liwanag

on tuesday nights i go to liwanag. i really like it. a little while ago i made a commitment to grow my faith and try to be closer to my religion and the Catholic church I was raised in. liwanag is the filipino catholic community at uc irvine, my alma mater.

anyway, a little background. after i passed cfa level I in December 2007 i broke up with my girlfriend. break ups are tough. shortly after this i decided to take a vacation and go to the philippines. i had wanted to go since i was a little kid but was never able to. so in march i went and had a great time. i had so much fun. there was another more cultural element to it though. i was amazed by the Catholic presence in the country. Easter in the Philippines is something else. I saw a lot of people offering penance by beating themselves. I also saw three guys get crucified. Intense.

On Good Friday I went to the town my mom grew up in, Guagua. It was pretty neat but I was a bit emotional when I visited the house she grew up in because it was such a humble home. Poverty is everywhere in the PI and it's sad, but it's more emotional when you realize your mom grew up in it, not above it. We spoke to the people next door, who have lived there forever and remembered my mom. It was then that it really hit me how blessed I have been because my mom had risen from such meager beginnings. The same family still living next door reminded me how lucky I was that my family was able to move to the US and elevate their economic status while others weren't so lucky.

When I got back to the US I made a commitment to go to church every Sunday. I had been inconsistent for about a year. I decided to start going to Mass again at Interfaith at UCI rather than at my local parish in Newport Beach because I could relate more to the service and the choir is bringing down the house on a regular basis. So at church a girl named Kirsten mentioned Liwanag and I kind of warmed up to the idea of going to a meeting. I had just got back from the Philippines so I guess I was on kind of a pinoy streak. HAHA.

Liwanag has been a blessing. For a while after the break up I felt kind of empty. I was working crazy hours and I had nothing to come home to or look forward to. My friends were people I knew from work and all we did together was go to bars and party. I felt like I needed something with more substance and Liwanag has really helped me find a better balance. What's even better is that my affinity for the group continues to grow. I really like the people and I look up to a lot of them. In all honesty, I don't think I can ever be as good of a person as some of the people i've met there.

as my studying intensifies in the fall, winter and spring, i want to stay committed to liwanag and mass. balance is necessary even when you're trying to pass the CFA exam. I get a lot out of Mass at Interfaith and Liwanag and I think staying committed to it will strengthen me and enable me more to earn my charter.