...life does not end in your books and tests

A pretty long post.

Attending the Interaksis Conference this morning was certainly something I would never regret. Corny as it may seem, but it surely changed my view on a range of certain issues going on in my mind.

Rob Roque, a Batch '07 graduate of Pisay and a current sophomore in BS Chem MSC in Ateneo, first spoke about realizing one's goals, and working through with it on the way to making it a reality. Paolo Medina who graduated last 2002 and is now on its 7th year as an IntarMed student in UP, did a sort of follow-up on what Kuya Rob had said. Kuya Lopao, as he is more fondly called, also shared his insights on being a leader.

On the second part, three (Joaq Almirante, Merlynn Baterina and Christian Esguerra) of the fourteen delegates in the recently held Immersion with the Aetas in shared their experiences and stories they had learned in their overnight stay in Sitio Target in Mabalacat, Pampanga. Aside from the interesting anecdotes they gave, we laughed our hearts out as we view some pictures and videos they had as they were adopted by families, slept in nipa huts, froze in the old night, and hiked in mountains. I tell you, some were scandalous videos of Sir Martin. Hahah!

This was followed by Joker Asis and Lance Co Ting Keh who shared their experiences as they went to Austria and Singapore respectively. The former competed in the 5th Voice Choir Competition as part of the Kilyawan Boys Choir and brought home three medals from three different categories. Meanwhile, the latter flew to the Lion City to attend a Youth Leadership Summit sponsored by a primier high school in the said country. Honestly, looking at their pictures made me feel a bit envious. (I've been yearning to go to Singapore, plus almost any European country.)

Lastly, Gaby Santos told a short story of her life and how she was inspired by Pisay to become a leader. And of course, there's Sir Martin, who both gave the opening and closing remarks. Luis Estrada hosted the event, while Mica Perlada, Ate Criselle David, and Joker Asis acted as chairpersons for each panel. Other Aksis officers like Mia Pangilinan and Franco Macaspac as well as the members were also present in the conference. And their was free food (Munchkins and juice). So it's not all about me, and never going to be about me. That's leadership, and that's what's going to lead us to reaching an end goal for the common good. And what part does Pisay play for us? Well, for one, it made us realize our strengths and weaknessess, and learn how we can work out with what resources we have.

Late in the afternoon, right after the fashion show, LC, Hanna, Roger, John-John, Lobitz, and I started talking. We started about how batch 2010 is starting to leave a legacy (woah! that's for both good and bad) then we went to how John-John experienced a hold-up twice then we talked about bloody experiences, and then some ghost stories, and then some other topic, and so on until we end up talking about the year 2012 and how the world will end and such. Which led me to think, could it be that 2012 really is the start of the end of the world? That's when reality hits me: life REALLY does not end in our school books and our long tests. An entirely different story.

*Sorry for my excessive use of 'and' as well as having wrong spellings and grammar (if ever there were any). I'm too lazy to reread this post. I also hate rereading long stuffs. :)