Priceless

Most of the time people get to take for granted the things that really matter most in life. We often tend to think that the things that make us happy are already enough to give us everlasting happiness and we also think that these things are right for us. The main reason why these things happen is that we get to be influenced by the people we idolize. The stars we see on TV, the actors on the movie screen, the characters we play in our video games, the singers who set our moods, and least expected, our very own friends. But there is something that always gets in to my mind. What really are the things that matter most to our lives?

Many people say that it's the priceless things that would give us maximum aspirations in our lives. These things would make us happy and would be giving us no regrets after we have done, have given, or have said it.

Time. Time is gold. It can neither be bought nor sold. Spending time with somebody would be very essential because a person's time is very important to himself and giving it would be an act of pure generosity. We should be thankful for these things because not all people have the ability to give their time. Turning back the hands of time is impossible. Maybe the closest thing of that to be possible is that the things which happened in the past would repeat itself in the future which has a a very little chance as well. So, my advice, do your best right now so that you will avoid regrets in the future.

Happiness. Many people are hungry for happiness. To those who are blessed with the kind of happiness that gives you satisfaction in life, be very thankful to God. Not everyone has the blessing of happiness but everyone does have the love of God which we should be thankful as well. For me, if us ourselves are not gifted with happiness, I suggest that we start to be some light that gives others happiness instead. In that way, we would be able to do one mission that Jesus himself did when he was still with us in this world. In that way, we would have a source of happiness as well.

As of now, these are the 2 priceless things which matter in my life. Maybe these are the most important for me or maybe it's just something that God wants me to share so that I can inspire or enlighten others as well.

Until the next time.

Phim

Smile Even Though Your Heart Is Aching

"Time falls away in these small hours"

Today was a long day for me. So much ups and downs got to me in just a span of one day. Troubles here and there, then suddenly joy suddenly comes along and brightens me up once again. These kinds of days would make us realize how fast things go and change in the world and we have to adjust to this to make us grow up and just to simply mature. Without these problems ahead of us, we wouldn't experience that one special gift that our Lord gave us because of His love for us. "LIFE"

This morning I was aware that our guidance counselor has arranged a college fair for our batch. I got excited when I heard about this because through that I'd be able to get more exposed to the different colleges around the country and some even outside the country. I haven't really made a decision yet to what course I'm going to take for college because right now there are so many things that I want to be but yet there is something that keeps them all together which means that I really can't take one out and be sure of my decision right away. In time I will and I hope that it would be the best choice for me.

One lesson I learned from this Sunday's gospel:"We should always be thankful for whatever blessing God gives us. No matter how small or how big it is, we should always say thanks to our Lord because generosity itself is already a very big blessing that comes with God's love."

Sometimes we might be too busy that we take for granted the things God gives us. Yes that is normal and God will understand us through that because of our busy lives. But as time passes by, we would be or should be able to realize the blessings that God gave us. He often gives us "blessings in disguise" and these are the ones that we often take for granted.

If you noticed my title, this would show the primary emotion that I have for this day. Another lesson to remember which would really help us everyday,

"Be optimistic. Seeing things positively would make our minds more relaxed and it would give us the vision to see the beauty of this world as well as life itself."

Until the next time.

Phim

Relax, Enjoy, Unwind

Last Saturday our team had one of the best bonding moments that we ever had. That team is close to dispersing and it was a good thing that we still had some good times together before our team goes into the history books. We spent the day in Enchanted Kingdom where all of us had the chance to relax and enjoy each other's company including our coach who was surprisingly present. It was an all expense paid trip which included the tickets and food which made me surprised and that's another reason why it was all about fun for me. The only thing that I regret was that we didn't get to view the closing fireworks of the park because that's something that I really look up to in amusement parks.

It wasn't actually too long for me when I last visited the amusement park. It was just about 2 or 3 months ago when my friend Mich del Carmen celebrated her birthday with us there. That was another outing that I could never forget. Having timeless moments with my friends always make me happy and I hope that our group lasts forever. Anyway, I'll save this part for another post.

Going back to the team outing, when we were entering the park, we noticed a sign which said that the "Space Shuttle" (the best roller coaster in the park) was closed for the day. That made the day less exciting because that was the first real roller coaster that I ever rode and was very wild. If we had the chance to ride that thing that day, we could've had even more fun as a team. But despite that, the greatest part of the day was when all of us were running all over EK going to the rides while the rain was pouring crazy. That was the best time for us to just forget about all of our problems and cherish those last moments that we had together as a team.

While I was walking in the rain after we got soaked in the Log Jam, I suddenly felt all of the stress inside me just slowly steam out. The cold rain was a gift to me by the Lord and it really rejuvenated me. God's blessings sometimes come at times that we never expect and we should really be thankful because He is really good and He cares for us. Basically the day was full of fun and excitement. This day was certainly a blessing to us by the Lord and I'm really thankful for it. Amen.

Until the next time.

Phim

Rise up

"Settling problems would not matter if we just stay down and cry about it. What matters is the way we solve the problem and how we take it as a challenge and recover from it!"

Yesterday we were eliminated by a very hyped, surprising, and smart team. The FEU Baby Tamaraws threw away our twice to beat advantage in the Final Four stage of this season's UAAP. That team beat us twice with each game having a 2 point difference in the final score. A job well done for the Baby Tamaraws who were very unexpected to enter the finals this season. Hats off to their players and especially to their coach whom my father is very close to.

This elimination was very surprising for everybody as everyone was expecting us to win and bring back the crown to Alabang.

Despite the sad ending to the season, I want to express my appreciation for everyone who supported us all through out the season.

1. Lasallian Brothers

-First of all I want to thank our Lasallian Animator, Br. Ceci Hojilla FSC and our Brother President, Br. Dennis Magbanua FSC for sticking with us from the beginning until the end of the season. Your wise messages became big inspirations for every member of the team.

2. DLSZ Community

-Second, I want to thank the faculty, administration, students, and the staff of my beloved Alma mater who have showed great support in all our games. You guys are the reason why we play this game.

3. The DLSZ Pep Squad

-"The Few, The Chosen, The Loud"
Next I want to thank is the Pep Squad who has always had our backs no matter what happens. You are the ones who set our moods during the games. You are the guys who pick us up when we are down. Without you guys, everything wouldn't be the same.

4. GANG GREEN

-This group of great, loyal fellows always get to amaze me because they seem always present in all of our games. Sometimes I wonder how they fit our games into their busy schedules and to think of it, we're just a High School varsity basketball team. So thank you Gang Green, you put the color to our crowd.

5. The Coaching Staff and Management

-These men taught us what to think and do for our games. They supported us fully through their sacrifices and the time they give us day in and day out, on the court and off the court. Without our coaches, we wouldn't be where we are right now.

6. My Teammates

-Every single one of you guys have a piece of my heart and this team will never be the same again. All I can say is that I had one hell of a ride going with you guys. Thank you for all the memories we shared together. These memories will be very priceless and I will always cherish them all through out my entire life.

7. God

-I decided to make it the best for last. Without Him, none of these things that I'm writing down won't even exist. Through the strength He gives me every single day I live my life, I do my best to exemplify the ways He taught us because these should be the primary reasons why we live our lives. "All glory to you O Lord" or as the Ateneans say it, "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!"

This season was not meant to be for us. But still I can say that after all those ups and downs, this test of true character made us better people. As a team and as individuals as well. Next season would be another chapter, But one thing will always remain the same. THE ANIMO FIRE WILL NEVER BURN OUT.

Animo La Salle!

Until the next time.

Phim

UAAP Season 71-De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers

All I can say is that my rookie year here in the UAAP has been AMAZING. Hearing the screams of the fans, the beats of the drums, the history of this great league, and playing for your alma mater are just some of the sights and sounds offered to the people through this amazing piece of a basketball league. Nobody really expected us to be a contender this year because our team was very much different compared to the champion team who came before us. Coming in with 5 veterans and 11 rookies, we pretty much had a new and very young team.

But despite the doubts and everything, for me our team may have even overachieved. I myself was very overwhelmed when we swept the first round with a 7-0 win-loss record. It seemed that all the hard work that we've been doing for the past year has been really paying off and everything was just falling into place. Our confidence came very high with all the wins which we did not really expect.

The second round was a different story. We were struggling and we saw that teams were already scouting on our basketball system. The team was not aware of it at first but we just kept on adjusting to the teams and continued the things we did that gave us the wins. At one point in time people encounter problems. We suffered our first loss to the very unexpected Adamson Baby Falcons. The final score was 72-71 and after the game we were just in a state of shock. Immediately after the game, our coach told us that the loss was alright. Sometimes, experiencing a loss is a good thing because it serves as a wake up call to the players. It's better to experience a loss early in the season rather than, losing when it matters most.

To sum it up, we finished with a 12-2 win-loss record after we lost one more time to the Ateneo Blue Eaglets 77-74 in the last game of our elimination round.

The final four has its own story in my next post =)

A lesson learned:

"Life is a cycle. Sometimes you're up on top where your achievements come into you even when you least expect them to come. Sometimes when you've achieved already too much, maintaining it would cause too much pressure and it would be something that would cause you to brink down into suffering. The cycle would just repeat over and over. This is where life happens."

Until the next time.


Phim

My Cyber Side

As of now I try hard to avoid my Multiply and Yahoo Messenger. These 2 pieces of programs have given me a big part of the "cyber side" of my life. Many people say that the media is one big factor of how us people live our lives today. By saying media, I mean to say that these are the things that come out of our radios, television sets, magazines, books, and computers as well. These things have been the basis of our lifestyles and some of us may not be aware of it. So as of now, I try to be more independent and I also do this to continuously heal the wound that I am suffering inside me. As long as I get away from these things, I feel that I'll be OK.

For a more fresh start, I actually created a new e-mail address. (SeraphimBMoran@aol.com) I chose America Online (aol) because my dad said that it was a great network and you'd feel like you're an American as well haha. So I thought that I try it out myself. It seems very good so far and I think that I'd really be able to enjoy it =)

Another new thing for me is this blog as well. As I said, this blog would serve as something that would help me open a new chapter in my life. =) Bringing out things that give you pain deep inside you through writing would be so helpful. I first learned this lesson through a club I had in my school during my freshman year in high school. The club was called "Verso Recto" which were Latin words I believe that meant left page and right page. Verso=left page, Recto=right page.

The club was basically about literature and at that time until now, I'm not really a big fan of lit but once in a while I get to read something. Anyway, my moderator required each of us to have a journal with us to write on if possible every single day. This was another new thing for me because I myself didn't have a diary of my own before. So as soon as I tried it out, I felt something which was different. Having a diary wasn't bad at all. In fact, it felt pretty good. And to think of it, A few years into the future, you could take a look back at that journal and maybe laugh about the things that you thought about during your youth. =)

As of now this blog serves as my new diary. It's kind of different this time because it's open to the public haha! Well one reason why I created this blog was so that I get to inspire other people as well. And here is something that I can share today.

"Do not be afraid of problems that go with us along the way. God gave these to us because he wants us to grow up and he wants us to experience the beauty of life. He will never let us down and everything happens for a reason. So never give up."

Until the next time,

Phim

Habang Narito Pa

Today was a special day for me and my teammates because we had another time away from basketball. Just a few hours of our time to just talk about things that makes us get away from our one and only goal. We just had to STOP for just a while and reflet on the things going on arouind us because of the loss that we just experienced during our final four match against FEU last Saturday. All of us just had to clear our thoughts about that last game and just tell each other that we're still here and we still have the same goal in mind. This last stretch of the season, we decided to dedicate them to our graduating teammates. Namely Juffy Andaya, Ridge Santos, Mike Pardo, and Mike Ramos. These bunch of seniors are a bunch of great guys who I'm really gonna miss because we spent so much time together during a whole year and some of them I spent my basketball career since the beginning.

"Animo!" we say every game with a whole lot of pride. The very authenticity of my beloved school De La Salle. I myself learned to cherish my alma mater when my father taught me the great value for the love of my school. Brother Ceci woke us up today through his very inspiring words. He never lets us down. He's like more than just a guardian for our team because he's always got our backs whether we win or we lose. Today, he reminded us of how we were during our team building in Batangas before the start of the season. At that time we were so bonded with one another and we all had an agreement and one certain goal. He reminded us that our group is a special group because us ourselves did not expect to be in the position that we are in right now.

"Mangarap Ka."

"Habang narito pa."

Phim

An Initial Entry

I started to think of creating a blog because i was surprised that one of the people I idolize had his very own blog as well. Not to think that he's a star on what he does, it surprised me that the stuff he writes are very inspirational and it gave me a glimpse of the other side of him. What makes it more ironic is that he studies in the bitter rival of my school. So for myself, I thought of having my own blog as well to express on what i feel and just to make me realize and remember the things that I go through every single day with all the hustles and bustles life has to offer just as he did.

This blog is something that I can consider as an opening to another chapter of my life. Having to move on because of some difficulties take a certain amount of time and this is one great way to break the new chapter open. I now can be a more open person as people read through my mind. I hope that my thoughts, words, and actions inspire other people for the good as my Saviour taught me to be. We all have different aspects and ambitions in life. But one thing would separate all those differences of every person in the world, that is our faith. Our faith in God. Not only that is the thing permanent but his love for us as well.

Before, I actually thought that blogs were a waste of time and made no sense because people can just write down what they feel on their own diaries. But I was wrong. I myself can be considered one of those stupid people that I thought of before. Through blogs, I can be helped with my problems as people read through them and give comments. Being too reserved sometimes wouldn't help. Although it seems very common, there must be one point in time that we ask for guidance so our soul can be replenished and we would feel really much better.

Well this can be enough for my initial entry. Basically i just said the things that made me create this unique way of going through another chapter of my life. =)

Until the next time.

Phim