[I didn't get to post everything in my other blog account. That's why I'm reposting it, adding the rest. I also included their relation to me when I first met them. But they're all my close friends now.]
I received an email. Deadline of yearbook write-up. Gradpic. Etc. Etc. Etc. Write-up? Argh! I don’t want to make one. That’s why I texted the people who saw me at my best and my worst and told them to describe me in any way they can.
You are a sweet girl and a good friend. You show appreciation for things people do thus making them feel important and loved. It’s really a great trait..
-joyce, dormmate (first year college)
sweet, thoughtful, gullible (hehe), naive but a critical thinker, responsible–the ultimate ate figure, petite, pinay beauty, a good cook, easy to befriend.. People person, morally upright (most of the time)..
-aivan camposuelo, PE classmate (2nd year college)
Patience is her strongest virtue..
A friend of the highest order… It’s quite rare to find someone with whom you can share both laughter and tears. M is one of them. She truly is a rare find.
She doesn’t always know what she wants. But when she sets her mind on something, she really does follow through.
She’s the thinking type.
Really sensitive to people’s needs. Selfless to the point of martyrdom for others, but for her, it’s her way of loving.
Her eyes have a mischievous glint to them. Looking at them will make you wonder what she’ll be up to next.. But then in the end she’s all for world peace. Hahaha!
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Persistent and patient are two of the adjectives that would describe her best. She is very intuitive; she says. But she is very rational too: a thinking person who always think things through and ending up with a conceptual map of her past that made her who she is now and of her future that she wants for herself. She is very disciplined too! And she seldom complains. Self-admittedly, she has a high tolerance for pain–physical and emotional. She’s a go-getter as soon as she figures out what she wants.. She’s also the type who keeps everything to herself, until she chooses to let herself go to a lucky few. It is then that you’ll experience the exhilirating freedom of soaring in shared quest for truth and understanding…
-lovelaine basillote, dormmate (2nd year college)
you’re a smart girl. strict but patient. small but terrible. hahaha!
-daddy
ayaw kong idescribe ka. baka masaktan ka eh. (okay lang mommy. alam ko na sasabihin mo. stubborn ba?) smiles. (strong willed in a positive way.) oo, strong willed ka talaga. (ano pa mommy? sige na… okay lang talaga sa akin.) napansin ko, mas ginagamit mo ang utak mo kaysa puso. (ah, oo. ginamit ko dati ang puso ko pero nagkamali ako eh. kaya, head over heart na lang.) silence. (ano pa mommy?) wala na akong masabi eh. sinabi na ng mga kaibigan mo iyong iba. basta iyon lang iyong napansin ko sa’yo. head over heart. (hindi naman ako nasaktan doon mommy eh. akala ko kung ano na. hahaha!)
-mommy
I struggle to write even the simplest verses to describe her, but she could have given birth to beauty as easily as the cloud pours rain. Her TEREpeutic smile washes away the hurt, the pain that petrifies the soul, bringing life to a dry and empty heart. Yet her commitment to life, and to love, speaks of immortality. Hers never fade, hers never die. Though others tear a piece from her heart and leave a scar, she remains in truth and bear witness to it. The truth that when others say “I have no choice,” you’ll hear from her soft lips the words, “You have always a choice.” In life we are born to be free. So, use that freedom to choose, to act, to live, even to love. There is nothing like saying “yes” everyday to life. There is nothing like seeing Teresa in love.
-Allan Flores, close friend
If there’s anyone who’s determined and convincing enough to tell everybody that, yes, we can live in an ideal world and we might just give it a serious shot, then that would be MM. It’s amazing to see that there’s still somebody like her who bothers to know the reason behind everything that happens and tries to break away from the growing number of apathetic and passive beings. Aside from her not-so-ordinary ideas, what endears MM to her several cricle of friends is simply the sweet person that she is. It is a humbling fact for her to have chosen to feel with and for other people when she could’ve gone the other way and be extravagant and impress other people. Nonetheless, she manages to stand out in her own league, without her knowing, with the kind of bubbliness only she can muster.
-Gisella Dalde, schoolmate (elementary to college)
Love. If i were to describe MM in one word it would be that. Love, not just in the romantic sense, but love in its wholeness. Love for her family, love for her friends, love for what she does, love for those who she protects. It is this love that makes her and sometimes, breaks her, but it is this love that lets her live.
-Stephanie Salonga, blockmate
Em is the kind of friend you would really wish to have. It’s easy to open up to her because she can keep secrets and give you pieces of advice that will make your heavy burdened hearts relieved. . You may think that she is a very serious student-type girl, but Teresa has also some time for malls and hang-outs, she knows how to play different instruments and fond of reading books where she gets her reflections and use it in life,.. She talks with sense, and mind you, whenever she starts a topic, your ears wil really be driven to listen to her because you would learn and realize something from her statements. That’s Em, a surely one of a kind that one can ever dream of having as a friend!
-Arleen Fritzie Damian, classmate (elementary to high school)
Ikaw ay true na tao, someone you can trust kasi ikaw and ’sumbungan at sandalan’ ng batch, matalino at mabait pero may kalokohan din– alam mo iyon
-Mary Grace Andres, classmate (elementary to high school)
She is restless, there’s no wasted time when you’re with her. You’ll get attracted to her vigilance, her determination. She is versatile. You can’t really define her but if you’d come to look deeply into her personality, you’d say ‘nothing compares’ coz though she’s too busy of so many things, she’ll never forget people whom she’d shared her time and life with. And most of all, MM never neglects to call on Him.
-Kathleen Ainna Galban, classmate (elementary to high school)
People know her for her seriousness in life; for her being profound; for her opinions, and for her love to her family.
At first, MM has this "wall" around her. But once she opens herself to you, you would see the crazy side of MM!
One that tries to be humurous but ends up being silly–which makes her more cute! =)
She likes talking about anything under the sun. She has this gift of making you "open up" to her no matter how hard you try to close yourself up. She makes you feel that you are with an old friend when you are with her. She is like pringles, once you pop, you can’t stop! =)
She is a friend in a real sense–one that would go to you no matter what, no matter when.
Someone’s hacking her account though!
-Maricel Manlantao, blockmate
M is a very reliable, sweet and thoughtful friend. She is a very reflective person. It is a joy talking to her whether personally or through text because she has a lot of insights. If you could have just a few friends, be sure to have M as one of them.
-Yayen Gallardo, roommate (3rd year college)
Deep and sensible? That’s definitely her and I’m telling you, she can really be THOUGHT-ful at times (if not all the time). If you want to have a pseudo-psychologist point of view, here she is and you won’t even have to pay any professional fee. (True love is enough! =)
-Nuraisha Atar, blockmate
Adorable, sweet, loving, caring and helpful… A strong woman, more mature than she’s supposed to be in her age, motherly… A woman lives her principles… Friendly, beautiful and trustworthy.
-Daryll Buemio, close friend
Getting tired of boring lectures? Of know-it-all teachers? Well, don’t go looking for MM coz she might make you go back to your prof crying. With her in-depth analysis and discussion of everything and anything, you won’t be needing a 4-year course to understand life. Philosophical? Yes. Useful? Yes. Timely? Yes. In fact, MM is the greatest friend-teacher-confidante you could ever want, that is if you want one. But if all you want is someone who’ll understand and stand by you, she’s definitely what you need. She could be all that and more, just for a friend in need. That’s how she is and what she is.
-Ana Franchezca Balderrama, blockmate
most of m’s friends call her "mommy" because she just has this motherly way of treating friends. She seems to have this need of showing care to other people. she loves listening to other people’s problems. And there are only two reactions she’d give: 1, she’d tell you not to mind it, or 2, she’d analyze the situation first and tell you her point of view. Analyzing–she loves doing that a lot. you might find it weird that she analyzes even her own actions and emotions but that’s uniquely mm…
-Desiree Ann Dales, blockmate
One would wonder how so many words can fit into Em’s small, fragile body. She always has something to say. She is very opinionated and loves to give advices. She is kikay and knows how to carry herself. Maybe she got that from her seatmate, Lia. =p And like Lia, a lot of boys want to date her! haha =p And also like her, when she falls in love, she really falls–hard. She loves–too much.
And she also gets hurt. But that does not stop her from facing life with optimism. This is what makes em a very real person. She is one girl that you will easily love. =)
-Josefina Cecilia Susara, blockmate
Cute, simple, adorable.
-Dante Taverner, Jr, cousin
Ma. Teresa: an ironic being– one who’s tough but soft, one who’s principled and strong-willed but opens room for conformity, she seems strong but she’s also weak (lalo na sa ‘love’) She loves children, but not all of them– she’s a mouth but she also loves it when she’s an ear– to know her, I must live as long as her lifeline.
-Apple Shinee Preglo, dormmate (1st year college)
Mahilig sa love, ganda ng kutis (color and texture), bait!
-Ee-ann Campos, buddy (organization-FLCD Circle)
MM is an open-minded person who is always willing to listen to suggestions on how to improve herself.
-Irene Lluisma, dormmate (1st year college)
Rocker chick, snobbish look, deep thinker, philosophical, reserved, confident and calm.
-Jazz, orgmate (FLCD Circle)
Have you ever met somebody who just talked to you, yet you felt that you’ve known each other for so long? Or perhaps, a person who teaches you how to do/make a decision tree if you got problems with anything? If you want to know a warm and sensible lady who definitely knows what she talks about, Ma. Teresa Taverner, or ‘MM’ is surely the one you’ve been dying to meet. This truly lovely lady has her positively creative way of dealing with every problem that she faces; which is why it is so natural for her to reach out and help other people. Furthermore, the way she dares to say the truth in every circumstance long made her the reliable and honest person that she is now. MM’s pure love for the people around her and her naturally organized way of dealing with everything will definitely arm her to her future career and journey.
-Charla Rochella Santiago, blockmate
It was really hard to collate everything given write-up restrictions… but I survived! Thanks to all of you, muwah, muwah!