nostalgia

i have recently returned from my trip to the province. once again it was a productive and fulfilling trip, laced with many new experiences and learning opportunities. you know what they say, "life is study". however, i came away from this trip with something else as well - an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. for some reason or another, i have felt this entire week, the same way i felt when i was a kid.

i don't know if it's the music i heard, the food i ate, or the shows i watched on the hotel tv, but something sparked a feeling of pure "back in the good ol' days" nostalgia in me. i've been riding high on this good feeling for a few days now. i hope that it will last. i already think it will, since i'm still feeling it now. it's a feeling that recalls my days playing in the yard with my brother, carlo. it reminds me of the days when we rode to the park on our bikes, spent entire afternoons playing with our action figures and watching cartoons. it reminds me of the summers we had as kids, when your days would be filled with play and looking forward to the newest movie coming out (animated or otherwise).

i've spent this entire trip with my partner in crime. it could be that she was the one who awakened such good feelings over the last few days. it could be that the promise of a summer together, in a schedule all our own, without the intervention of others that gives me that feeling of child-like freedom. whatever it is, this is the feeling that i've been missing from my summers for so long. i haven't felt this way since grade school. it excites me and energizes me for the hardships to come.

this summer will also require discipline if we are to follow our plan and accomplish our mission. but, i am ready. i am ready for what's ahead of us. i hope that this good feeling will ride it out with me and make this summer an unforgettable one....

Level Up

one more battle before we level up and move on to the next dungeon. many times before have i spoken of taking on a new beast, a new foe, and they came bearing such names as "organic chemistry", "biochemistry", "histology". following my metaphor, i felled each one and gained points of experience and "levelled up" in this game of life. however, following this path, i have come upon the realization that these foes were not just obstacles to overcome or monsters to defeat and discard. no, instead they are like legendary beasts that once defeated, join your party and can be summoned at will to help face even greater challenges.

the upcoming battle which i am going to spend all summer preparing for is with a foe unlike any i have ever faced before. it stands as the single most definitive battle for the title of healer as of yet. many have battled it and many have survived, however it's not just whether or not you win...it's also how well you win; how thoroughly you can do it. just scraping by and barely surviving is not enough. i need to defeat this beast in such a way as can be compared to turning over a tank...with your bare hands. i need to deflect a meteor; take a bull's tackle head on and karate chop one of its horns off; spread my AT field and catch a falling angel made of highly explosive material; take my spiral power to the next limit and turn a 0.00001% probability of winning into 100% chance of victory. that is the weight and gravity of the situation. but the thing is, it's not as impossible as it seems.

the key to this victory is preparation. endless, unbreakable, relentless preparation. it is attaining mastery over my former enemies and using them as my allies against an even greater foe. it is catching every arrow that has tried to hit me and turning them all back against my enemy. it is eating the dragon of darkness flame and using it as a nutritive to enhance my abilities. to those of you who caught all my terrible anime references, kudos. you are indeed a nerd.

i can overcome, i can succeed, i can move forward. there's no choice but to go on. there's no other direction but up.