#risci

[SOME ANNOYING INTRO: I'm reading my old writings today and I saw this one. I wrote this during our school's press conference as an entry for feature writing and, surprisingly, it placed 3rd in the category. I don't know... I kinda feel weird because this one is SO CHEESY! HAHAHAHAHA I want to revise it T.T But I won't... Because reading something from the past is so magical... and this is about high school! :)]

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This is the path I chose. I decided to have this kind of life. This is my journey. It's an exciting phase of my own story. This is it, high school life. Riscian life. [Chik: SEE? I told you this is cheesy HAHAHAHA]

Riscian. Never heard of it? It is an unusual word which has a meaning that still remains a mystery to most of the people, yet there are some chosen children who are given a chance to discover the meaning of it by being one. They faced a lot of obstacles, but little by little, these children realize the true connotation of the word. They found out that Riscian is actually a four-in-one word, for it means wisdom, fortitude, humility, and perseverance.

The word is just composed of seven letters but another thing that most of the people don't know about it is that a magic lies within the word. Yes, a magic--a spell that will show you a thousands of stories by just saying the word out loud.

I, too, who was fortunately one of the chosen few children who were allowed to be called riscians, have my own version of Risci chronicles. And reader, if you want to know it, continue reading, open your heart and mind, and probably the magic that lies in this paper will touch you. And I assure you, to feel this magic is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world. So dear reader, get ready as a short tale that craves so much to be read begins to unfold right in front of you.

I can still remember how I almost cried the night before my first day here. Graduating from a private school where I am admired by almost everyone, I didn't know what awaits me in this institution of scholars, the pride of Rizal, the best of the best students.. Thinking of the terror teachers, ""nose bleeding"" exams, zero base grading system, haggard days of studying and completing requirements, staying in a dormitory.. SHOCKS! Why did I allow myself think that I can do it?

Then, first day came. I made lots of friends, away from what I was expecting. Corny jokes, silly laughs, weird stories, everyone has their own weird trip. As time goes by, I found a very caring and funny family, RISCI. I realized there are many things I may never do in other schools. How about playing longest line with a bubble gum we chewed, walking in the mud, experiencing the flood in our dormitory, AstroCamp, Science Camp, be a muse in UN, very extraordinary. Until I found out, this institution is like Harry Potter's Hogwarts, an institution of wizards, because that was the first magic.

Learning to accept my failure and never be down because of a low grade is the second. Never mind the failing grades. As long as I know I have friends to laugh and cry with, it's okay. As long as I know my teachers aren't really terror and they are trying their best to teach us what's right, I'm fine.

Third magic. They let me understand the best lessons of life with just their simple acts. As if a magician casts a spell on me with a wand, my eyes and heart opened. I learned to sacrifice, to forgive, to help, to be confident, to fight, to smile under pressure.. WOW. And the fourth magic, they transformed me from a shy girl to a confident, smart and more cheerful TEEN. It's so hard to believe.

Another magic, which I just recently discovered, is His magic. I am referring to God. For the first time in my life, I finally met Him. I finally felt His TRUE presence. I didn't expect myself to be a hardcore Christian, but because of my fellow Riscians, I attended the First Friday Fellowship for Christ. Tears fell down from my eyes during my first time there. I cried because of joy-- joy that finally I understand His message. Finally the foreign object that covers my eyes form the brightness is already removed. And that's the fifth magic. The magic that gives me more strength and patience. The magic that shows me my real purpose.

Who says fun is not in a Riscian's vocabulary? I discovered it myself. In my four years here at Rizal National Science High School, fun is the first in our list. Learning and enjoying it.

I don't know how it feels like to be in a regular private or public high school, but I know Risci, though everyone is a scholar, knows how to inspire and make every student's high school life PRICELESS.

And this is it, my chosen path, the kind of life I decided, my journey, the exciting phase of my own story, RISCIAN LIFE. And if you'll ask me if I have any significant experience or accomplishment I have realized that helped me to define as a person, the word RISCI will answer it all. And it is both an experience and an accomplishment.

I'm very lucky to be one of the chosen few to experience this. Everyone appreciates me in this school of magical wizards that can turn my tears to laughter, makes me feel flying and shows me the best magic of all, LOVE.

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I know that this article is existing because I also uploaded this on my Friendster blog as soon as I submitted the entry five years ago. But I seriously forgot the things I wrote here... those magic thing. So when I was reading awhile ago, I was thinking.... This is sad, I'm talking about magic and how much I love my school but I didn't mention God... So I was genuinely surprised when I got to the paragraph of the fifth magic! I couldn't remember that I actually included a glimpse of my testimony in this article. HUHUHU. I was really blind but now I see. :) Sometimes, I do miss that fire, that season after your first surrender to God, after you accepted His salvation. And sometimes, in the present, it's so easy to just think of the things I'm doing now as simple habits, my heart, my passion, they're somehow lacking, it's a battle against familiarity. So I like reading something from high school-- my writings, my journals, my scribbles in my notebook about my love for God... Then I'll remember how happy I was and so, I'll believe and go back to God's warm embrace and be renewed, to be ignited with a fresh fire that is different but still beautiful than the one God gave me in high school :)