See Ya Next Time.

After living in a certain place for while, it either tends to grow on you, or you end up hating the place. As for myself, I ended up loving it – so much more than I thought I would.

—

It all started last summer when I returned to the US for vacation. While I was there, my parents and I visited several different states, stopping by to spend time with family members and friends in each state. During our last stop, Michigan, we visited Andrews University in the little town of Berrien Springs. I had lived there before for about a year, but had never considered studying at their college until I learned about a pre-vet program that they were offering. So, we immediately looked into it since becoming a veterinarian is my ultimate goal.

After touring the campus and consulting with various professors , I was given two choices: stay in the Philippines at Mountain View College as a Biology major, or transfer and study for a pre-vet degree. Now, for those of us who have never been to the states, this would probably be a no-brainer. However, I had lived in the US for 14 years before leaving to the Philippines to become a missionary with my parents and continue my studies. I know the convenience, I know the culture, I know what it’s like. It’s not new to me and therefore less appealing for me than for those who have never been.

At the end of our trip, my dad stayed behind while my mom and I went back to the Philippines so she could take care of things in Negros while I went and took one more semester at MVC. They had already decided that they wanted to move back, especially since my dad was interested in studying again. They left it completely up to me whether I’d be staying or following them.

This semester – about five months – has been my only time to decide whether or not I would be transferring. In all honesty, I had already decided that I would really be going to Andrews. But I wanted to take one more semester at MVC to even out my classes for the  spring semester at Andrews and take the time to let my friends know that I would be leaving. Also, I wanted to see if I would change my mind in favor of staying and hoped God would show me where He wanted me to go.

So far I haven’t received a definite answer from Him, but I’m simply going with the flow. And right now that flow is going toward Andrews University.

AU will give me a better chance at getting into vet school, but MVC was my life for a year and half. It’s not that easy leaving. I had planned to graduate from there, then move back to the US and continue to vet-med…but sometimes God has a different plan for us. We might not believe it at the time, but honestly there’s no better place we could be than where God asks us to be.

This last semester was the best that I could have ever asked for. I learned so many invaluable things from MVC – from my friends especially. From them I learned how to treasure friendship, how to appreciate the things that matter the most; how priceless every single moment is with the people in our lives. There is no way I’d ever take back my experiences in that place. I made friends there that I never thought I’d have. They are family. And even though I’m leaving, it’s never good-bye. It’s see ya next time.

 

“We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere.” 
– Tim McGraw

The Reason for the World.

Sometimes I find myself wondering, what really is the reason for the world? Yes, I’m a Christian, so the obvious automatically comes to my mind: to reach out to people, touch their lives, lead them to Christ. I know this. Unfortunately, life is still hard; everyone has asked themselves this question at least once in their life.

And not everyone is a Christian. So how do they answer this question? I have yet to find out.

—

Anyway, I have recently come across a beautiful song called The Reason for the World by Matthew West. I’ve listened to his music before, and I love every single song. This song, in particular, made me think an extra moment, so I decided that I’d share it with you. Here’s part of it:

Maybe the reason for the pain

Is so that we would pray for strength

And maybe the reason for the strength

Is so that we would not lose hope

And maybe the reason for our hope

Is so that we could face the world

And the reason for the world

Is to make us long for Home

Sometimes we just need a moment to think about life, about what matters the most, about what we have and where we could possibly be if we didn’t have anything at all. And when we realize how dull our lives would be without the blessings God has given us, that’s when we start appreciating the little things. When we start appreciating the little things, our outlook becomes more positive and suddenly there’s a desire to help make the lives around us a little sweeter, too.

So, think about life sometimes. Don’t think about how hard it is, how blurry the future looks, how depressing your past experiences were. Instead, think of the friends and family you have, the people who have touched your heart, the little moments, the big ones, the things that you believe you could never live without. These are what matter the most. Don’t take them for granted.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 
– Albert Einstein

Spots or Stripes?

Nobody other than the roomies could ever turn a hopelessly bad day into a rather interesting one. The day simply would not be complete without them. The three of us together is like…I don’t know – the Nyan Cat. Ridiculously stupid, right? Yet somehow beyond awesome.

 —

This evening my friend had invited me to go to the market with him to pick up some groceries; I agreed ‘cause I figured I might as well buy some fruit to snack on with the roommates, Ellie and Mitch. While I was there, I picked out some mangoes and then texted them, asking what they’d like. Their reply?

Durian.

Now, you must know that durian is a tropical fruit somewhat considered a delicacy here in the Philippines, especially in Mindanao. You also must understand that durian is famous for its particular and rather peculiar smell, let alone its texture and spikey shell. Mind you, the word ‘peculiar’ is actually an understatement. Oh, if you could only imagine the smell of sweet, rotten eggs, you’d only be scratching the surface.

As for the fruit itself, its texture is rather soft and creamy. Imagine the taste of a combination of sweet milk, cheese, slightly expired milk, and some bitter cheese again, and you may be spot on. Besides that, I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s just one of those things that you have to try several times in order to actually start liking it.

Anyway, I bought one. You’re probably thinking, ‘Avery?! Are you mad? Why would you buy such a disgusting fruit!’ Well, hey, it’s actually not that disgusting after a while. The description is what sounds disgusting, so consider it as an honest lie. Ask anyone who loves the fruit and they’ll tell you honestly: it smells disgusting, its flavour is indescribable, and yet, it’s the best fruit in the world to them. Just like a bittersweet love story. Awwe.

When I brought it back to the room, my roommates, of course, were quite happy. I was, too, as the smell of it had recently become rather alluring to me. I thought that I could handle eating it; unlike the first two times I had tried and failed. And I managed to eat two golf-sized pieces successfully without much strain. But I couldn’t handle any more after that, so I let the two of them scarf it down. And scarf they did. That fruit didn’t even last thirty minutes. I hadn’t realized it before, but yes, they’re addicts and their drug is durian.

After our fruity feast, we took a walk until curfew (9:30 pm) and then returned to the dormitory. Thus starts the interesting part.

As we got ready for bed and pulled out our books to study (yes, of course we’re diligent students), Ellie started laughing out of nowhere. She had been trying to study, but she had that look on her face like she just couldn’t focus and was about to crack up laughing. So I started talking to her, sort of asking if she was okay and she just kept laughing and laughing and laughing. When I looked at Mitch, we both had the same puzzled look on our faces and wondered, what the heck was going on with her? So we decided that she was simply going crazy, losing her mind and was ‘drunk’ from the durian.

I swear there was something wrong with her tonight. She couldn’t stop giggling, she was all giddy and smiley. She even whined and asked what was happening to her. If she didn’t know, how in the world could we know? So we all just started joking until she was suddenly serious. How we got into this topic, I honestly have no clue.

She asked me, “Avery! So is a zebra black with white dots or white with black dots?”

“Dots? Does a zebra have dots?” I asked her, holding back my laughter. I was trying to get her to realize what she had just said.

“Ay! No. I mean spots! Is a zebra black with white spots–”

We suddenly interrupted her with a burst of laughter. She obviously hadn’t realized her mistake. So we managed to blurt out ‘stripes’ in between breaths of air from laughing so much. “A zebra has stripes!”

Face-palm.

It finally hit her. “Oh my gosh! I meant zebra but I kept on thinking cow!”

This only made us laugh harder. The poor thing got a cow and a zebra mixed up. Sure, they’re the same colour and everything, but…really?

I suppose it was just one of those moments that we all get sometimes; where our brains have one thing in mind, yet somehow allow our lips to say something completely different and unrelated, thus helping us make a complete fool of ourselves.

We all have stupid moments we wish didn’t happen, right? Yet, think about what our lives would be like without these moments. There’d be a few less laughs, a few less memories, a few less moments to cherish, and it’d definitely be a little less interesting.

 

“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.”

– Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan

 

Here Goes Nothing.

For the past couple of weeks, I had been thinking about starting a blog. I had seen a few of my friends mention writing in their own blogs here and there…but the idea hadn’t quite sunk in until about two weeks ago.

I was unsure – still am – and I argued with myself about whether or not I should actually go through with it.  I’m not that great at writing, and I may not have much to say; but today, after talking with a good friend about it, I decided: what the heck? What is there to lose?

Absolutely nothing!

So, I’ve accepted the challenge and have taken my first step into the blogging world. If I decide that maybe this really isn’t for me, then I can just quit and go on with my life. At least I tried, right? On the opposite end, I may just end up completely addicted to blogging and nag myself about why I hadn’t tried this sooner.

This is my first time – ever – trying something like this…so please bear with me. My goal for now is to post an update at least once a week. Sometimes I might post sooner, but I’ll generally stick to once a week until I get a hang of this website and find a groove I can work with.

Wish me luck!