Tyrone dived Anilao, Dumaguete and Malaspasqua

My graduation ceremony from grade 5 to grade 6 [going to Middle School in Beacon] was really awesome because there was a lot of food and sparkling apple juice! The thing I liked most about it was that there was chocolate, banana and mango crepes. The chocolate crepe was really good and as well as the banana, though I never tried the mango one.

CISV [summer camp in Florence, Italy] was fun and very hot! It was only hot because it was in the summer and I was in Italy. I also saw the Tower of Pisa and the other sights in Italy like the Coliseum in Rome and the Fountain of Trevi (the one in the Lizzie McGuire movie).

Dumaguete was really fun, although I didn’t see any sharks, I saw a lot of seahorses and I fed a bunch of fish some bread. I couldn’t see anything underwater when I fed them bread, there was just so much fish!

I also saw lots of schools of fish, mostly jacks though. But the beach here was better than the one in Malapasqua but there was more things to see there during a dive. [See video below of our fish-feeding in Cebu and also in Anilao earlier in the year.]

Malapasqua was also really cool, during the dive I could see the sand below me and it looked like a desert! The sand had lots of waves in it so that’s what made it look like a desert. Not only that but there were also small stingrays there, a lot of them! They would bury their bodies into the sand and when you would go close to them they would swim away to find a new hiding spot. [See our video below of stingrays in Masaplod, Dumaguete.]

My new iMac desktop computer [which I got for my birthday and Christmas] is so awesome! Not to mention it's also so big compared to just a laptop, it’s about 13 x 20.5 in inches! Now I don’t need to close and open to see a window I can see Microsoft Word, Firefox, iTunes, Finder, Yahoo Messenger, System Preferences, etc. all at the same time. In fact, it’s about almost the same size as my Television but just a bit smaller!

MERRY X-MAS!

Bryan graduates and moves on to new challenges

Whoever said growing up was easy never made it past college. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, another curve ball came my way.

In my opinion, life is just like a novel; it has a protagonist, and several other characters, there are various plots and sub-plots and it is also divided into chapters. Last May, I finished another chapter in my life, college. As a freshman, it seemed like an eternity but graduation quickly dissolved into reality.

Over the past four years, I have learned to adapt to a foreign culture and struggle to become independent. I was fortunate enough to have my whole family attend my graduation. These are the few times in life when the MasterCard commercial says it best, "priceless."

The years have provided me with invaluable lessons; lessons that I believe have helped me become a better person. Among the many lessons learned, there were three that stood by me throughout the years.

The first lesson I learned is patience. Patience is a virtue not easily learned. In fact, I am still practicing it everyday. Patience is the foundation of discipline, without it we can easily loose our focus.

The second lesson I learned is sacrifice. Life is filled with trade-offs; should I go to the party or study for my exam? Should I get the green or blue shirt? The outcome of these decisions bears a corresponding consequence. Often times I realized that the decisions that require the most sacrifice are often the most rewarding. Without sacrifice, the good cannot taste great.

Lastly, the most important lesson I learned is responsibility. I was fortunate enough to be given a lot of freedom, however, this freedom was the outcome of the trust my parents had in me. I earned this trust because I took full responsibility to all my actions. This prevented me from compromising the trust in any way, I was responsible enough to make the right decisions.

Naturally, as the college chapter in my life concluded, another chapter began. Last October, I was offered a position in QuinStreet, a marketing firm in San Mateo. This would officially be my first full time job. Entering the workforce is an exciting part of my life. It teaches me the importance of making a difference in not just my life but for others.

Three months later, I find myself writing this blog and reminiscing about this wonderful year. Although my girlfriend, Janine, and I skipped Christmas in the Philippines, I am certain we shall all enjoy the holidays. I wish my family all the best and anxiously look forward to the New Year.

Happy holidays.