I Wanna Run Through the Halls of My High School

SHE
062906

After the hot, hot summer, everyone was exited to experience school again. The first day was the most prepared day of all. It was nerve-wracking. You don’t know what to do, say, react and feel. If I know, almost all the students could not sleep the night before the big new day. Everyone was just so curious and excited about what would happen that day.
And that day came. June 13, 2006 I woke up at 5:30 in the morning. (Not bad for the first day of school). I wondered what my batch mates would look and sound like. I said my prayers and walked up to the corner to get a ride.
When I reached the prestigious gates of UP High, a familiar face approached me and asked “Oi! Do, skwela man lage ka?” I answered his joke with what I really felt. “Of course! Nganong di gud?! I Love school!” And from there I could see new shy faces doubting what their lives would be upon entering UP. “A whole lot of surprises” I whispered to the wind. I felt that too about three years ago.
And so my day started with meeting and greeting friends from all the corners of the school. People were noisily chatting about their unforgettable experience during the short summer vacation.
The bell rang for our day of flag ceremony. Everyone sang the national anthem although the pith was a little bit high. After hearing the news about the students who cannot memorize the Panatang Makabayan, I’m sure everyone tried their best to speak it or to pretend like they’re memorized it. But
When the singing of the school hymn started the sophomore, juniors, and seniors sang their hearts out. It was the only thing they were proud about that very moment since the freshies didn’t have any idea of that song. Then Madam Baltazar went to the stage to great everybody. But before she came down, she left the statement of the year. Do not stick to mediocrity. Strive for the excellence and always be the best. Everyone knew by heart what those words meant. I think that started classes with that statement from our hearts and minds.
At the end of the day, I realized what were expectations and personal promises. I think everyone hoped for the best of our year.
Now that I am graduating, I am about to face a new school-opening in a very different environment. I know it would be hard but I can’t do anything but to except it. I hope my first day in college will be as good and fresh as my first days in UP high.

Have a Break

l (a

le

af

fa

ll

s)

one

l

iness
-ee cummings

An ordinary person will find it too hard for him to understand the poem written above. Probably, that person will even not be interested in trying to understand it. What makes this poem different and not easy to comprehend is its structure and content. At first, I found the poem weird. Weird because it was written that way and I didn’t see the point of the writing it that way. “Why do people consider it an art?” is what I suddenly said after reading it for only five seconds. And after several reading-it-all-over-agains, maybe I got the point. l ) a for me means being alone. Actually I read the poem as a leaf falls loneliness. I don’t know if it makes sense. But all I can interpret from the poem is loneliness. (That’s the title.) But this loneliness is accompanied by solitude which makes it lonelier. Maybe the author was in extreme loneliness while writing this. I also noticed that if you take the phrase a leaf falls from the poem, what’s left is loneliness. Exciting! And after noticing that little excitement, I just can conclude that the poem is so full of loneliness. I believe that a person can find beauty in solitude. I find it amazing when people can write beautiful things amidst loneliness. It is very hard but what output you get is unbelievable. I’m sure the writer used the old typewriter that is why the poem was written that way. After gathering this information, I can really say that it all boils down to the point of being lonely. As Christille wrote in her blog, the need for hibernation something, we need to give valuable time for ourselves to reflect and contemplate about certain things in our life. In doing this, we can see the value of silence. And in silence, you can hear a lot of things you won’t hear in you everyday life. These things you will hear teach you a different side of life. But too much of something is bad enough as a song of the Spice Girls says. You can go crazy if all you do is be alone. I think we were not made to live in this world just to be alone. We were made for certain wonderful purposes and I know that these purposes don’t require us to be alone. It’s just a matter of self worth. Give yourself a break and look at the beauty of life.

Remember Me This Way

My stay in UP may be short but there wasn’t a moment in this stay when I regretted it. It was like yesterday when we were just strangers. But look at us now. You can never say that nothing has changed. At first, we were those freshies who followed every rule in this very big and university. Then we knew how to go a little bit beyond the boundaries until we found ourselves facing Ma’am Rabago about our never ending list of violations. “I didn’t wear my I.D. Ma’am because I forgot to bring it on this day. I promise not to do it again Ma’am.” We all sounded most likely like that. Our batch was playful and somehow carefree. If given the luxury of time, I think we would rather stay under the heat of the sun and play Patintero. But as we all know we are no ordinary students. We are UPians. So here we are spending that luxury of time in making our blogs, researches, notes in SocSci, bring home exams in Calculus, last minute general cleaning for HR and CWTS, periodicals for P.E. and many more. But everything has a reason. I know after all these we will see the fruits of our labor and very hard work. Patience is a virtue as Byron always tells me. It really is. Our walk in this very tricky, confusing, tiring but best journey has come to an abrupt end. We never foresaw the coming of what we called “soon”. My high school life, experiences I learned from it and people I met all taught me important things a person should know to live a worth living life. I learned to be on my own. I learned to read, write and understand things at the same time love what I’m doing. It’s never easy to serve two masters at one time unless you love them both. I learned to give and receive. I learned how to mingle with people who are so diverse. I learned how to treasure every moment I spent with friends. I learned to appreciate my one-of-a-kind education. I learned the word “mediocrity”. I found out why cheating was a rare kind of art by witnessing what tragedy it can bring to a person. I learned how to love without being loved in return. I saw beauty in solitude and treachery in assemblage. But most of all is the realization that without God, there would be no one writing this blog entry.
I simply want those who know me to remember me as the Doanne who became their good friend. I didn’t give much to the school in terms of awards for certain contests except for being a behaved student. All I want to be remembered is the friendship I could give by will with all of my heart. I prefer that our batch be remembered-the batch that somehow gave existence to the essence of UP High.

Ok. Next blog please…

A Little Flashback

I was looking for a material for the blog project when I saw my English II notebook. I saw this entry and decided to add it to my entries. This was entitled “Predictions”. Let's find out if my predictions really came true.
Last Saturday, April 2, almost half of the Benton Class batch 2004-2005 went to the Family Park to have fun and to celebrate the last outing of our section. Everyone enjoyed that day. As I was taking pictures of my classmates, I felt sadness in me. I will surely miss them because this was the last day we could get together as Benton. Unfortunately,I had to be home by 2:30 in the afternoon because my mother needed help in preparing the church for the next day. (After one day...) Now I'm on my study table and h'm about to write my predictions about our batch for the next school year. I'll start with Jann. I think she would be a good leader because she has the talent and the attitude. In my prediction she will be the active president of the UPSTAGE. For Hazel, she will have many offers because of her many talent in playing the guitar. Maybe she will have a band and they will be playing on stage especially on athletes night. Ralph will study more next school year. He has to improve his study habits. Christille will continue her sining career but will have to do something new. She is going to learn Hangul or the Korean language. It really inspires her. Lyndel and Daphne will become closer because they share a lot in common. Olga is going to be with her former classmates. Nico is going to be with Danesa in the same section. John Paul will be louder than ever. Chairman will make the school proud because of his amazing achievements in Math. Lorenz will not have to visit the other section because he will see Yolike everyday. Juna Rose is going to bloom and become a beautiful lady. And as for me I will be me. I hope my predictions will happen. But one thing is sure to happen...Benton will still play the prestigious Patintero at the volleyball court of UP high. These things are about to happen next year. I can't wait. And after two long and rough years, I am to comment on my work. Actually, Jaja and I are very hungry right now so I would like to say sorry for the typographical errors you surely will encounter. Back to “busyness”...Most of my predictions came true. Jann indeed became the president of the UPSTAGE when we were juniors. Hazel now has a very hectic schedule because her talent in playing the guitar is badly needed. I don't really know about Ralph's study habits but I see his improvements. I saw how responsible he is if you just make him feel that a certain task is yet only for him. It was evident in the Dramafest when he was my co-director for music. Look at Christille “The Singing Egg” Gultiano now. Isn't she amazing? She still sings for any school event that needs singing. She won first place in the solo singing during our Intramurals for the year 2007. She still became inclined to the “Korean Talks”. Lyndel and Daphne became a new team. They included Mae Ann and others. Nico's crush wasn't Danesa anymore so my prediction about him didn't work out well. JP never became quiet. During our successful retreat, Madam Maglasang scolded him for being extra noisy. Lorenz and Yolike were not classmates in our third year .It is only now when they got together again. But even if they were separated for a year,their feelings for each other strengthen. Juna, as always, becomes beautiful every time I see her. We still play the Patintero but when we became the busy seniors we are right now, we didn't have the luxury ot time to play Patitero. But we will always remember the days where we were the people in authority of the volleyball court. Isn't it so good to recall the wonderful and intricate past?

“Kiss” Me

The Look

Strephon kissed me in the spring,

Robin in the fall,

But Colin only looked at meAnd never kissed at all.

Strephon's kiss was lost in jest,

Robin's lost in play,

But the kiss in Colin's eyes

Haunts me night and day.

-- Sara Teasdale

This simple poem gave a big impact on me. For me, I interpreted it like this:
Strephon, Robin and Colin are three different men who most likely are suitors of this girl. She didn’t have a hard time in choosing her man. Strephon kissed her in spring, Robin in fall but Colin didn’t kiss her at all. Instead he just looked at her. For her, who experienced all the different kisses, Colin’s look was the best kiss because he didn’t do anything to get her attention but she clearly fell for his sweet smile to the extent of it haunting her night and day. “But your very first kiss changed all these...Something only you can do...” (lines from “I Believe In You” by N'SYNC featuring Joe)

Love indeed is sweet and unjustifiable. Why is it so hard to fathom? Why can’t the girl love the one who kissed her in spring? Isn’t it romantic to be kissed during a fresh season? How about during fall? Why did she choose the look which didn’t give any assurance of true love in return? Questions then just flood out of our minds. Well, people’s minds slow down, change a lot and don’t work that much when it comes to love. That’s what I think. Love doesn’t need any reason for its existence. One day you’ll get hit by it. You just don’t know why, when, where, how and by who. People enter my life telling me they me like for this and that. I appreciate them but I don’t give much attention on them. Maybe if someone will kiss me someday, I know I won’t take it as a kiss of something else but a kiss of nothing else. I’m sure I won’t fall in love just because of a kiss. I look for other things in the game called love. I may not play fair to others but I stick to my principles. I know that the “look” that I’m looking for may not be in the form of a kiss. Maybe it would be in the form of a smile, a song, a glance or a melody that I’ll hear in the wind. These simple things can make my heart melt. I’m probably not the type of person who falls for very sweet words (because I hate mushy things) or kisses. Maybe I’ll appreciate it more when you give me your million-worth smile, your unconscious hum or your friendly hug. There are many other things that will make me fall for someone. Time will come when someone will “kiss” me. I hope people will understand the difference between happiness in passionate love and bliss you rarely find in true love.

Whatever Things

The problem with men and women is the fact that they make problems out of themselves.

Men think they're superior over women and that superiority , most likely, makes the women go crazy over them. Women nag most of the time and are noise to men's ears but those naggers are the sweet ones who just care 1023 times. Sometimes men hook up with a women for display. They want to be in with what's trendy today. They don't focus musch on the "will-we-really-work" but instead reason out the word "companionship". Most women are vain; vain to the extent of only selecting from a wide range of good-looking men. They think they must look good all the time and in order to look good they must go with people who also look good. They belong!

What is so annoying with both sexes is the metanoia that will make them forget their names. People do cahnge for better or for worse but in just an instant? Doesn't it make you feel bad to see your special someone turm into your worst nightmare that day after he or she said goodnight? That's one of the mysteries in a just starting relationship. Yesterday, he made her smile and laugh to tears as they spent the whole day together. The next day they met each other but never said a word. So what's the piont in all of this when you will never change?
Just when you thought girls talk too much...

When boys get together they never miss the "backbite" pitstop. Yes, they do backbite worse thatn you can imagine. Girls on the other hand are fond of using codenames so that it would woukd be easier to talk about things in public. And there are some boys who really hate it. Girl go like " Mr. Sun and Ms. Moon is so and so" Who cares about the sun and the moon anyway?
But everyone fing it so hard to say sorry. Pride will always be on top of our heads. Saying sorry, for some, is tantamount to stripping off their identities. Pride can really kill. Boys say all the darnest things from loving you forever to giving you Polaris. That's a problem. But girls believe their every word. That's double jeopardy. For me, there is no problem at all if you do not make one.

Fears Conquered

Our fears and weaknesses need to be conquered
Most of the people are afraid of ghosts, roaches, spiders, snakes and some dark and other creepy things. I can't say that I'm not afraid of them too, but let's just say they're not on my list. There are many kinds of fears but what I personally fear is very unique.
Ever since I was born, I really love music. I even have a picture of myself in my diapers with headphones as I lay beside the radio. My parents said that I began to sing when I was two. (but it doesn't mean that I sound good)I joined the choir at church when I was five. I bought my very first tape when I turned six. It was a Christian tape for kids. In short, music became a part of my life. If you ask, how it would be
connected to fear sit tight I'm going to need you to keep reading this.
A part of me makes me insane
I don't know but there are some songs that freak me out especially the ones which exhibit broken chords. Like the song Losing Grip and I'm With You by the famous Avril Lavigne. I think everyone in the family is hooked to music but I am the only one who is, at the same time afraid of it. I am also afraid of being alone even if I'm in a public place with a lot of people and no one seems to be a friend. It also freaks me out. My mom as well as my Dad knows that fact and would never try to leave me unattended. But as time passed by,I
learned to handle being alone. It will never be me being a loner. It also doesn't mean that I'm sure of finding a lifetime partner in the near future.
Solitude can also be found in relationships. I'm happy being single. As long as I have God,my family and friends beside me, most likely my love life will never be lonely.
Lost in confusion
I remember a day in my elementary years when one half of the students in our class were going to Family Park. We all had to follow the buddy system. We all had our buddies to go with. My buddy that time was my friend Brosel. When we toured around the place. It was so good and beautiful that we found ourselves lost. Even if Brosel was there, I couldn't stop myself to be afraid. I wanted to scream but neither our teacher nor our my classmates were thereto help.It would be useless. It was just me, Brosel and the forest that was about to eat us alive. So what I did was to pray for guidance. And after a few minutes we heard our other classmates laughing like there was no harm to worry on. The sound was quite near so with all our might, we followed their sound. Fortunately, we found them. When we were ask to write something about what we experienced the next day, Brosel wrote, " Each one of us has the right to be found." They all laughed at her because she was like making stories and building a new constitution but she fought and still fights for that right she just made. I smiled because I knew that if I just didn't believe in God, I might be really lost in confusion with what is happening around me. I can conqure my fears if I just believe in God that he will comfort and guide me. Well, I'd better end now. I still have to make 15 blog entries. Bye.

Guess What?! It's Gonna Be Me

There are only a few people who really know me. Myparents, my best friends and my dog. I do have friends
but again, only a few know me very well. I don't
pour out myself to anyone, that's why if you want to
know me very well, you are lucky because I'm about to
open up myself to you.
Since I am in a rush to somehow finish this very exhausting blog, I'll
just write the rare and some common things about me. My name is Doanne Lyre Landero Montecastro. Doanne came from my parent's names. Do from Dominador and Anne from Annie Jean, my mother's name. Lyre came from an instrument because they said that I will love music and make it a part of my life.
And that's exactly what happened. I loved music at a very
early age. I find bliss in it. But I fear it. This is something even I cannot understand. There are some kinds of music that causes trauma on me. I find it difficult to detach myself from it and all I can do is cry it out. There is another weird thing about me. I eat rice with water on it. I prefer this over soup if I'm just at home. Yes! I do this every time I eat a meal
with rice. Before, I was afraid to do it in school
because people might think that I am weird and too different to comprehend. But I said to myself, there's no harm if I try and maybe introduce it to others. If they can't adopt to me doing it, it's enough that they accept the real me. I tried it with Mariel, Grace, April, Ella and Shedyl
as my lucky witnesses. They were like, "What the..." But then said, "Okay, you have your own unique style in eating,go on with it." Sometimes my friends ask me about my happy past so I share my unbelievable but true adventures like climbing the mountain, reaching the top ( a cliff ) and my bigger classmates had to bring us down safely one by one. I always go for adventure since I was in grade four. When I was in grade six, my goal was to visit all of my classmates houses before I graduated. Whew! That was close. And I finished my goal just right before the big day. Daryl's house was the last I got to see. I can also say that I am an active person and that I do things beyond my parent's imagination, like when my cousin visited us and he taught me how to "hitch" a ride at the back of a cargo truck. I've always
wanted to do that. I just laugh at myself whenever I recall those days. It was one of my cheap thrills.
By the way, I was born March 30, 1990 at Cebu Doctor's Hospital at about 6:30 in the morning. When I was still a toddler, we lived in an apartment at the back of CAP building at Jones Avenue. Then when I turned five, we moved to Sindulan, Mabolo. When I started school, we transfered to New Frontier, the place where my family resides now. We had to move three times because of my father's job or ministry.
Okay, that's a lot about me already. If you want to find out how rice and water taste, you can chat with me if I'm online at bluenike_06.com. http://friendster.com/dlyreil is the url to find out how high school life is sweet at UP High. So I'll have to leave. Until next time.

Teach Me If You Can

UP High annually celebrates the Know Your School Day which is an event that gives the teachers a break from their noble careers. Students get a chance to substitute as faculty and staff of the University for a day. It is also a good way to know how people work in school. You get a chance to know UP High’s system of teaching. The KYSD has been a tradition in UP High and every year it gets better and better. Actually the KYSD runs for a couple of days. It isn’t only for a day. Sometimes runs for two to three days. It also happened before that the KYSD was held in a week. But the duration doesn’t matter because the success of the KYSD, with the help of the Student Council, is consistent. In my four years in UP, I never had a chance to be a teacher in the KYSD probably because I never had the passion for teaching even if my mom, dad and aunt are teachers. I didn’t want to teach. I always wanted to just be a student - a learning student. The first time I experienced this event, I was amazed because my classmates were so in to becoming little Madam Gallos, Sir Montaños, Madam Logartas and many more cute things. Of course, the freshies were the devotees of this event. Imagine the excitement we felt. It was an honor to be a teacher. You’ll be of higher rank over your classmates so you can scold them for being noisy like you when you are a part in class. You have authority over them. If I know, almost everyone wanted to become a teacher for a day. It was always good to know that at our very young and feeble age, we had the guts and skills to teach people of our generation. I can still remember Richard and Juna teaching us Geometry. At first we didn’t really understand the existence of the arc. But they really tried to explain how the arcs work and they were successful with it. How did we know? Well, we became third year students. Somehow, I remembered Aiko as a student-teacher in Social Science and Computer. (I’m not sure of that) I don’t know but Aiko loves teaching SocSci. It was good news for us because Sir Montaño doesn’t come to class that regular that’s why we can have a good discussion of the history of the world. I think Grace tried to be a Biology teacher even if she’s better at Math.April Rhiz was my seatmate during Chemistry time so I witnessed her preparations for her Chemistry discussion about RedOx. Lately, Chairman and Jann discussed a topic for Calculus called Related Rates. While writing this, a flashback of Ella teaching PE came into my mind. She gave a joke one time about her application for the certain subject and we laughed at her. The next day, we were having PE with Ms. Sarmago. But after two years, Ella felt that she was not contented with the PE teacher position so this year she made sure that this year she would be the Professional Division Chairperson and she did! It feels different when your co-student is teaching you. Sometimes you really don’t understand what they’re trying to teach you. But most of the time, we understand the new lessons because the new teachers know what we find hard about the lesson so they make sure that we don’t struggle. We also are stimulated to learn because we are most likely on the same line of thinking especially on the choice of words. Student-teachers can express more what they’re trying to say. We don’t easily get bored because they know when to throw jokes and ice-breakers. But after the day, we still get back to our student instincts. We still play and laugh our hearts out. I still prefer being taught than to teach.

1 testimonial to reject or approve

This will be in a formal manner so please bear with me.
It was a room full of tension and anxiety. The air could be considered humid and saturated because of the hard breathing everyone was doing. We were eager to push smiles but it was difficult since it was our first day and we barely knew anyone and in the midst of all of this…
“She’s cold and she’s cruel but she knows what she’s doing…” Something anonymously powerful struck the platform with a “Good morning Madam. Good morning classmates. I’m Ella Beverly Sarmago and I’m proud to be your classmate!” And we were all like “What the?!” I could perfectly and vividly imagine how she looked and what she was on. She was wearing blue cargo jeans and a spaghetti top with white and green stripes. She really defined “sexy and hot” We all stared at her as she took her seat;the seat behind me!
She was oozing...oozing with confidence! She greeted everyone that surrounded her. You could then see that she was a carefree person and that she has so much to share. She was just that natural and from the on she showed us what she could do and can do for the better. Ella constantly surprised us with tidbits of who she was. It was because she was loud.. Loud in the sense that she speaks of her beautiful mind and she contained liberalism with good reason. But I found out something different when she smiled at me. Because in that smile I saw melancholy. I saw that Ella differed from those loud and liberated women who didn't care that much of others and focused only on what they want to say. She was indeed human;weak and tender at heart. I was that bad for not seeing that hurting piece of Ella's vulnerable heart. Ella was deeply crying inside. All I wanted was to reach out to her but honestly, I couldn't because I didn't know how. There was this big wall that hindered me from touching her. There were these times when we laughed our hearts out and sang to our very last breaths but I didn't get the time to talk to her heart to heart. I prayed in the evenings that Ella would somehow be awakened from her sadness just like a princess who slept for a thousand years. I knew I could not be her prince so I just whispered my wishes for her to the wind hoping that the wind will sing them to Ella's long waiting prince. In the middle of our struggles, I saw her as she grew into the lovely lady we see now. She remained humble. Humble because she she still had the valuable time to say her “Hi's” and “Hello's” and the “I like what what your wearing today...” But still, she wasn't that happy. I already heard of her hurtful past when destiny permitted us to talk about it one day. And I admire her for being so strong because I know it's never easy to let go. Ella may appear firm and strong outside but she needs that certain touch to change her life and make it more beautiful because Ella deserves it. JP may not be that
prince Ella is waiting for but I know that somehow he has made Ella feel different toward life. Someone has seen the beauty within her. Someone made her feel special in a way.
This maybe too mushy for you to handle Ella but I mean everything I wrote. That's what I see in you. I had always seen the good heart in you and I hope you will not forget that you have it. Use it to share good to others. Thank you for always believing in me. You make me special.

Inside my Memory Box

Addressed to Ella’s “Memories in a Box”…

As young as twelve, I saw high school as a stage of teen problems, drug addiction, bad peer pressure, fraternities and boy-girl relationships. Ridiculous isn’t it? That shows my being narrow-minded and the conservative environment I was surrounded with. I wanted to skip high school, jump to college and finish my education. I never knew what pleasure and fun awaited me.

It was in my second year in UP when I realized how awesome high school was. And it was then when my memory box was born. I filled it with every bit of memory I could have. So what do you think is inside this memory box of mine?

What consists of this flashback trunk are just simple stuff like my first year library card (I think it was only required in that year because it didn’t exist in the following years); some parents permit for a certain school event (just shows that either I didn’t come to the event or the guard was asleep); the doll-key-chain Yolike gave after the Christmas break; a 19-forgotten paper chat with Jabert about his crush; my very hi-tech calculator that broke down after three months of extensive use; bracelets given by Eldee and Stacey; the pink pillow given by the juniors during our last promenade; my vulnerable flute; and the red silk we wore around our waists when we won the Dayegon Contest. By the way, these are only those that can be seen on the surface of the box. Underneath are more memories.

These included the copy of the songs in the CD gives as a token by the juniors; raffle tickets I bought because it was compulsory but I didn’t hand it over during the draw; the immortal Jonathan Livingstone Seagull; the cross stitch that wrote “Dany” and up to now I don’t even know who Dany is; letters from Christille, Byron. April Mae, Jann, Jabert and Stacey; another keychain from Arvin(he gave key chains to all who were in Bocobo); candies and lollipops(I collect every sweet someone gives me unless I am really in need to eat it); the box of peanut kisses Richard gave me when I turned sixteen; the wallets I used in my third and first year; the blue scoop I used to eat the thirty-peso-worth of ice cream at MV Duolos ; the mini Harry-Potter-organizer that lasted only for a year; the bottle of sand we gathered from an on-the-spot outing to Pepito’s beach; Chinese Checkers we won in exchange of the tickets we collected from playing at Timezone; the slightly-used map of the world for our SocSci 1; Math 1’s “Annual Statement of Account”; a bookmark from Gracielle; the bag I got for Christmas from the Royal-Family-Christmas-Tradition; message in a bottle given by Jann; the classic polvoron Nico Martin distributed; the candles warmed us during the freezing promenade; assorted coins from Madam Gallo; the dice I found on the street one cold and sad night; the Hilton ball pen

Nico lended when we had one of those nerve-wracking Calculus tests; my so-called “soulmate” bracelet (the one I found twice in my stay in UP); the amazing UP Handbook; my very first watch; Statistics booklet (I always keep it because this was the only Math I was confident with); a ticket to the Oedipus Rex (starring Ella and Gabby); my favorite SocSci 2 notebook; a poster for Hale’s very first concert here in Cebu which was posted on the walls of the waiting shed; Madam Lapa’s table of elements; Carol-of-the-Bells lyrics; UPCAT requirements; and the most valuable material memories-pictures!!!!

And from what has been written above, you can now imagine how full and memorable my memory box is.

So, what’s inside your memory box Ella?