I have a new PANAnaw

Excuse me for writing this long blog. This blog should be my longest blog ever. And to tell you the truth, the words and pictures here isn't even close to being 'enough' to capture the moment.Frankly, it frustrates me. Anyhow, here it goes....

This semester was really life changing for me. I did not just learn a lot, I also found my true self. This semesters gave me a chance to create new bonds.And its all because of the PANA JOURNEY.

The competing batch for PANA 2O11

Looking back at the day when PANA(Philippine Association of National Advertisers) was non-existent and school was just mostly about written exams and text books, I saw myself as a timid soul who was afraid to speak her mind. This timid soul was so grade conscious although was not so confident of herself. Those were the days wherein the game plan was just to come to school, pass school requirements and aim to get into the Dean's List. All of that change when me and my blockmates entered the PANA competition. My life would never be the same again.

In PANA, I learned how to speak my mind.You know how most of us our scared to suggest our ideas because we are afraid no one will listen or that people might think your idea is very lame? Well for some reason, I had little fear of telling my blockmates "my ideas". Joining PANA gave me the confidence. It is not everyday you get to do this kind of things, so why not go all the way right?

PANA was a gamble; a game of trade-offs. You can't have everything for yourself. You must choose.PANA was a game of teamwork.You lose one head of faith, YOU DIE! (But, I wasn't ready to die just yet)

The "Research" team whose always "SABAW"

Looking back, I remember the time when my grades were slipping. I had a exam the next day but I was still in school 12 midnight working on our PANA concept. For some reason, I cared more for PANA. Luckily, with faith and prayer I was able to balance my academic life and my PANA life.Thank you God! From the bottom of my heart!

Being part of the research team, so much was expected of me. Sometimes I just want to quit.I remember the sleepless nights I had with my blockmates and our many " sabaw" moments.I remember the times when our minds were so drained that we could not think of a unique concept anymore. I remember the time when we would just take a picture of ourselves in our laptops due to frustration or even take a video of ourselves dancing crazily to kpop music. When"CREATIVITY" should have come naturally, we were thinking to hard.

At some point of the PANA Game, we somewhat drifted away from what was truly important. We have lost our sense of direction. We lost hope. We lost our pride. Good thing our Marketing Professor Neal Tieng was always there to help us and motivate us.

Qoola with blockmates to brainstorm

I will surely miss the school sleepovers and the late night dinners with blockmates. I will miss going to Qoola to meet-up with my professor and my blockmates because the school aura isn't just helping. I will surely miss a lot of things we did for PANA. I still can't get over the fact that it is all over. Although I believe that the end is the beginning of another exciting adventure.

Even when the PANA JOURNEY was hard or even when we had to fall many times to get our acts straight, I would never regret joining PANA.(Thank you Assumption for giving the Opportunity!)

When Oct 8, 2011 came, obviously we were all nervous. We prayed, then prayed, and prayed some more for guidance.We even gathered in the rest room for prayer. We wanted to win so bad. There was so much pressure on our shoulders. We were there to prove to the "world" ( ok, this is just me being exaggerated) that we can be "THE BEST".

From 1st to 2nd year of my college life, I was seriously unhappy of my school. I always dreamt of studying in UP,ATENEO,DLSU or in UST. You get what I mean. I wanted to be part of the 4 big schools of the country. However, fate brought me here in Assumption College. And I never thought of it as a blessing. Now, I can say that I have some sense of pride studying in Assumption College. Qualifying for the PANA finals and competing with some of the best students from UP, DLSU and ATENO is already a big achievement! And by the way, we are the only competing team that are 3rd year students.(EHEM!)

Pana Competing No. 108

OUR BIG IDEA

ICON- Control. Conserve. Connect

Assumption College was the 3rd runner up.But, we still, celebrated as if we were champion.

For a second, we were sad. Who wouldn't be? Several month of hard work will really make you emotional. However, for some strange reason we continued to smile and our tears were more of tears of joy. We were proud of ourselves to be even be placing 3rd runner up. For me, we were champions! I know what you are thinking. You are saying, "Of course you are going to say that to make yourself feel better". I won't deny that. But here is the thing. We really did celebrate as if were champions. We smiled like we were champions. And yes, we celebrated more than the champions themselves--UP. We took many pictures on stage which clearly shows how we quickly forget about our troubles of finishing 4th place.

We have always seen that competing for PANA was not all about winning.Because that is what happened to us...we created new friendship,found new talents and even fell and stood up again together. And that being said, I have a new PANAnaw.

Our PANA mentor Sir Tieng gave me this medal. Im touched :)

Passion is the genesis of genius.
Tony Robbins