Weee!  Yesterday, I just received my midterm exam result and guess what?  PUMASA AKO!  *hallelujah*  I swear I was sooo happy I wanted to cry!!!  Biruin niyo, on the day of our exam, I was THIS|CLOSE to crying real “sad” tears kasi despite reading all our readings, I still felt so clueless!  So what I did was just PRAY.  And ako na ang nagsasabi sa inyo, it’s true what they say: do your best, and God will do the rest!  Amen.  So now, it’s my turn to cry again — pero TEARS OF JOY na!  There are three weeks, two major papers, and one more report to go before I can finally scream TERRRM BREEAAAK kaya I’m keeping my head up!  Hopefully by this month’s end, I won’t be just crying tears of joy, but SHOUTING FOR JOY too!  Woohoo!  Let’s do this!!! 😉

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Anyway, that’s just my (irrelevant) “hook,” my dear readers.  Haha!  What I’m actually going to talk about in this post is my SISTERS! 🙂  The reason is because at times like these, I always turn to them.  Whether I’m sad or happy, high or low, or just about any emotion I can feel, I’m very much thankful that I have some “people who truly matter” I can share my craziness and emotions with! ♥  But did you know that I’m actually kind of the “odd one out” when it comes to me and my sisters?  Why?  Well, let me briefly introduce them to you first:

Let’s start with my eldest sister.  Honestly, my eldest sister is EVERYTHING an “eldest” should be: A ROLE MODEL.  She’s a medical doctor who took up her pre-med course and med proper at UST, graduated cum laude, specialized in Pediatrics, and took her fellowship in Australia to sub-specialize in Clinical Genetics!  She also works at one of the top health institutions in the country, as well as taking up her Master’s Degree in Biochemistry.  And oh, she teaches at med school too!  Wheeew, right?!  If there’s one word to describe this sister of mine, it’s B-U-S-Y.  Heck, I’m afraid that “busy” is even an understatement! @_@  But you know what, the best thing about this ate of mine?  She’s a woman of God!  Despite her already busy schedule, she never fails to attend to church duties and she’s probably one of the most religious people I know!  In fact, she’s the one who never forgets to remind me to just PRAY, PRAY, and PRAY (see above “hook”).  Hehe.  One inspiring random fact about her: on the eve of her board exam, she had food poisoning!  But as we all know, taking the board exam is a BIG DEAL so she had no choice but to take it with an I.V. on her left hand!  And syempre, pasadong-pasado parin!  Kaya saludo talaga ako! 😉

Next is my “middle” sister.  For starters, we’re on the same team: the GREEN TEAM that is — ANIMO LA SALLE! 😉  After graduating from college, she followed in our parents’ footsteps in being a Certified Public Accountant, but she’s not just any CPA — she was the Top 5 in her batch’s CPA Board Exams!  And when I say Board Exams, I mean the national one!  The real thing, baby!  Add to that her MBA from La Salle, too!  Kaya I admit, siya na — siya na ang magaling sa maaath!  Haha!  Anyway, we may not share the same love for “numbers,” but this ate of mine is actually the one I consider as my soul sister!  We actually share almost everything: from books, cars (well, she’s really the owner!  Haha!), clothes, and even Ayala Avenue — because that’s where our workplaces are located! 😛  If there’s one thing I learned from her, it’s that life is sooo much fun, so go ahead and enjoy it — WITH ONE CONDITION: that I finish my Master’s Degree, which she’s also funding!  Wahahahaha, peace!

And then, meet my youngest ate — the one I followed! =))  Anyway, she’s also a medical doctor just like our eldest sister; same school, same specialization.  The only difference in their medical training is that my youngest ate took her pediatric residency in the United States.  But, and a big BUT, do you want to know one of the things that make her unique among the four of us?  Well, she’s the luckiest when it comes to LOVE!!!  Hihihi.  She’s happily married to my brother-in-law, who’s also a doctor (they met in med school, by the way!) and she’s also a very loving mother to my niece!  And despite undergoing childbirth, siya parin ang sexiest!!! *hands down* *hands down* *hands down*

Last but not the least, I think there’s this someone you know who’s named Mika?  Hahaha!  Fine, MEEEE!  Well, what else can I say?  I’m just your AVERAGE GAL!  Kthxbye!  Wahahahaha!

Kidding aside, see the “oddness” in me now?  Well, if you still haven’t, let’s just say that I’m the only “artsy” type sa magkakapatid — the “liberal artsy” type that is!  Don’t get me wrong, I love my course but sometimes, I still wonder what if I also took the same route as my sisters?  Okay, fine; math’s out of the question!  Hindi ko talaga keri ‘yon!  But there was a time when I had this “plan” brewing inside my head wherein I would take Medical Technology as my pre-med course, go to med school, and finally specialize in SURGERY!  Oh sa’n ka pa?!  Of all the specializations, SURGERY pa talaga ang pinangarap ko!  Well, ika nga sa kanta ni David Cook, “if you don’t DREAM BIG, what’s the use in dreaming?” DIBA??!!!

“Mikhaela Georgette Chiong, M.D.” ??? I say, pwedeee! 😛

But seriously, despite being the “odd one out” (at least in my chosen field), my sisters never made me feel inferior!  Of course there are times that I feel insecure, pero at the end of the day, who cares?  Drama Queen Tao lang naman talaga ako eh!  Lumilipas din ‘yon! 😉  And besides, whenever I see my sisters, I’m always reminded of one of the greatest lessons our parents taught us: that EDUCATION is REALLY and TRULY the key to SUCCESS!  Because we may not be literally “rich” (kung sino man ang nag-iisip o nagsasabing mayamin kami, hay nakuuu — babatukan ko talaga!), but I’m PROUD to say that we get to make each day pass with smiles on our faces!  Kung hindi man mababase sa “cash” ang aming kayamanan, I can say that it can be measured with LOVE!  We are “undeniably and irrevocably” rich in luuurve! ♥♥♥  So yes, you can say that we’re rich — FIGURATIVELY!  Hahaha!

So there.  I made this post because you know, graduate school is really draining me off of my “fighting spirit,” and keeping in mind my sisters and their achievements kind of keeps me ENCOURAGED — BIG TIME!  My sisters are truly my biggest IDOLS and INSPIRATIONS and I know that if all else fails (and I hope not!  God forbid!), I’ll ALWAYS have THEM!  And that — THAT is something no one, as in NO ONE, can ever take away from me!  Tamaaa!

And with that, I’ll leave you with a video of another Idol of mine, singing my “motivational” song for GRADUATE SCHOOL — SINCE 2008! 😀

Let’s all DREAM BIG you guys!
(And make them come true every once in a while!)