To prepare for life, is to begin to LIVE

As I enter into the 20th year on this earth (around 7 am tomorrow), I want to thank all the people who were a HUGE part of my childhood and teenage years. These people are the treasures of my life. Without them (and God) my life will be incomplete. The most important thing I have learned thus far in my life is that God has given me more than I deserve; my friends and my family.

MY FAMILY

Dad, you are the biggest source of encouragement in my life. I love how you always know what to say whenever I come crying to you with my failures.

Mom, you always know how to make me happy. You always cater to my need and you are the funniest person in this planet!
Asen, you spoil me. You always buy me whatever I want, you feed me well, you take me out all the time. Basically, you are the best big bro a rotten kid could ever ask for =]

Ajen, I love how you always deal with my craziness and you never take things personally. I love the late night conversations we have about life… and you always make me laugh.

Mami and Papi (my aunt and uncle), you basically raised me and taught me everything I needed to know as a child. You took me in when nobody else wanted me. I can’t thank you enough for taking care of me when my parents were in America. 99% of the good memories of my childhood were made when I was living with you.

———-

MY FRIENDS

Grace and Esther H, you were the first friends I had when I came to America. You were my first spiritual companions. My first sleepover was with you guys. 11 years ago, now and forever, you both will always be my spiritual companions and someone who will help me grow in life. Grace, you’re the coolest person on the planet and you’re always there for me and you never fail to make me laugh. Esther, you are a pattern to me… you helped me realize that my goal should only be God.

Julia, you are another one of my friend that I have known within the first month of coming to America til now. I remember calling you to go to the grocery store that is literally across the street! I enjoyed living next to you, and I spent every Christmas up to my high school years with you.

Esther K, every minute I spent with you is GOLD. I have known you for 9 years and we are basically … sisters. I am so comfortable with you and you know my deepest darkest secrets. We know each other so well that we can make out the sounds we make when drink water into words -__- craziness!

Kevlin, you always got my back. You are such a bro, you somehow make me laugh and you keep me young. I look forward to exploring the world and the obscure with you.

Jennifer, you always give me such good advice and you’re always there for me when I needed you. You also feed me well and somehow you make me get in touch with my girlie side. haha.

Sam and Tejal, you guys were the BESTEST friends I had in high school. I was mad weird, mad geeky but you were still my friends til now. We are like … the sisterhood of the traveling pants … haha. We all fit into the same pants even though we’re all different sizes… weird huh?

Thu, my wing woman. I loved being your workout buddy, your tennis partner, your track buddy and your “let’s graffiti Ciaccia’s car” vandalizing buddy. haha

Mairead, you are the sweetest person I have ever met. I have always trusted you 100% (although I shouldn’t). You made me love ultimate and the little things you do for me (making me cards, snowflakes, cookies) always make my day =]

Martha, I am married to you, so I’m stuck with you til death do us part. haha. But you are the best wive I could ever have! =] Marf Marf

Katrina, how could I have survived my semester without you as a spiritual companion. The time we spent praying in the morning, sustained me for the rest of the day. Ever since we started to have morning revival together, life was just … sweeter.

Last but most definitely not least… Emily, Sara and Sindhura, you guys are the best thing that happened to me in college. I have the sweetest, nicest, coolest, smartest, funniest, bestest, all good things-est  friends in the world! You have no idea how lucky I am to have you. You always cheer me up when I break down, you always help me out, you guys deal with my craziness and love me for who I am! I must be the luckiest gal in the planet to have friends like you. The three of you taught me to realize that the little things in life matter. You helped me overcome my fears of showing my emotions and being myself. The three of you made the last of my “teenage” year important. I have grown the most mentally, and emotionally this year… all because the three of you showed me the real meaning of love (yeah yeah corny, I know.)

——

OTHERS

Although you are not mentioned specifically in this post, know that each and every one of you shaped my life. With every conversation I make, I have to break out of my shell, overcome my fear of TALKING. I thank-you for helping me grow and for building my self confidence. I am certain that each of you made me smile one time or another … that smile, is the little things that matter in life.

I can’t say that when I was a teenager I did anything crazy that will WOW you. However, I can say that when I was a teenager, I had everything I needed in life to make me happy =]

As I enter into the 3rd decade of my life, I hope that every relationship I make, every friendships I have will continue to grow. My main goal for this decade is to grow closer to God in everything that I do.

-vyl lyn-