Faber Family's Despedida

March 31, 2015 — April 01, 2015
 
➳ Despedida is a Spanish term that means leaving; a send off party for someone.

After countless outings and graduation parties, we had our final send-off party. We decided to have a despedida After this, we would go all our separate ways and see each other again probably 9 months. We decided it to become an overnight at one of our hotels in the city: Astoria Regency.

I have to say, I will never forget this overnight or despedida, because I have seen the sides of my classmates that I have never seen before. If people tell you the a person has an 8am, 8pm, 12mn and 3am personality, believe me, they're telling the truth. Me and my classmates struggled most of the night for some reasons, thus we did not have the luxury of sleep. We stayed up all night, and talked about things we never thought we would talk about.

I am just really grateful I took the opportunity of going to this overnight (because I am not an outside person), because it was one of the best moments I have spent with Faber. ❤

The Countdown Ends Here: Graduation

Congratulations, Batch 2015! #SexySen1or5

The long wait is over. After what seemed like months away is now over. I am officially a high school graduate. I did not know what to feel on the day itself, after numerous countdowns, I had nothing to look forward about high school anymore because it was ending. The day just went smoothly, it seemed like everything was falling to place.

The day what filled with mixed emotions: happiness because obviously, I was graduating; nervousness because I might trip because I was wearing heels and I had stockings on and the undeniable sadness because of the separation anxiety I will be feeling with Faber. What better way to describe my graduation than with photos?

Last Post As A HS Student

I remember the days I used to neglect the idea that I was graduating, because graduation was months away.  But now, I am hours away from being called a high school alumni; leaving the nest and preparing to fly to greater heights or a bigger nest. Life will never be the same. I have not felt this anxiety towards anything. I should be excited; excited to explore a new world. But I am nervous. Nervous that I won't see familiar faces next year; nervous that we would be separated by undeniable distance. I want to cry just typing this, because I will miss them SO MUCH. I just hope everything will turn out to be okay for everyone. I love you, Faber.

— Iana the Banana ✿

Last High School Recognition Day

4 more days until graduation, I don't know what to feel! :(:

Last March 13, I had my last recognition day in high school. It's kind of sad that I call every single thing I do as my last, because I did not expect that time would fly this fast. On my last blog post {Click!}, I mentioned that I still had seventeen days before graduation, and now it's less than a week before graduation. :-(

Now going back to the recognition day story...

Like any normal recognition day, with all the name calling and medal awarding, it was a short program. What made it special are the photos we took after. It was our last time wearing our gala uniform, so let's snap away!

Meet my ever supportive mom!

Peace Award part 1! ✌ Jayko, the one on the right is one the the Young Peace Weaver awardees. Congrats, bruh!

Peace Award part 2! ✌

Just cuties! (L-R) Jermiss, Me, Allen, Shaira ✿

FRIENDSHIP GOALS! I could not imagine my life without these girls, and knowing that Jermiss will be leaving soon (really really soon) breaks my fragile heart. But at least we still have a few more days to catch up and make the most out of our remaining days together. Plus, Kay would be taking Accountancy as well, so there is a possibility we would be blockmates! YAAAAAY! ❤

With my two 6-foot classmates (I feel so small around them), Aj and Jayko!

One of the boys ✌

Team GT (Gifted & Talented)! Insert Kath here! Will blog about the debate event soon! :))

A groupie with our very own Father Principal! ❤

THE DEBATER IN ME. HAHAHAHA! Really happy all my efforts in debating paid off. ❤

— Iana the Banana ✿

March 03, 2015 ♛

17 days before graduation!

It is kind of weird that I am blogging about my day for two days straight. Productivity hits —

Today was a rather productive day, I did not have a I-regret-going-to-school moment! It's nice to make the most out of my remaining days in high school by meeting the kids who will be carrying the sections of my batch next year! ❤

March 02, 2015 ✿

18 days before high school officially ends!

I have mixed emotions about it, really. Plus its 2 days away from the announcement of graduates, so nervousness and anxiousness are all over me!

Nothing is really special about today, but I just feel like blogging about it. I would like to try to blog about everyday of my life as much as possible (when something productive or new happens). Since I'm a senior, I don't have classes anymore because our final exams were done eons ago. Practically, we just go to school for the sake of our homeroom grade, but we rarely do anything.

Here's what my first Monday of March was like (really detailed version):

Started my day by playing Mafia with my classmates! There were just about 15 of us but it was okay. The game lasted for about an hour or so, then we switched to playing Killer Eye. We know a lot of group games, I don't know why. Hahaha!

After we got tired of playing games and arguing (the games required arguing, okay), we decided to go down the cafeteria for a while. But since Kay, my triplet, and I were not hungry, we decided to chill in the library. Since I forgot to bring my tablet where my copy of David Levithan's Everyday was (current read!), I scanned our library for any fictional books. Luckily I stumbled upon our school's rich collection of Nancy Drew books! It was a totally nostalgic moment because it goes back to my elementary days where I am able to finish a Nancy Drew book a day! I chose the book Nancy Drew: The Clue in the Diary. Kay chose Cecelia Ahern's One Hundred Names (she's the author of Love, Rosie!).

After about 2 hours in the library (ultimate nerds), we decided to go down to the CM office to gather people to have lunch with us. We saw Josh along the way, so he accompanied us for lunch. It was a miracle to see him in school, because we know that he is such a lazy ass! :-P

I look so happy and so... white. HAHAHA! After lunch, we decided to chill in our classroom before going to the audio visual room for the finals of Filipino declamation and extemporaneous. (I became an impromptu emcee! Scroll down for the full story!) I'm going to miss this classroom so much! By the way, it is THAT messy because as what I have told you, we don't have classes anymore so who cares about cleanliness. HAHAHAHA!

I was not able to take photos of the Filipino declamation and extemporaneous finals because I was too busy being an emcee, but maybe our teacher has some photos; I saw her taking pictures earlier. It was really impromptu because our teacher told us that she needed emcees for the program, so Kay and I volunteered! We had nothing else to do so why not? I was challenged because we had to talk in straight Filipino, and I am not that good in expressing thoughts in straight and formal Filipino. But Kay and I managed to push through. Yay! Congratulations to all the winners!

Just a random selfie showcasing my uniform and our curtains. HAHAHA!

Ended the day with a pig out session with Kay and Allen! Everything gets better with food ;-)

Overall, this day was not that productive compared to other days but it was equally fun, for me at least. I have decided to skip school tomorrow to prepare myself for the announcement of graduates. I hope everything will turn out good; for everybody. Our batch is still aiming for 100% graduation! May the odds be ever in our favor! ❤

Sticky Note: I am currently writing a blogpost featuring all the books I read for the past few months, but I am too lazy to finish it because it features 8 books, and I want to write reviews for all of them plus I googled the synopsis of each book for you guys. It has been on my drafts for a few days now, hopefully I get to post it tomorrow or on Wednesday. :-)

— Iana the Banana ✿

It's the Night of Nights: Prom 2015

Promenade (n.) 
- a ceremonious opening of a formal ball consisting of a grand march of all the guests 

2/12/15: So since I am done with my Faber Men appreciation post {Click!}, it is now time to blog about one of the highlights of my senior life: Promenade. Click continue reading to read the post!

Faber Men x Polaroids

 

Before I flood my blog with prom photos, let me do an appreciation post to the fifteen men who made my high school life the best. Without them, I would have been a wreck. They are gentlemen yet jerks at the same time; geniuses yet pasaway. For short, they can be the most bipolar classmates yet the best classmates you can have. I have been with the most of them for four years now, and seeing them mature from naughty kids to mature adults (well, a little) is heartwarming. Most of them will go out of town for college, and thinking about that sucks because I will miss them bigtime.

Overnight Retreat 2015

  Love how candid this photo is!

Last Thursday and Friday, Faber had probably the best overnight of our life: our retreat. Attending the retreat is a requirement for our graduation, so we really had to attend it. The experience was great, and it was a great first retreat for me. Recollection is totally different from a retreat in a number of ways. It requires much more contemplation and things like that.

I feel so lucky that I have been given a chance to spend a retreat with Faber, because they are the people who I can be completely honest with and just be myself. Overall, the retreat was fruitful and spending it with Faber made it more meaningful.

Here are the 5 things I learned during my retreat:

✎ You need silence to be able to hear yourself. One of the highlights of the retreat (and probably the hardest) was to maintain silence during sessions and even during breaks. Brother Carlo continuously reprimanded us for being noisy during the first two sessions, but then after that, we managed to maintain an acceptable amount of silence. It was during that silence that I heard myself; knowing who I am and what I really wanted. It was refreshing because I realized that I haven't heard myself and what I truly want for so long.

✎ Sacrifice is needed to find true happiness. We surrendered all our gadgets at the start of the retreat, and we only got them after all the activities (the photos were taken after the retreat). I realized that sacrificing something as simple as a gadget was worth it, because it made my experience more fruitful and memorable. It's nice to be disconnected once in a while, you get to appreciate your surroundings.

✎ Letting go is hard, but fulfilling. I am a really sentimental person, so when we gave each other letters and had to burn them, it was really hard for me. All the emotions and confessions in those letters were so hard to let go, but I knew I had to. I could not swell in the past if I want to appreciate the present. I feel like I was a new person after I let go of everything. It was definitely worth it.

✎ Reconciliation is important. If there is anything that I am proud that I did during the retreat, it was when I reconciled with everyone. I might be unaware that I have hurt anyone, and it was nice to know about them. It was a little bit overwhelming because it all happened within a night, but I slept happy and fulfilled. Because of this, I realized that I built relationships with Faber that would last for a lifetime.

✎ Know yourself more than anyone else. I did not realize this was important until this retreat. I am now currently having a college-crisis, because of knowing myself, but I don't regret it at all. I did not know a lot was going on inside of me that I needed help and I needed to blurt it out. Thankfully, the retreat helped me. Forever grateful.

Here are more photos we took after we got our gadgets back :-)

 I introduce to you my sisters from another mother! The girl in the middle is Jermiss, and the girl on the right is Kay. They have been there for me since forever, and I am really really lucky to have them as my best friends. Sadly, Jermiss will be studying in Manila for college, while me and Kay will be here in Zamboanga. Nevertheless, we'll make sure that we keep in touch! Friendship never ends ❤

This is Faber's "puto" pose. The logic behind this pose is Bro Carlo's joke. We look so happy!

This is our we-are-totally-judging-you pose. Are you intimidated? Hahaha!

This is our breezy + pinky pose. Green inside jokes, I'm sorry. HAHAHA!

Just another groupie! ❤

 A selfie with Bro Carlo! He looks like a really happy kid! 

 How my bed/bunk looked like. I so love the sheets!

Of course, a couple of selfies! Sorry for my eyes, they were swollen after all the crying during the previous night. But, I'm still happy! :-)

The experience was really great. Could not ask for better people to spend my retreat with. Love you, guys! High school never ends.

*Sorry for the crappy photo quality, the photos were uploaded on Facebook and you know how much Facebook ruins photo quality, right? 

— Iana the Banana ✿

Faber x Life Lately

Taken yesterday at Tianina's. Lae's birthday celebration ♥

Hello everyone! Truly sorry for the lack of updates; the previous week has been hell for the seniors since we only have a month before finals. Teachers demand a lot of things, so blogging does not make the cut of daily things to do anymore. Plus the fact that everyday has been a routine, so there isn't anything interesting to blog about. But right now, I feel the sudden urge to blog about my life. Obviously the main highlight of my life right now is my beloved Faber.

✈ Requirements, requirements. As what I have told you earlier in this post, teachers demand a lot of things. If Faber wasn't there to back me up, I would have probably failed everything. Hahaha! We help each other because obviously we all want to graduate together. It's possible, we just have to put a little more effort!

✈ Life Crisis. I'm going to a lot of overwhelming things right now, and I do not know what I'm going to do with all of these things happening in just a blink of an eye. I am confused about everything, but gladly, Faber is there to support me all the way. They know me as the emotional and clingy classmate, and I feel really blessed that even if I tend to annoying them all the time, they still help me cope up with a lot of things. I love you so much guys!

✈ Prom Pairings. Prom is fast approaching (February 14), so this Monday, we'll finally find out who our partners are. In our school, a strict Catholic school, they are the ones who would pick your prom partners for you, unlike other schools where you are the ones who pick your dates. Honestly, we don't feel the prom vibes yet. Compared to last year, it was the only thing that we were thinking. But right now, it seems like prom hasn't landed on our brains yet. Will definitely make the most out of my last prom.

✈ Pigging out. The photo above was taken yesterday during Lae's birthday celebration at Tianina's. If there is one thing Faber's really good at, it's eating. Though we rarely eat stuff in the cafeteria (we always buy water), when we have pig out sessions outside, we are sure to make the most out of it.

✈ Upcoming Overnight Retreat. I am looking forward to this, at the same time very nervous about it. I am really really really emotional, so I don't know what is going to happen during the retreat. I am going to cry buckets, I know it. I am starting to hoard tissues right now, and getting prepared for an asthma attack. I don't know how to feel, but I am looking forward to it. 

There is never a dull moment with Faber, I swear. Separation anxiety is real. One last quarter, and the tears are real. I don't know how I could have survived four years of high school without them. I love you guys, forever!

— Iana the Banana ✿

Faber's Last Christmas Party

The Christmas vibe is everywhere! And the best way to celebrate it is with the people I value most: my Faber Family. ❤

This party is probably the one that Faber has been looking forward to, becuse it's the first time that we celebrated it outside the campus; thus we planned for it HARDCORE. I was part of the planning committee, and I could not put into words how much we planned for this and how excited we were about the event. Admittedly, we were really stressed because there were a lot of last minute changes, but we managed to pull a great party for us. Let the pictures and a few (no) words do the talking. ☺

L-R: Moi, AJ and Bolyn

Lol typical me during selfies.

 

Meet our very cute moderator, Brother Carlo Lacang! Yes, he's a Jesuit. 

I honestly love this photo! This was taken during our first game, Yanks vs. Rebels. This would pass as a movie poster! Love my classmates forever!

With the bastardo who was recently eliminated from the hopia club! Congratulations, bro!

With Lae! She was the one who was able to pick my name for the exchanging of gifts, and I did not have the slightest hint. Sneaky girl.

HIGHLIGHT OF MY FREAKING CHRISTMAS PARTY!!! Typing this makes me want to cry again, really. Faber boys planned a surprise number for us, showing how they appreciate the girls for being there for them. Trust me, girls are the most supportive classmates you can get. From basketball games to yearbook photos, we got our guys' back. They sang Tenerife Sea  by Ed Sheeran, and obviously I was crying. It was just a simple gesture but it meant everything to the girls :( ❤

 L-R: Rafi & Kay (dem lovebirds), then there's me and Jermiss, the members of the hopia club.

Credits to my sister Jermiss for the photo! I look so awkward. Taken during the stressful race, where I was one of the facilitators. It was funny looking at my classmates suffer. HAHAHA!

Idk why I brought a Sharpie with me, but I took the opportunity to show my devotion to my section. Teehee. FBR 2015 ♛

Some photos of the resort! The resort had a nature vibe, it was really pretty. It's a perfect place if you want to unwind. They also have a lot of facilities, such as boating, biking and horse back riding.

Say hello to my favorite photo of the event. I mean, look at us. We look so overjoyed. This was taken using Lae's S5, and obviously we looked so ignorant because the phone was waterproof. I got a severe case of cramps after this photo, severe in a case that I ended up crying and it got me paralyzed for ten minutes, but seeing how cute this photo is makes it worth it. :')

hopia club (n.) a club of people who are single or doesn't have a "lovelife"

Overall, this was the best Christmas party ever. All the stress of preparing was worth it; seeing my classmates, including myself, really happy on that day. December 19, 2014 was one of the days I wished that lasted forever, and if given the chance to rewind the day, I would. This is why I would miss them so much; they can make me extremely happy even if they just throw a corny joke or say that they are there for me. I value them more than anything, because they have been there for me for so long I owe them everything. I love you so much, guys. High school never ends.

— Iana the Banana ✿