My Prometheus Cup Adventure and A little bit of Hide and Seek :)

As I sit here, a week after Prometheus Cup, I can’t help but look back and poignantly remember how I excited I was as we flew to Singapore, yet in a blink of an eye, it’s already one week since Prometheus Cup ended and here I am back to the everyday grind of school work, projects, review classes and what not. I miss the experience so much that I guess it’s just right that I take a walk down memory lane and relive the wonderful adventure I had in Prometheus Cup!

Just right before we flew to Singapore 😀

It’s these trips abroad that make high school such an adventure. It’s not everyday you get a chance to be able to represent your school in international competitions. Yet, the excitement, pressure and anxiety can be so overwhelming that you get out of character at some points in time.

They say that your true character is tested when you’re in your hardest moments. For us Xaverian, Prometheus Cup was a character building experience that really humbled a lot of us and taught us the importance of teamwork, patience, hard work, and most importantly, appreciation and gratefulness.

SM Immersion Day 3 – Working Can Be Fun!

Day 3 – Working can be fun!

Day 3 of the SM immersion was really memorable for me because I got to try a lot of new things and at the same time have fun while doing it. During the first two days I was stationed in the cashier area as a bagger so during the third day I was stationed inside the supermarket.

To start things off, I was stationed in the meat area where I got to learn about the different cuts of the meat and what customers usually buy. Furthermore, I was able to try breading the pork meat to make Tonkatsu. It was also literally COOL visiting the storage or cold room where I got to see whole pigs hanged ready to be sliced up.

The best part though was meeting Kuya Jess and hearing talk about how he’s been on the job for almost two years already. He talked about how it’s sometimes boring but he has no choice since he needs to earn money. It was quite surprising though how he was just 21. I was truly amazed by how positive and enthusiastic he still was. He plans on going back to college one day to finish his degree and hopefully get  a better job.

My Senior Year “Hero’s Journey” So Far!

This blogpost is inspired by my English lesson on mythology and the Hero’s Journey.

We all have our own “Hero’s Journey.” It may not be evident but everyday is part of our journey. In fact, we might even have several different micro-journeys and mini adventures in different parts of our lives. What I’d like to focus on today is the journey I’ve had so far in my Senior Year. The first two months of Senior Year have been one of the most mind blowing but at the same time, one of the most challenging times I’ve ever faced in my life.

I’d like to analyze the two months I’ve had so far using the Hero’s Journey template that is seen in almost in all the stories, movies and myths we see in our everyday life.

Call to Adventure – The challenge to make the most out of my Senior Year. The call to step out of my comfort zone and try out new things and grow as a student, learner and person!

Highlights of the Week – Things to Be Thankful For…..

There are so many different things that go on in our lives that we aren’t able to fully grasp and appreciate everything that happens to us. Most of us are very busy and pre-occupied with either our school work, extra-curricular activities, work and other obligations that we tend to disregard all these little things in life.

When I started this blog, I mentioned how I want to turn all those ephemeral and fleeting moments into lasting memories by writing about each and everyone of them but I’ve come to realize that it is very hard to detail and talk about each and every moment that flies by during each and everyday. This is because of all the other commitments and activities I have added to my everyday school work. This really got me thinking as to how I can still crystalize all the awe-inspiring moments that happen each and everyday despite those busy days where I just don’t have time to write a blogpost.

Just this week, my older sister mentioned this very innovative organization in her school, HKUST that delivers something called, the One Minute News, every week. This One Minute News segment caters to the very busy and occupied students of HKUST who don’t have time to catch up with recent happenings and news headlines. This One Minute News summarizes and highlights all the important headlines and happenings that the very busy students may have missed all in one minute.

This idea led me to start this segment of mine called, Highlights of the Week – Little Things to be Thankful for to help me recall and remember all the highlights both big and small that I may have forgotten and under appreciated because of the nature of life and how fast everything occurs. In my journey to becoming a happier person and living life to the fullest, I find looking back and being thankful for everything that happens to you, may it be something life changing or even heart wrenching or just an ordinary incident, very essential in growing as a person and keeping a positive outlook in life for like they say, YOLO, you only live once!

So during this past week, Feb 18 – Feb 23, these are the memorable moments that I am thankful for

1. Finalization and Submission of our Filipino Short Movie titled, “Anong Gagawin Mo?” (or in english, “What Would You Do?”) – This is one of the projects that I really poured a lot of effort into and it feels really fulfilling and gratifying to see the finish product. Hard work never gets old, especially when it pays off in the end. I am really happy that our movie was chosen by our Filipino teacher to be the one to represent our class in our film festival especially after all the saturdays and holidays me and my group mates spent preparing, creating and filming this production. Working on this project is definitely one of the more memorable moments of my Junior Year!

2. Accidentally dropping my phone to the ground (which led to the screen getting shattered) – Thankfully though, I was able to get it repaired, and it looks good as new. The feeling of anxiety that I got when I saw what happened to my phone which is one of my more valuable possessions and is something I use each and every day, was really nerve racking. I truly learned my lesson and this time, I’m gonna make sure that my phone is protected and ready just in case another accident, where I end up dropping my phone occurs (off to buy my otter box!).

3. Farewell speech of Father Go – Our School Director, Father Johnny Go’s Farewell Speech during our last general assembly for the year was one of the most heart warming and inspirational speeches I’ve ever heard from Father. Father Go never fails to move people whenever he speaks, his homilies, speeches and talks will be missed! I was truly fortunate that I was awarded a Chinese Writing Award during this last general assembly for I was able to shake Father Go’s hand one last time.

4. Last Mentoring Period for my Junior Year – How time flies by; it seemed just like yesterday when Junior Year just started and I was joining a whole new class with a completely different set of classmates in 3A. Looking back, despite all of the challenges, quandaries, setbacks and all, it was one no doubt one helluva of a crazy year indeed and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

5. Fountain International School Science Fair – Attending this science fair was one crazy experience. Witnessing innovative and creative minds of talented individuals ranging from all ages was a truly breathtaking experience. Add to the fact that I was able to meet new people and gain new friends was the icing on the cake. To top it all off, I also got to meet my “former” and “favorite” turkish math teacher.

Looking back at these highlights, I can say that I am truly blessed to be living such a fortunate life filled with so many awe-inspiring moments and adventures. I am truly thankful for everything that happened to me during the past week and hopefully, the coming weeks will be just as awesome or even better.

-DOitChoco

PS. I will try my best to make separate blog posts and expound on some if not all of these highlights for there were a thousand different things I learned from every second of these moments.