*"Thanks pal" the second time around - this year, it was not just my crappy phone that got stolen, even my wallet that I bought all the way from Italy was stolen as well, which contained my old 1st year ID, my driver's license, my Alumni card, my membership card at Baguio County Club, and around a thousand bucks! It sucks though, but it became a learning experience for me, learning to be more careful with my stuff.
*The Battle must go on - as my mother has been strong in battling cancer for more than a year and counting, the more I was inspired to do more and work harder. I just simply salute my mother for being strong in the midsts of operations, chemotherapy sessions, and radiation sessions. My mom is my absolute lifetime idol in all of my things I do for the best.
*Camera spending spree - for this year, my allowance was used 75% of the time for Camera gear. And what have I got? A Sigma telephoto lens, an extra battery for my camera, a bigger memory card, a Sigma flash that was eventually replaced with a Canon flash, a rare Mark 1 50mm, a lens hood for it, a remote that I found from my lola's stuff, a replacement eyepiece because I destroyed the original one, a battery grip, and new sets of AA rechargeable batteries and chargers as well. I've probably spent roughly around 30k for all of these gear. It just proves to me that I can save up for things I really want
*Other stuff bought at my own money - aside from Camera gears, I got myself a new phone (after mine got stolen), a new set of Skullcandy Headphones (after the demise of my Sennheisers), and a new pair of "funky" shoes, of which I thank Jan, Acor, and Nichael for giving me advice while I was choosing which shoes will I buy.
*Surviving the Guidon experience - going almost two years as a full-time News Staffer and a part-time Photo staffer in the Guidon, despite my past hatred for writing (IN ENGLISH), I was able to prove to myself that I can change my past assumptions on certain things. Through this process of adaptation, I have learned a lot, got to know more people, made more friends, and enhanced my writing skills (which I thought that there is no hope for me to improve in that aspect). Overall, I never will regret my stay in this prestigious organization.
*Second chance was significant - although I swore that I will never ever come to like and fall for her again two years ago, a unexpected encounter with her during school made me give another chance to actually fall for her again. After all, she was far kind and nice than expected, not to mention that she became prettier now that I met her in college. Also, doing kind acts like lending her one of my old books and returning her notebook (thanks to my photofriend, Tata Yap) made me felt more fulfilled in returning the kindness to her.
*Here we go with legality - as I turned 18 this year, a lot was expected with me, and that includes responsibilities. I do have a hard time coping up with this, but at the least I am trying to become more responsible as I grow up.
*Be aware with the country - As a political science major, studying these various political theories, studying methods of research, and learning more about the corruption in the country, now I have showed more care than ever with what is happening to the country, with what is going on with the senate and congress, with what assortments of injustice happens to our country, among a few. After all, it is still up to us the youth who could be able to make a difference to our country.
*The ups and downs of academic life - although I seem to be doing normal in terms of academic life, college life has made me learn that it has its ups and downs as well, and that we shouldn't cry over spilled milk; instead, just move on and do better. Despite getting catastrophic tests and amazing achievements during my stay in college, the best way to go is to always work harder and improve on it. There's no limit on improving after all. High points to be considered are my first orals, my first "long" paper, my first take on my first set of majors, and my ability to manage an exemption. Low points are 16/100s, a couple of zero quizzes, surprise long tests, crammed-out projects and presentations, and the pile-loads of reading shock therapy.
*The music in the making - in terms of the significant music I have been listening to for the year 2008, I would give this to David Arculeta, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Usher, Mae, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Paramore, and Simple Plan for the international scene, and to Rico Blanco, Pupil, Cambio, Pedicab and the Eraserheads for the local scene. For this year also, I learned to appreciate the dance/trance/electronica genre, thanks to the likes of Kaskade, Telepopmusik, Daft Punk, Alex Kid, and Armin Van Buuren.
*Of flirts, jokes, eyecandies, etc. - this year saw the redefiniton of crush into the word "eye candy" as I came to realize that the word crush can mean a lot. Also, the ideas of flirting became a new thing to me, having instances of a good mix of humorous, serious, offensive, and mocking ways of flirting with the opposite sex.
*Unity, unity, unity - with this year, I learned to be more bonded with high school friends and with college blockmates, which makes me get to relate with them much better, and hence avoiding instances of being out-of-place with their conversations. Also, those inumans were something for me as it has become for me a means of relaxing after bouts of stress from college life.
And that's how I describe 2008. All the best for the year 2009.
