ATENEO RETREAT 2012: A GREAT WAY FOR A FRESH, NEW START

Countless of my blog followers and fellow bloggers have been asking me, "Why don't you blog anymore?" Well, part of the ridiculous and unacceptable reason is laziness, and the other? Well, let's just say my mind is.. elsewhere. Those people motivated me to blog again- blog more. I felt happy that people read my blog even though I don't advertise it that much. Makes me feel.. accomplished. *Insert "OH STOP IT, YOU" meme here*

Just this September 03 to 05, 2012, me and my classmates of BSN-IV F had our 3-day retreat at Harmony Village, Sinunuc. The night before, I prepared my clothes, toiletries, food, and of course myself.

I prepared every bit of courage, motivation, and the self-control to NOT text. But hey, how can I text when they confiscate our phones, right? Yes, they did. Very strict. You know those body patting (?) security guards do to check for weapons and other sharp objects? Yeah, they did that. I like that, actually. So as it may seem, I had no choice. I had to surrender my phone. Completely NO GADGETS were present, not even USBs.

As soon as I first step foot on the said venue, I felt excited; my smile was as wide as my broad shoulders and as creepy as the room we stayed in, ROOM 6. There were a lot of scary stories about that room, but the same goes to rooms 4, 7, 13, etc. So I obviously ignored the stories and went on with our retreat.

We were given RETREAT KITS that were composed of a pen and a notebook. All of our reflections and insights were to be filled in that particular notebook.

There were about 5 or more sessions given by different speakers, each with a unique and fun activity. Well, fun as in there will be writing, writing, and more writing. That's fun, right? However, I'll stress on the TOP 3 activities I had the most fun with; one of which involves a stone.

We were asked to pick one or more stones, wash, heat, and place it in front of the altar while saying a little prayer. The stones represent our desires.. In my case, I only chose but 1 stone.

The stone has 2 sharp edges and 1 curved one. We were asked to explain why we chose that certain stone and on what it symbolizes. My answer was..

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I chose that stone because one sharp edge symbolizes my wants, and the other sides on what I need or on what is right. I lie on the curved edge for I am still going back and forth on both edges, trying to fight on what I want and on what I need.
----- I had a longer answer, and after I was done speaking those deep words out, the speaker was shocked and told me in Tagalog, "Wow, your words are so deep. It's hair-raising.", then I was shocked as well. LOL So yeah. That was just about it.

We also read a series of articles that helped us with our faith, on how we treat others, and on our insights in life. I had fun reading the articles as they were of big help to me.

And last but not least, the activity of sticking a piece of paper with my name on it on my back, and letting my friends write something about me with my eyes closed. I was so happy with the comments and felt blessed that people appreciate and recognize me for my passion, writing and art. :)

And as you can see, the most common comments are that they enjoy listening to me speak (ENGLISHERA daw), and that my words are deep and poetic, even though the questions are quite simple. Also there were remarks on me being creative with drawing and on graphic art like photo and video editing. One or two comments also said I was tall. Yay! LOL

So that's just about it. I had so much fun during our retreat and am glad that my "comeback" to blogging is on this topic.

God bless everyone and have a wonderful day! It isn't too late to change. Forgive and be forgiven. :) And to my readers.. How are you? I've missed you. xx