Thursday, January 25, 2007

20/20

Hey you guys! This is the first entry on my OFFICIAL blog so I wanted to take you on a special journey.

Yesterday, at my current issues class, we had a guest speaker which talked about the upcoming "Micronesia Challenge". Basically, he talked about encouraging the people of the CNMI to help conserve 30% of the forest and 20% of our coral reefs. He spoke about the problem that the CNMI and the whole Micronesia is facing and the steps they are doing to start eliminating this problem. I personally was convicted about this.

I've been an advocate for the environment ever since I came here in Saipan 17 years ago. I was a member of the 4H Club at William S. Reyes, 6th grade. I even joined a contest where we talked about energy conservation. Then, when I attended Hopwood Jr. High, I became a member of the National Honor Society and one of our focus was helping to beautify the island.

All throughout my Highschool years, I was still involved in NHS and participated in a lot of Island-wide, school clean-ups. My sisters would joke and say that I had become a janitor of some sort because I spent most of my Saturdays picking up trash along Kilili beach, Micro beach or just around MHS. When I graduated MHS, I attended Northern Marianas College for about 2 years. Although I did not belong to a specific club, helping beautify the environment was still something I desired to.

I left Saipan in April 2000 to attend the University of the Philippines, in Diliman. I took BA Philosophy and on my 3rd year of College, I had to take a break. Due to circumstances which were beyond my control and I take full accountability for my actions, my life for the next 3 years remained uncertain. In February 2004, I went back to Saipan and just took a break. Then in June, I went to San Jose, California to visit my sister and nephew. I came back on island in November, then I left March 3, 2005, to go back to the Philippines.

I actually had no intentions of going back to Saipan and living here again. I was going to finish up my BA in Philosophy, take my Masters in Education and teach at my church, Bread of Life. I had already gotten used to living in PI and I honestly wanted to live there for the next 10 years or so.

But, in November 2006, I came back to this beautiful island again and for the next two months everything just fell into its place. The Lord was preparing my life for something greater and for the past 10 years, He has been molding me into the person He intended me to be.

I've always been a big dreamer, hence my blog address. When I was younger, I told my sister something that I never forgot. I told her this: "I feel as if I belong to the world. Like the whole world is my family." I felt that then, and I still feel that now. I turned 27 last November 13 and I just knew that for the next 10 years, the Lord will take me on another journey. I've always felt older than my actual age, but this time, I like it. I can finally say I'm an adult and have certain rights and do certain things without having to answer to anyone, but the Lord and myself.

Having a 20/20 vision (for the few that have it) means having a PERFECT vision. What's perfect vision? It's like having peripheral vision. Basically, it means being able to see all sides: forward, left and right. You are able to see things in its purest and perfect form. You are able to see things with clarity, precision and accuracy. I wasn't blessed with a 20/20 vision and yet I know that if I see through God's eyes, I'll be able to see perfectly.

My desire is for people to see the world through the eyes of Jesus. In our imperfect world, where poverty, war and greed ensue, let's put on the 'eyes of our Lord' so that we may see things in what they truly are. Let's put aside our differences: political, religious, personal beliefs and let's focus on what's common among us.

Men and women who lived before me who changed the world, like Paul, Peter, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks,
Mother Theresa, Princess Diana, they all had one thing in common: they cared. The most difficult thing in the world is probably making someone care. How could you do that without invading their rights and personal space? But these great people have done it before. They taught people to care because they themselves cared for the causes they were fighting for.

All of us were born to be somebody. All of us were given an opportunity to make something of our lives. All we need to do is have faith in our capabilities and stay true to ourselves to the very end. God will do the rest.


1 comment:

Angelo Villagomez said...

Welcome to bloggerdom! I'm looking forward to a good read.