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 ✿