Rewriting The HI Life: Thank You

I recently graduated from Hawaii Pacific University with a Master of Arts in Communication and Law Mediation. As I look back at these past two years of grad school, I've made so many sacrifices to complete my program. I don't regret anything because I've grown into a better person because of those sacrifices. However without the people that were willing to come along for the ride during my journey, I would not be here writing this blog.

My family. My large Filipino family. Even though I hardly saw them and missed out on family events, they were the very ones that would save me a plate of food after a long day of work and made sure that I never lost track of my goals. I wish my papa were here to see how far I've come because he was the very one that sent my mom to the U.S., he was the very one that told me that education was key and was the very one that told me that nothing is ever handed, that you have to work hard to get to where you want to be in life. One year of research doing a thesis and working well over 40 hours a week, during those sleepless night and early mornings those words stuck with me. Iya-iya ten ka pa.

My friends. My crazy but well grounded friends. I neglected them from time to time and often traded nights of quality catch up time with nights at home hitting the books or working. However the ones that truly understood where I wanted to be encouraged me as much as they could and I love them for that. I've learned that in this world, you learn who to trust and learn that people come and go but every person teaches you something. To all of my friends, thank you for the lessons of patience, strength, and friendship.

Then there are my "Lama Girls." We are all now out of college, are living all over the world, are getting engaged/are married and are now career-oriented professionals. No matter what we all go through in life, I know that I can rely on these girls to always be there for me. We have this impeccable way of understanding each other. These are my sisters from multiple misters. Many guys are scared of us because when we are together, we are a force that can't be reckoned with. We have so many nights where we cried, laughed, and drank. Then there is my BFF since the 1st grade, Chan-chan. Even though we are thousands of miles away, I don't think I could have kept sane without our weekly recaps. lol. love you sis! When I think of my girls, I think of that Drake line, "I got a small circle, I’m not with different crews. We walk the same path, but got on different shoes. Live in the same building, but we got different views."