10 Ways to be Awesome

My friend Nicole tells me I have been nitpicking on Cosmopolitan Philippine's March 2014 issue, specifically its "10 ways to be awesome" article at the back. I argued that the list was really shallow, and she challenged me to come up with my own.

So I did.

But before we get to our list, let's take a look at that Cosmo list.

1. SET YOURSELF BOTH SMALL GOALS (TO DETOX FOR A FEW DAYS) AND BIG GOALS (TO FINALLY TAKE THAT HOLIDAY.)

2. Throw a party. Make it the kind that people talk about for ages to come. 

3. Say "yes" when your first instinct is to say "no". You'll be shocked at how much more you'll see, feel, and experience just by saying the magic word. 

4. Be the girl who hits the dance floor and knows all the lyrics. 

5. Stop complaining about petty, boring stuff. 

6. Surround yourself with awesome people. Awesomeness breeds awesomeness.

7. Pat a dog. 

8. Give. It might be your money, your time, or your expertise. Whatever it is, you'll feel amazing.

9. Laugh loudly.

10. Stop caring what other people think of you. 

To be fair I think some of these items are good, but the people at Cosmo could have made a more profound list. Is it really wrong for me to expect deep stuff in a magazine that promotes cheap sex and vanity? 

Anyway, here's my own list. 10 Ways to be Awesome:

1. Love everyone, and make sure they know it. It's not enough for you to love people; they have to know and feel it. 

2. Perform your most ordinary tasks in an extraordinary fashion. If you want to be the best, make excellence your signature - even in simple, everyday tasks like chores. 

3. Expand your mind. Read books, watch documentaries, attend seminars, travel, listen to old folks. 

Would you travel in a bus full of Ethel Mermans?

4. Express yourself. Play a musical instrument. Paint. Draw. Sing. Dance. Write a book - or write an old-fashioned love letter, and snail mail it. 

                        Speaking of instruments. let the Epic Sax Guy serenade you. For 10 hours. 

5. Make kindness a part of your lifestyle. Remember "random acts of kindness?" Retain the kindness, but don't make it random. Make kindness second nature!

6. Quit whining and soldier on. Take up your cross, big or small, with a smile. That way, people will say "nothing ever ruffles him/her!" and will think of you as a very classy guy/gal. 

7. Pray. Go to mass. Read the Bible. Pray the rosary. Go to confession. More than that, bring friends along! 

8. Organize your friends and pay a visit to the sick kids and elderly in hospitals and care centers, or the guys in prison. Save some of your baon or sweldo and organize a feeding program in your community. Help those who cannot repay you. 

9. Tutor the young, especially if they're interested in what you're good at. You won't be fit and dandy forever, so make sure your basketball skills, or your business acumen, don't go to waste: teach a kid everything you know, and make him your apprentice. Make him promise that if he becomes good at it one day, he has to pay it forward and teach someone else. 

Some kids really yearn for a mentor. 

10. Make your life all about self-giving and sacrifice. Fight for what is good, and fight evil and injustice. As Sam says in Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers:  

Bakit Iba ang Aura ng mga Seminarista?

Nag-post ako ng luma kong picture sa Facebook, as it is customary dahil nakiki-throwback Thursday ako. Ito yung napili ko kahapon:

A friend of mine commented: Bakit kapag seminarista, iba ang aura? 

Napaisip ako. 

Naaalala ko na madalas kaming lumabas noon as a batch, dahil sa mga requirements sa school. And we wore what was the fashion statement back then. Hindi kami dugyot tignan. But somehow, everywhere we went, people always thought that there was "something" about us. Something different. 

We went to this school deep in Laguna where they were shooting the hit show Tabing Ilog in order to observe some of their classes. We didn't tell anyone that we were seminarians. As soon as we got out of the van, they all said, uy nandiyan na ang mga artista bisita. We went to each class and observed their teachers and students. The principal met us in her office after the activity for a little chit-chat. Five minutes into our conversation, she said:: "Ang bait n'yo naman, bakit 'di na lang kayo mag-pari?" 

Kaya ayun, sinabi na lang namin na seminarista kami. 

Sa dinami-rami ng pinuntahan namin, halos pare-pareho ang sinasabi nila: Parang may kakaiba sa inyo. 

Parang may kakaiba sa inyo.

Kahit anong pilit naming itago, hindi namin maitago. Sabi nga sa Matthew 5:14-16:

 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

So, what really sets the seminarian apart, and why do people see something different in them? Bakit nga ba iba ang aura ng seminarista? Based on my experience as a seminarian for 7 years, ito ang masasabi ko: 

1. Daily Mass and reception of Holy Communion, Frequent Confession - We received the sacraments frequently; Holy Communion daily, confession at least once a month. Nakatulong din na may pari lagi na available para sa kumpisal. Si Fr. George Schwartz, SDB na aming confessor ay isang tanyag na siyentipiko sa Germany. Naaalala ko, noong buhay pa siya, kahit gaano siya ka-busy sa kanyang laboratory, puntahan mo lang siya at sabihin mong mangungumpisal ka, ititigil niya ang lahat ng ginagawa niya at ibabalik niya ang puso mo sa puso ng Diyos. 

Here's a funny video about confession. 

2. Daily Rosary, and Liturgy of the Hours - Mapadpad man kami sa ibang lugar, tinuruan kami na dalhin lagi ang rosaryo at breviary para makapagdasal kami kung saan man kami abutin ng oras ng dasal. 

3. Innocence - This is not to say that we were all pure and chaste, but inside the seminary there was a constant effort to maintain chastity. The time this picture was taken, I have never been kissed yet, never had a romantic relationship yet, and have not been influenced by pornography yet. I speak only for myself. Ewan ko lang dun sa iba d'yan. Hehe! 

4. They made men out of us - We were trained and treated like soldiers because we were to be God's army in the coming spiritual warfare. I cannot begin to tell you how seriously deprived of good food we were back in the minor seminary in high school. I will give you a clue: (Cue music!) yung sachet ng ketchup ng McDo, kinakain namin patago. Ang ulam kadalasan dati, kropek at itlog na maalat, o isang pirasong hotdog (hinahati ko ng pahaba para isipin ko dalawa yung ulam ko). There was very little extra food, but the little we had, we shared with everyone. 

Everyday, trabaho kami 2 hours a day except Sunday, at madalas mabigat yung trabaho, katulad ng pagtibag ng building at yung mga bato sinasako at nililipat sa ibang lugar. Tapos magtataka yung ibang tao, bakit ang papayat ninyo???

Hindi uso ang mataba sa amin dati; ang pumasok sa seminaryo nang mataba, katulad ko, pumapayat din. 

 Bawal kami makinig ng music o magtago ng cassette player. Bawal mag-tago ng chichirya o extrang pagkain (this is where we got creative - kapag gutom ka talaga, hahanap at hahanap ka ng pagtataguan.). Madalang kami umuwi, at isang beses sa isang buwan lang kami pwedeng dalawin. Wala pa kaming cellphone or internet noon kaya ang paraan lang para makausap ang mga mahal mo sa buhay ay sa telepono o sulat. Gising ng maaga, aral, trabaho, laro, dasal, aral, kain, tulog. Ganyan ang schedule ko sa loob ng pitong taong nandun ako.

Marami pang ibang bagay na nagpatibay ng aming loob na sa susunod ko na ikukwento. 

Of course, being a seminarian has its perks. Nakalibot ako sa maraming lugar sa buong Pilipinas dahil sa mga camping days namin sa seminary. Libre kami sa karamihan ng seminars na inatendan namin. Once every quarter, we were brought to watch a theater play or listen to the orchestra sa Cultural Center of the Philippines, para daw cultured kami. Lahat libre. Still, the life of the seminarian is not an easy one. If someone would ask me, babalik ka pa ba? I will say, no, masaya na ako dito.

I wish I could tell you all the things about seminary life para malaman ninyo bakit iba ang aura ng mga seminarista. I hope I was able to give you a brief glimpse of what goes on inside those walls. At para sa mga seminarista na nakakabasa nito, stay committed to prayer and discernment. Always obey your superiors. Shine, so that they may see your good works and glorify God in heaven. Para naman sa mga gustong pumasok ng seminaryo, I encourage you to think and pray about it.

I invite everyone to pray for your seminarians. They will be our future pastors. It is not enough that they have a different aura from us. What matters is that they answer God's calling for them, and in these confusing times, it is sometimes difficult to hear God's voice. Let us never forget to pray for all of them, including our priests. 

To My Dear Bosconians

Forgive me, my dear boys. I do not mean to sound like the Rector Major; however, I address you now as a fellow Bosconian who have graduated from Don Bosco many, many years ago, and still carry his teachings in his heart to this day. I write to you to tell you something that you probably do not realize yet: that it is truly a blessing from God to be a Bosconian.

It is enough for you to be young for Don Bosco to love you! 

Whenever my friends introduce me to other people, they always say: Bosconian 'yan! We Bosconians aren't known to be the smartest, nor the most good-looking. And yet, once people know you as a Bosconian, people automatically think highly of you, and expect much more from you. Why is that? What sets the Bosconian apart?

Before I answer that question, let me remind you of some things you should never forget.

Don Bosco was fond of telling his boys to "do your ordinary duties extraordinarily well". God wants you to be happy, and that happiness can only be achieved by striving for holiness. How do we achieve that holiness? By doing the best we can in every thing we do, whether it be our studies, or washing the dishes, or playing sports.

Guess what? When we grew up and entered the work force, the whole company expected nothing less than the best from us. When God gave us our families, we were expected to be the best husbands and daddies, no less. In our society today, we are all called to be brave and exemplary Catholics who live and share their faith and follow the teachings of the Church; Don Bosco wouldn't have it any other way, believe me. When you do your ordinary duties extraordinarily well, you are preparing your heart to live a life of love, and your soul for eternal life.

I am sure you know of a certain boy who once said "Death rather than sin." To do our duties as Christians means to avoid sin at all costs, even to the point of death. Do not think that this is impossible, nor should you think that you should abandon this great ideal just because you repeatedly fall into sin. Saint Dominic Savio was also young boy like many of you who strove to be the best. Make Jesus and Mama Mary your best friends by visiting the chapel at least once day and frequenting the sacraments of confession and communion. I know you need to stay connected with your friends, either through Facebook or through your cellphones. Jesus wants you to stay connected to Him because He is your best friend.

Have you been trying to be a saint?

Never let go of these habits, my dear Bosconians. When you retain these habits to your adulthood, and you suddenly feel the raging tempests of temptation and tribulations, you will feel strong and unafraid, for Jesus has made you strong. It is at that point that you will feel so blessed to have been picked by Mama Mary to study in Don Bosco.

We have asked the question earlier: what sets us Bosconians apart? I would like to believe that people regard Bosconians highly because people believe in Don Bosco's way of producing not only upright citizens but saints. Saints!

You are all blessed to study in Don Bosco. You are all called to shine and shine the brightest, not in the future, but now. Our society and the Church needs holy Bosconians to be the vanguards of the faith. Strive not to be the best, but to be the holiest by doing your best even in your smallest duties.

Saint John Bosco, pray for us! Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us!