Nay To Forgotten Memories

Extracted from my Facebook note dated August 17, 2008:

A few more days from now, I'll be starting a new chapter of my life. Pages of my life story will be flipped as I travel once again to the other side of the world, but now with a different purpose.

I must admit I do not have the best memory, and I often forget happenings. Compounded with the excitement and stress of college life, I am afraid that certain memories of mine will slowly fade away. Forgetting my experiences in Singapore is something I am most afraid about. I will be returning to the Philippines occasionally so I have ample chances to rekindle memories there, but I honestly do not know when I will return to Singapore, and whether the duration can allow me to collect the memories I left behind and evoke those that are within me.

That's precisely the reason I'm penning this note. Since I don't keep journals or have a blog (now I do!), a Facebook note is my only alternative to remembering stuff. Well, I flew to Singapore on the 26th of December 2003, a day before my birthday. In the four years, two at SJI and another 2 at TJ, I've had joyful moments and learning experiences which helped me grow. Communal living in the hostels was probably the highlight of my Singapore experience - I got to live with people of very colorful personalities, opened my mind to new ideas and heard life stories that ran the gamut of perfect to pitiful. But an amazing thing in the midst of this was how we all bonded together, temporarily forgetting our inhibitions in dealing with people who were different from us. I experienced something which I have never, or will never get the chance to experience back in the Philippines.

Aside from the wholesome and wonderful dorm experience, spending a substantial part of my formative years in Singapore also gave me a kind of confidence to evoke changes around me. I credit Sacred Heart for inculcating in me the value of community responsibility and to strive to be a 'Man For Others', a Jesuit ideal put on the highest pedestal. We had opportunities to donate food to the orphans, live with them, immerse ourselves in the life of the troubled teens, as well as help public school children get through primary school. But what I experienced in Singapore was a more abstract occurrence. It opened my mind to what the world is like out there, that there are things that we young people can do, and it enabled my mind to dream big. Helping the local elderly, supporting African children's education, collecting recyclables to raise funds for charities, and consolidating relief goods and books for other countries - these experiences in Leo Club gave me the confidence that yes, there are so many things that we can do, and we can do them 'big' too. No longer was I confined to making just small contributions; it opened my mind to possibilities of larger dreams. However, I am still cognizant that these small steps are essential in helping communities; but it doesn't need to stop there as I previously thought.

My Singapore experience was replete with lighter moments and equally fond memories - from breaking curfews to my first 'business venture'. All nighters were not always the order of the day, but they did happen especially when the Os and the As came. Playing basketball so passionately (my scar on my right forearm is a vivid 'memorabilia') every time we - the Mavs - stepped on the court was unforgettable. My solo trip to KL was a first, and our Penang trip was 'meaningful'. And yes, how can I forget relief teaching? It was a totally new and exciting period when I've always hoped that I can, in small ways, touch others' lives as my teachers had mine.

As the adage says, life goes on. A whole new set of experiences await me in college, and I am truly excited for them. In the hustle and bustle of the near future, I hope this semblance of my past provides a mirror of what I have become.