'Biyahe tayo,' take risks and enjoy priceless rewards

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for visiting my blog for the past 2 days. On my way home, I was so excited to see if how was everything here. Though, I didn't have more comments on my latest posts. reading my messages on shoutboxes made me feel even better so I really thank you so much.

As what I've told you in my previous post, I'll be having a training and I just came back from the 2-day training from Iloilo to Bacolod City and it has been a venturous experience for me. Why? It was my very first time to do almost all the jaunts and activities I did and I really thank God for that opportunity.

To think that I coordinated for the event (with support from my fellow y-konek members most especially Jake Mae Valencia of West Negros College and Ramel Jacolbe of Riverside College), I thank God for the chance once again to be pressured, squeezed and harnessed for a good cause, a good advocacy and a very scary do-that-or-I'll-kick-your-ass instances during the preparations and when facilitating everything in the venue and while the training is on progress.

But despite all the risks and mind-stirring challenges, the treasurable moments of accomplisment wrapped everything with joy and fulfillment. Indeed, taking risks to ascertain unknown things for you are all worth it and it surely felt so cool when everytime I discovered something new, I whisper to myself:

"Now I know what"
"Now I know why"
"Now I know how"

I knew it felt complete and it pushes me to want to undergo brand new challenges again.

With heartfelt thanks, everything went good from fetching our trainer, Aldwin Joseph Empaces (Kuya Aldwin as we fondly call him), at the New Iloilo Airport to our training and up to accompanying him to Cebu Pacific Airlines at Bacolod City just this morning.

What wears us down the most in life aren't the chances we take but the chances we don't take, the dreams we put aside, the adventures we push away.

I personally thank Kuya Aldwin for everything. As I accompany him for 2 days from breakfast to supper and from one place to another, I really learned so much. Lessons from his life - life as a lover, life as a responsible member of the family, life as a teacher, life as an environmentalist and his life as a researcher.

Kuya, if you happen to read this, thank you so much. I would thank many people from the bottom of my heart but to you and also to the staff of the SOARGroup of USC, my heart is bottomless.

On my ride home from Bacolod City just this morning, I saw myself sitting in the PUB, leaning on the window glass and looking at the busy highway as trees, fields, the people, the seas, the sky seemed smiling to a beautiful day, my heart pounding, pondering over the 2 days of various precious experiences, learnings, friendship and realizations...I felt new. I felt so good. I felt different that I came on asking myself, "Is this me? Am I still Quincy?" and just dim my eye with that salty liquid again, grateful to what God did to my existence in just a short time.

One epiphany is the greatest tragedy a person would ever do in his life is not to brace for his supreme effort to get what he purposefully needs and wants.

Indeed, Kuya Aldwin's text message for me was true, "What wears us down the most in life aren't the chances we take but the chances we don't take, the dreams we put aside, the adventures we push away. So whatever it is you're wanting in life, go for it! And always remember that no matter what, trust your heart."

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Enough with the sentiments, I would like to give you a glimpse of what we are doing right now.

As partner of the Sociology and Anthropology Research Group (SOARGroup) of University of San Carlos with support from the Internaional Planned Parenthood Foundation of America, the Y-Konek (an youth organization that advocates for adolescent reproductive health) will conduct a survey on the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of ARH issues. The study will cover randomly selected adolescents from first year to third year high school students. This is to establish the baseline data to assist us in developing an information, education and communications program for adolescents.

In view of the activity, we underwent what I was telling you, a training on basic research.

This activity aims to analyze differences in KAP by age, sex and marital status. Besides, it also aims to identify and analyze the determinants of the risky RH behavior and so we could later recommend effective strategies on youth RH campaigns and service delivery.

The kick off of the field work will be sometime this week and if it does happen, I need to go back to Iloilo City to give other Y-konek members a back-up because there are only few young active people who will serve there.

I hope and pray for God's provisions and sustaining grace as I do this tasks in Iloilo at the same time check the researchers in Bacolod City.

I didn't imagine myself that I will be having this kind of responsibility. Indeed, if opportunity comes, you stop it from giving you everything. And with that, I again thank God for honing me back in my 14 years of schooling and for giving me priviledges to have control over small things. Now, he's given me control over somehow big things.

To God be the glory.