2018: Year in Review

Inter-Athletic Competition or IAC is a flagship event that happens every year at around November. It is really fun because in ARSA, everyone will be divided into 4 houses and will have many events like Basketball, Volleyball, Football, Dance competitions, and Mr and Ms IAC. My house was Blue Huskies. I genuinely had so much fun in our house because I met so many cool and interesting people. I also joined as Mr IAC, which was fun and scary at the same time, since I’m a very big introvert as it is. I also played volleyball and it was so exciting because I had never played before then and I did pretty well for my first time. Many dormers really became active at this time because apparently everyone loves sports. The whole event really just helped me cultivate my love for ARSA as my second home away from home. I’m proud to be an ARSAN.

After IAC period was my birthday, my friend, Sapao, and I shared the same birthday and we decided to have a dinner with our closes friends and have maybe a night out after. The dinner was nice and cute. It was intimate and we had really good food. After we went to BGC to have a few drinks with a bit more of our friends from the dorms, and we really just had fun dormer to dormer. There were a lot of people in the dorm who want and I was really touched that they went all the way for me. I really didn’t think I’d make so many friends in Ateneo because I really am quite an introvert and can be quite awkward to new people. In Ateneo, I’ve learned how to overcome that fear of socialization. I might still have a long way to go, but I’m happy with the steps that I have took to get here. I hope to continue on this upward trajectory.

After my finals for the first semester, I was looking forward to going back to Zamboanga, which is my hometown. It has been a year since I’ve been back, so of course I would be. When I was home and my father was waiting for me right outside the airport, I took a look at the city where I grew up and realized how small it is. I was so used to urban cities like Manila and Cebu that it’s a breathe of fresh air for me to be back. There are so much memories in this place, especially memories of my childhood. Every year, we spend Christmas here with the whole family. I usually spend Christmas with my father’s side of the family. My mom’s side is in Cebu mostly. It is only at this time, where the family feels complete. To add, I am really close with my cousins and it is always a good time when we’re all together. Usually, Christmas is a religious holiday, but, for me it’s a family holiday than anything else.

We don’t stop at Christmas, we also celebrate our new years in Zamboanga. In Zamboanga, fireworks are not allowed, which is fine by me because I never saw the appeal of pyrotechnics. It’s a relatively more quiet celebration, but nothing beats new years with the family in our ancestral home. What we do is we have a fiesta at home. My mom cooks our favorite Crabs, Shrimps, and other seafood and drench it in Alavar sauce, which Zamboanga is famous for. New Year wouldn’t be the same without my mom’s famous seafood. We usually have karaoke in our house while we wait for midnight to strike. My dad has a couple of beers with friends. My siblings would be playing outside or with the dogs. I would relax or read to waste time. When midnight strikes, we do the usual Filipio traditions, for example jumping with coins inside your palms to signify wealth and also to get those few extra inches in height.