30 June 2012

Travel Philippines: El Nido, Palawan

In Hopes of Going Back to El Nido

I've been to El Nido once and if I would be asked to pick one word that I can associate it with, I'd say "CELEBRATION". My parents, with the help of my maternal grandparents who were then residents of Palawan, brought me, my brothers, my uncles, my paternal grandmom, and our household help Ate Lea to celebrate the double graduation of Gio and Kuya Gian last summer 2008 in Palawan. It has been 4 years since that beautiful trip but it still overwhelms me whenever I'd think of the experiences I've had in what I consider as the most breathtaking and resplendent place I've ever been to in my entire life. Maybe I should stop describing it through words. Maybe I should start posting the photos I've saved throughout the years instead.

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I was in 2nd year in High School then and I didn't have SLR yet but the pictures came out pretty well. The sun must have cooperated with my outdated camera.
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Kuya Gian and mommy
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Mom and Nanay
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with Kuya Gian
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Ate Lea and Tito Ian
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Tito Roy
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Here's my "Ang cool ko talaga. Wag niyo ako batukan please" pose. 
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Now let me tell you why now is the perfect time for me to go back there. In the past 4 years I've been in a constant turmoil. I've been thrown up and down lots of time most of which, I have to admit, are caused by my own hands. I've never been one who remained passive. One way or another, I always end up saying or doing what's on my mind. Problem is, the decisions I've formed were obvious results of my immaturity. I've been trying so hard to somehow compensate for all the wrong things I've done in my academics, and most importantly in the way I dealt with my friends. As penance for all the juvenile judgments that I've produced, I decided to do two things: 1st) To come up with good grades by alienating myself from all the distractions-slash-"good stuff", and 2nd) To make peace with everyone whom I have offended. When I saw the grades I've worked on last term posted on my online school account, I couldn't help beaming from ear to ear. In my university, our grading system is from 0.0 to 1.0 to 1.5 to 2.0 all the way to 4.0, with the latter being the highest. Perhaps others won't consider a 2.5 as a good grade but for someone whose grade jumped from a 1.0 to a 2.5, it's like receiving the Good News. Seeing my mom acknowledging all my efforts made all things better. And the best part was, she said she likes all the improvements she's seeing. Hearing her say those things made me think that for once in my college life, I've done the right thing. Weeks later, when I gave myself the chance to go out with my good friend Lina, even without me "boasting" about my newfound sense of diligence, she just said that by looking at me, she could grasp that I've improved a lot since our Frosh years. It felt double good! So what has been my secret in getting a better grade than the previous terms? Simple. I studied. I mean, I didn't just pretend that I'm reading the book. I actually read the book. Hmm., Now I know how it feels like to be a student in the real sense of the word. Haha! I've found out the secret formula to improving my academics. It's now time to do something about the friendships I've reduced to simple acquaintances. It took me this long to realize that I've done a great deal in whatever happened. Mea Culpa. I am sorry to everyone whom I have unintentionally hurt. I didn't know I was offending you. I thought I was merely protecting myself. 
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inding the way out to my seemingly endless problems hasn't been easy. And I don't want to make it appear as though I've figured out everything already. Let's just say that I can see the end of all these things from where I am standing now. The cure for my problems, I guess, is the desire to actually cure all the problems. I know that now. And I won't lose it again. With these reasons, I believe I have something worth celebrating.

2 comments:

  1. the last photo is simply gorgeous! and I have to mention how brilliant your "pose" was during that trip, hehe. btw, the surroundings look amazing there! oh and it was interesting to read about your thoughts.

    Maiken,
    Maikeni blogi - part of me

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  2. Palawan is really a great place to stay :)

    http://www.tuwentytri.blogspot.com

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Go ahead, make my day :)

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