I know this will be massively long, but bear with me- I'm (slightly) older so indulge me for the remainder of this note. [or only read it when you are crazy bored in ateneo, lol]
I thank God for each and everyone of you. You are all special to me because without you my "JTA" or exchange experience would have been very different. I'm so glad we are only 3 hours away from each other.
Perhaps only Minji and robyn know this, but I came to the philippines because I felt that I was needed here. One night I was praying and I heard "go to manila!", so I asked minji when were you guys free, booked a ticket and came. =S crazy right? But the more I live through life, the more I realise that it is the people whom God gave you that matters the most, no matter what you will do in life or where you will go. If you can "come home" to these people, you are so seriously (cerealously) blessed to have them in your life. Please never forget that. I felt so blessed to be a part of the ateneain branch of seoulmates.
I couldn't help but see and hear things while I was here this time around so I pray you will let me share some of the things on my heart with you. =)
1. Fears
The most common thing I heard from you guys was that there was a lot of uncertainty about the future. There was both a fear of success and a fear of failure that I heard amongst yourselves. Guess what? We all have that too, in different ways.
Some of us are afraid of taking the risk and seeking out our own way in life; of finding success, cause our default mode is "what if it fails?" We've never asked ourselves "what if it succeeds?" Then what? hahaha. It becomes a whole new ball game thereafter.We are afraid of the possibility of change. And that is normal. Being happy and content with what you have in the present will definitely allow you to transfer that to the future, if you do not become complacent with your success.
Others among us are more afraid of what their past failures will do to their future. About whether or not they can match up to their own standards of themselves or what others think. =) You will realise in time that what others think doesn't really matter. It's what YOU think of others that does. So love yourselves first please *winks* learning about who you are, what it will take to make you the person you dream to become or learning how to treat yourself better will only serve to help you face your fears and overcome them.
Like the Captain America trailer right? "A weak man knows the value of strength" - only when you are weak, then you are strong because you realise in that moment that "it can't get any more worse off than this, there is only one way-UP!" ^^
2. Love
Is the cornerstone of life and the community that you are so so so blessed to be in. In the craziness of life in ateneo. Please remember that you have each other's love (I don't mean it in a *hee hee CRUSH* kind of way) I mean it in the family that God gave you. You are all so wonderfully blessed to have each other.
Once again there are two kinds of people:
- Those who love
You are in a position to GIVE love and do it freely, what I have learnt is that when you give love without any conditions of receiving anything back, it comes back to you in ways in which you can never imagine.
"4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
You will find that in the end- love is about sacrifice. Of choosing to let the other person go and live their lives the way they want to. Because if you don't let them do it- it is selfish, unkind, envious, self seeking, easily angered... you get what I mean. =) And you can't CONTROL the other person. You can only LOVE them, so don't impose what you think should happen, but let the other person find it for themselves.
- Those who are loved
People who are loved, often know that they are. LOL! And guess what? You are the one in a position of power. As long as you know you are loved by someone you should always honour and protect the heart of the person who loves you. Never lead them on, never toy with their emotions and never give them false hope of anything you are not prepared to be responsible for. Rule of life- "what you sow, you will reap." It'll come back to haunt you.
People who are loved face the tempting possibility of manipulating the other person for situations and circumstances that allow them to feel good. Like sneaking an extra glance, hug, word, etc... You know how it is when you are liked/ loved by someone else.There is always the idea of "security" in their presence around you. It is one thing to be loved, but what if you were the one who was offering it? You'd want to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect as well.
Always appreciate each other whether you are a giver or receiver of love.
* I also heard about some blue roses...you can always ship them here if you want! hahaha*
3. Adventure
The last thing I wanted to say was this: You can't make JTA 2010 happen again. The "reality" and "truth" of the situations and circumstances were as it were last year. So you can't change the past unless someone invented a time machine and brought us all back there.
BUT! You can keep the "passion" alive by always meeting up and treasuring your friendships (and for certain seoulmates *ahem* RELATIONSHIP "when the friendship gets deeper") and remembering to create NEW adventures and NEW experiences that you can share with these people for the rest of your lives. I agree with ryan about this- that if you aren't physically there beside one another, you'd be less likely to experience the same kind of growth. =)
So please stay close and grow TOGETHER, always honouring, loving and protecting each others' interests and heart. please stay away from "sayang" situations. lol.
I promise I'll be back again someday.
mahal kita seoulmates. talaga.
Remember I will always love and pray for you.
Love, Mare
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