to the mall, weekend church, going online, family events (the necessary birthdays and my sister's wedding), drinking with friends and most importantly, attending to the rock shows that I took part in organizing. I say this is most important because it has been a huge part of my life for almost three years. The music scene took a lot from me or I gave a lot, sacrificing college and employment, I know I wasn't wise.

Now you think I'm a bum. I'm a bum. I am! Indeed, I am a self-confessed low-life wasting my years keeping thoughts about the future as far away as possible. I was so proud of it I even wrote an article about it in a local zine. It was hilarious. The comedy that was my life. I was practicing the worst kind of Hedonism. It was the guilt-free kind.

Last April, I took a giant step against that life.
I went back to school. In my own free will I told my mom, "Ma, I want to go back to school. Would you still consider?" She hugged me and told me it's a great decision. Then she remembered that I'm the one talking to her and asked, "Are you sure?"

I said 100% yes, that is if they would still believe I would do it and support me financially for it. She told my dad and that night, we had a great bountiful dinner. The prodigal daughter is back on track. So turning 25 has its ups. It also has its downs but I must be totally positive because right now, I just couldn't think of the downs part. All I could think of right now is that summer is almost over and I just couldn't help but smile about what I did last summer.

SCHOOL
(The big part of summer)



I couldn't get over the fact that my school (Southwestern University) has a smoking area. I do not approve of it (now that I quit smoking) but I'd like to give credit to the administration's take on being considerate and being non-hypocritical... he he).




I love that we have trees and plants all over the place (unlike most schools in the city) but I hate that there are caged bunny rabbits and birds in there as well. As a form of entertainment, the white yellow/green-beaked parrot was trained to call out "PANGET" (meaning UGLY) to anyone who hangs out in the smoking area. I wait for the day the uglies would free them animals.

Because I am taking up Hotel and Restaurant Management, we are required to complete units in Tourism. I so loved it. Last month, we had this fun tour around the South of Cebu. It was mainly a heritage and spiritual journey. I was able to see and feel the centuries old structures and churches as well as the natural resources. It was breath-taking.


(From top: Coconut trees in Dalaguet; war-torn ruins in Oslob; 400-year-old St. Catherine church in Carcar)

There is so much beauty in Cebu and my mind can not have peace until I could go back and re-discover it again and discover more. (Our tour lasted 12 hours. It was sweet but too short.)


(From top left: huge Mama Mary statue in Theotokos Shrine, Perelos; Mama Mary's Site and Castle in Simala, Sibonga; the coastal highway to Boljoon; painted ceiling and gold altar in St. Michael's, Argao; hollow St. Joseph's church in Oslob)

In our day trip, I've learned a lot about appreciating the man-made wonders and how the local people took care in preserving these for a long long time. I have lived all my life in this part of the island but I am an infant to the rest of the place. I passionately want to grow. I saw simplicity in the lives of the people there and it is amazing how educated people like us who were on that tour could learn so much from primitiveness in just half a day.

Here's my favorite part of the trip:


The cool waters of Kawasan Falls. (my 2nd time to experience but it still has the same WHOA! effect to me)

I truly appreciate our teacher's effort to take us out of the four walls of the classroom and into an unforgettable summer.

Meanwhile the rest of the summer could be summed up with this...



Aside from going back to college, I am heavier with these mental notes:

*Going Flexitarian
*Going GREEN
*Giving back to the world in my own little way.

As for now, I'm getting serious with my blogs. ^_~