Your Best Friendships Weren’t Built in A Day
They were carefully nurtured, and made of moments like these, for you to get this far. Of celebrating personal victories, making time for each other, and listening, really listening, even if there wasn’t much to be said.
After I was all friendship braceleted-out two weekends ago, Seleena and I met up at Terry Selections for an early dinner, which turned into a much needed cheesefest (both literally and figuratively).
Yep, it’s one of our biggest loves.
Cut out “Isla” dress by Shop Brave The Waves
And well, if you have cheese on the table, it gives you all the more reason to be mushy with each other. Both of our lives are on the verge of dramatically changing, hopefully in a good way (hers sooner than mine will)…and if you asked us a year ago if we had any idea at all that we’d find ourselves here now? We would’ve laughed it off.
Between spoonfuls of pumpkin soup and paella, we were still chuckling, but it was more of gratitude and awe.
Seleena was such a trooper, plowing through the long waiting period for her wish to come true. Thinking of how she carried on, and really stood by what she believed in will help me get through the months ahead. When it comes to your best friends, their strength is contagious.
Source: bravethewaves.net
Down with “Gay Love”
Because a gay person’s love really isn’t different from “straight love”. Why was there a line drawn, anyway? How did it happen? Where did it come from?
Don’t you think it’s ridiculous that the feeling shared between two people of the same sex has to be categorized and judged? That something as basic as love has to be marked differently for gays? They’re just like you and me, who go through a range of emotions as any human does. So why can’t we all respect who they are, what they stand for, and their rights?
I won’t even bother to link back to the scandalous statement uttered by a famous boxer. Reading it again isn’t worth my—and your—time.
But this is: we have to understand that society doesn’t have a problem concerning the “LGBT community” (which is another term we have to get rid of—there’s no woman community, or man community, is there? We are all equal).
Society is the problem. We drew that line, and we’re stuck. Fully accepting—not just tolerating—gays, and treating them with kindness and decency, in the same way that we would want ourselves to be treated, are the key to stepping forward.
Gays have long been ahead of us when it comes to learning genuine acceptance. Some of my dearest friends are gay, and everyday, I feel like I have to catch up with them. But I won’t give up; they simply inspire me to be a better person.
And it breaks my heart to see that they have to fight for themselves so they’d be embraced by their own families, taken seriously at work, or feel safe enough to never have to look over their shoulders when they’re in a relationship.
They lead lives of perennial fighting.
I dream of an age when they can finally rest. Until then, I’m fighting by their side.
Down with “gay love”. Together, we can wash away that line, and celebrate with them the kind of love that they deserve.
Source: bravethewaves.net
Underwater Dancing with The Whale Sharks
That was what I felt like doing when I saw the whale sharks in Oslob.
My entire first day in southern Cebu was incredible—punctuated with postcard perfect weather, fun company, and a succulent meal composed of puso (hanging rice) and lechon (roasted pig) from Carcar.
But hands down, the ultimate highlight of the trip was getting to swim with the whale sharks!
It was reassuring to see that the townspeople of Oslob have established policies and guidelines that would aid tourists to treat the jaw dropping creatures, and the environment in the best way possible. During the 30-minute session in the water, the friendly whale sharks would approach our group’s rented banca, but it was crucial for us to keep a safe distance, and make sure that we wouldn’t touch them.
To witness a natural spectacle, and then realize that you’re so small in the grand scheme of things—doesn’t that make you want to celebrate and do a little jig?
There’s something comforting (and even empowering) about remembering that we’re all part of a bigger whole, and that the tiniest actions can create ripples.
Source: bravethewaves.net
This is the personal blog of Mia Bontol. I'm the island girl behind Shop Brave The Waves, a clothing line that offers Filipino-made resort wear. Swim with me?
