My Boyfriend is the Big 21!

If you've been reading my blog for a while now, you probably should notice that I have a boyfriend. Even if this is your first time at my blog, if you just look at my sidebar, you should notice how I mention him in my bio and one of my links are "Through the Eyes of a Girlfriend."

This is our first picture together - June 2010!

Dan Renielle Gabriel is my boyfriend's name, but everyone just calls him Darell. That's what he prefers. We've been together a little over 3 years, so when we started going out, I was only 15 while he was 17. With me being 19 and he is now 21, he and I can't believe how much we have "grown up" together--spiritually, emotionally, mentally, as a couple, even physically (haha). We met when I was a sophomore in high school, and I am now a sophomore in college. It's a little mindblowing, to say the least.

Basically, I just want to say Happy 21st Birthday to the amazing Darell! We're growing up and it's so weird. He helped make my birthday amazing and I want to be able to do that for him too! I'm praying for many more birthdays for you. I love you, Darell!

One of my favorite pictures with him!

He was trying to pose like me. This is a cute picture [:

Chau for now♥

A Birthday to Remember

Today is my birthday! I'm probably just gonna go to Starbucks to get my free drink/food item and go out to dinner with my roommate and some friends tonight, but I already celebrated most of my birthday a few days ago!

If you know me, you know how much I've always wanted to have a debut. (Note: Debut - Celebration in the Filipino culture when a girl turns 18 to represent that she is a woman; similar to a quinceañera/Sweet 16) Anyway, I didn't have one when I turned 18 last year because of money and I was away at college, so I wouldn't have had enough time to have one. It's just something I'd always wanted since I was a kid. 

My wonderful roommate, Alissa, however, took the initiative to plan a modified version of one for me! Long story short, I got dressed up for the occasion and got blind-folded before being taken to Corona Del Mar State Beach. I didn't know where we were going, and although I'm usually not particularly a fan of the beach, for what Alissa did for me, I think it was perfect. 

When I got to our destination, I walked over with Alissa and a few other friends while blindfolded to where we were going to be for the evening. When the blindfold was taken off, there were all my Vanguard friends standing in a line, all screaming "Happy birthday!" to me. I was so touched. Afterwards, I was able to have a photoshoot with all of them as the sun was setting. 

Unfortunately at this time, there was still no Darell. About halfway through the shoot, however, I saw someone walking from a distance, and I recognized his walk. I realized it was Darell and our guy friends and I booked it over to them and nearly tackled Darell to the ground. I was so happy that he was there! We took more pictures before Tammy took me over to have my own photoshoot. 

After about half an hour of taking pictures of each other, Alissa finally called me over and I came over to a pathway lined with (fake, but still real-looking) candles! Most of my friends were standing on either side of the candles so I wasn't sure what was going to happen. With Darell at the end of it, I almost thought someone was going to marry us. 

But no, I walked down the aisle and stood at the end of it. Then, one by one, each of my friends came up with a rose to greet me. The whole setup was a mash-up of the debut's traditional candles and roses. And of course, when we got to the last rose, it was none other than Darell himself. He decided to be a little daring and put the rose in his mouth as if we were going to salsa or something, and everyone was shocked but in a good way. We all loved it and thought it was funny and cute of him to do so. 

We ended the ceremony with a dance to our song, A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, played by my friend Paul and sung by my friends Kaciny, Janelle, and May. It was a little awkward cause we were basically "going in circles on rhythm" according to Darell, but honestly, I didn't care. I loved it because Darell doesn't normally put himself out there like that, so I appreciated it so much. He was the only person I really paid attention too at that point. 

When the song ended, we took some more pictures as a group before heading to In-n-Out. We had dinner there and hung out with Darell, the guys, my friends Ben and Joel, and Alissa in our room before I left for home with the guys. 

Okay, so that post ended up being longer than I thought, but nonetheless, it was an amazing day. It was a night to remember, that's for sure. I did more things for my birthday with my parents and last night, but I'll write about that in another post. I'll just leave you with some great pictures that my friend Tammy took from Saturday to enjoy! They should speak for themselves [:

If you know Darell, then you would understand why this is my favorite picture from the night. ♥  

It was a magical night. And on an even brighter note, I'm finally 19!

Chau for now♥

Love is More than Having Fun

Last Friday I received a gift from my boyfriend. It was a gift that I had known about for a while now (he told me before I found it), but I have since then been waiting for when he’d be ready to give it to me. I had given him the same kind of gift on Valentine’s day, and he admitted that he was working on the same thing, but he had started it before me.

The gift was very simple: a jar filled with reasons why we loved each other. I gave him the reasons why I love him on Valentine’s Day, and last week he gave me his reasons for loving me.

I’m a very sensitive and emotional person especially with relationships, so you can bet that I was sobbing while I was reading them in my room and processing it with my boyfriend over text. There were things that he’d said about me that I had never even thought that I had that kind of effect on him. It was such an honor and blessing to know that I was able to influence him in such a way.

The night before, we had gotten into a pretty bad fight after worship practice at church. He had to take me home, and it was to a point to where he wouldn’t even flinch when I talked to him. But don’t worry, we talked about it the next day. As much as I hate sleeping on a fight, I’ve come to realize (although may not have completely accepted) that sometimes it is necessary. Part of it may also be due to the fact that we don’t live together so it’s easier to do that rather than if we did.

As I am processing reading through all the notes that I just read about why my boyfriend feels the way I do about me, I go on Facebook, and my friend had just posted a status about a Bible verse. The reference? The ever-famous 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the Love Chapter. The whole chapter wasn’t quoted, but the part that I was reminded of was from verse 7: “[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (NASB).

Why did that verse stand out to me so much? It’s because it’s just another confirmation and reminder of what you need to do to have a relationship work out. Like what I said in a past post, it’s more than just the good times in a relationship or marriage. It’s about the bad times too. No one likes to have them, but every time you overcome an obstacle with that person you become stronger, especially as a couple.

So there’s a little peek into my relationship with Darell, once again. Lots of people only post about the good times, but hey, real relationships aren’t always good. Because of that (and many other things we’ve endured together), I’ve learned to take pride in my relationship and not to be afraid to talk about not-so-good times. I definitely hate them so much, but I realize every single time that there is a reason for it all.