Earlier this evening I had dinner with a friend and we exchanged stories and snapshots from our Boracay summer escapade and though I’m glad to be back home, part of me can’t help but wish I could have stayed awhile longer. Boracay is not my favorite place, I even think it’s overrated and too commercialized but still I love it there. Before I got sick with Lupus six years ago, I was a jet-setter traveling from one place at a time and I loved every moment of it. I was an adventurer and I have always been brave to try out new things, a fearless soul who just wants to have fun. I have always been outgoing, my friends often refer to me as a free spirit and I have been living the life I dream of having but then again lupus happened to me and it has changed me and my life, in every way possible.

I’m not really sure what changed me but somehow I am no longer the same person as I used to be. Even when I look at myself at the mirror, it felt like someone new was staring back at me, someone I don’t know. Lupus took away the life I thought I was meant to have. Suddenly, I can no longer travel, among many things and I have been clouded with fear. Suddenly, I became aware of the different phobia I had… Who would have thought I have a fear of heights when I was even part of the mountaineering club in college and had successfully summit three mountain peaks. I never knew I had a fear of drowning, even though I didn’t know how to swim back then I still tried out kayaking, water rafting and snorkeling. I’m not sure if those fears are just psychological or something I had acquired but being struck with lupus made me realize my limitations.

After years of going through a lot of painful medications and the hospital as my only destination, there is nothing much I can do but to live with lupus and rely on God’s mercy that somehow He will completely heal me no matter how science says I can’t be healed. My Boracay trip was something I planned, something I conditioned myself to do and it is something I want to do, to prove that even though I am sick with lupus it cannot control my life. I need to conquer my fear and be able to feel alive again. I’ve been living in a shell, and maybe I’m just being defiant or simply just wanted to feel like I’m still as normal as everyone else despite having lupus. Yes, I got sick after my Boracay trip but what the heck I had fun anyway, and I only have God to thank to.

Let’s support and VOTE for:

Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in Bohol, Philippines. It is composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills, all about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 sq km The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, giving them the name “Chocolate Hills.”

Current rank: 6

Tubbataha Reef

Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef in the Sulu Sea that belongs to the Philippines. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park. The reef is composed of two atolls, North and South Reefs. Each reef has a single small islet that protrudes from the water. The atolls are separated by a deep channel 8 kilometers wide. Over one thousand species, including many that are endangered, can be found at on the reef. These include manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks.

Current rank: 8

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. navigable underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. It includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers. The lower portion of the river is subject to tidal influences. The underground river is reputed to be the world’s longest. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water’s edge. Monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels find their niche on the beach near the cave.

Current rank: 208