Being at the First Hillsong Conference in LA!

If you have been keeping up with my Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, then you would have an idea of why I haven't posted in the past couple days. If you haven't, that's okay too. But this past weekend was the Hillsong Conference LA, and I could not have been more excited or blessed to go!

As a way to end my birthday week/start Darell's birthday week, his parents bought him a ticket to the conference while he bought me one to go with him!

If you don't know what Hillsong is, they're one of the largest churches in the world. They're a church that originated in Sydney, Australia and now has churches in Ukraine, London, New York City, all over Australia, and soon enough Los Angeles. They are most known for their worship band, Hillsong UNITED.

So anyway, back to the conference...

It was really surreal, to be honest. Being in the same room as a band that I had listened to for the past six years of my life was a little hard to believe for me. These are people whose songs had touched so many people around the world on so many levels. Getting the chance to worship with them and over 7,000 other people was such a breathtaking experience.

The worship leaders are so anointed and the music live sounds just like their recordings, which makes the songs so much better live. I loved hearing Hillsong Young & Free's songs played live and in person, and it was definitely a party every time they played one. I fell in love with Taya Smith's voice--she is one of Hillsong UNITED's newest worship leaders and one of the members of Young & Free.

There were also a number of speakers, like Brian and Bobbie Houston, Robert Ferguson, Christine Caine, and Judah Smith. Judah Smith was personally my favorite because he was so funny and really put the topic he was preaching about into perspective through humor.

This conference was a great time of reflection for me. It was very humbling to see everyone around me, worshipping God with their everything and all gathering in one place for one reason: Jesus. Whether someone wanted to learn more about Jesus, learn from him to help their ministry grow, or just to worship him, everyone wanted Jesus. It almost made me feel unworthy for having such an amazing opportunity to worship among all those people, but God never fails to bring upon that spirit of peace when I need it. I was immensely blessed by the worship and the speakers and the atmosphere of the entire conference.

This weekend was also a great time for Darell and I to spend together. I think that we grew as individuals and as a couple. We really bonded over this experience, and I am happy that I got to share this with him. He truly is a blessing and my best friend.

So that is my experience in a nutshell. I didn't want to summarize everything I did because I will be making a YouTube video for that (keep an eye out for that! Subscribe so you can stay updated with my future vids :) I decided that a reflection on the adventure would be better for this post. Hope you liked something about this post [:

Chau for now ♥

What I've Been Wearing Lately

Hey everyone!

So quick update before I get on with the post: I had a great birthday! I got kidnapped and went to Denny's at midnight! After my classes later in the day, I got some free birthday Starbucks and was given some flowers and a card from my diversity team, which I loved so much--they're the best! Then my boyfriend visited and we got Korean BBQ and finally had a one-on-one date together! It was nice. Afterward we got some boba with my friends Sammi and Melissa. I ended the night watching The Breakfast Club by myself for my film class. All in all, it was a good birthday.

So onto the post:

I haven't posted an Outfit of the Day post in a while, but I've done a couple posts on Instagram so I thought I should post them up.

(Got this outfit idea from my friend, Selah!)

• Chambray Shirt: Gift from mom // Billabong // similar - Forever 21 
• Red Maxi Dress: $8// Goodwill // similar - Target

• Red Top: Gift // similar - Nordstrom
• Black High-Waisted shorts: on sale $7 // Forever 21 // similar - Forever 21
• Tribal Print Scarf: on sale $5 // Charlotte Russe
• Pointed-toe Flats with Gold Tip: $22.50 // Charlotte Russe
• Knotted Updo // Pinterest

• Lace-collared Yellow Top: Gift from roommate // similar - Forever 21
• Black Full Skirt: $14.95 // Cotton On 
• Pointed-toe Flats with Gold Tip: $22.50 // Charlotte Russe

• Floral Long Sleeve Button Up: $2 // Thrift Store // similar - Target
• Blue Jeans: Roommate // similar - PacSun
• Pointed-toe Flats with Gold Tip: $22.50 // Charlotte Russe

I wish I had a better camera to better showcase these outfits, but this will do for now. I promise I'll have more fashion posts up soon! I'm working on it. Until then, that's what I'm wearing. 

What's your favorite outfit out of these four? 

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♥

I'm Tired of Small Talk

"Hey, how are you?" "Good! You?" "Good."

And so that is the way that most conversations go between most people at my school--that may also even be the case elsewhere.

Now I know that in college you get busy so many times you don't have time to have full-on conversations with people, but is there a way to get out of having the same old small talk with everyone?

Think about it. Out of all the people that you interact with on any given day, how many do you actually have a conversation with, one that consists of more than the impersonal "hey, how are yous" and the many "goods" that come right after. Better yet, how many times are you actually feeling "good" (or should I say--well) when you answer that question?

Maybe not all of those "how are yous" are completely impersonal because I try to mean it most of the time when I ask people the question. I just wish there was a more honest way to respond when people ask it back. Most days, I really am feeling "good" but I want to find another way to respond to break the typical answer.

Here's another good one. If you don't say "good," you say you're busy or tired. I know I do. And it is a valid response; being college students, we all know and realize that classes and jobs and homework take up most of our lives, therefore making us both busy and tired. But how do we get past these simple, one-worded answers? How do we have a more honest conversation with people as we pass by? Or when we do have a minute or two to talk to someone, how do we get past the small talk without going too deep right away? (Unless you consider that person a close friend of yours, I don't recommend going deep right after your "heys.")

If you're anything like me, you cherish and appreciate deep relationships with people. I have made it a goal for myself this school year to deepen the connections I have with the people I made friends with last year. It's much more difficult than I expected it to be--freshman year, all your friends were so accessible to you and events were created for you to be around and meet new people--but it is a challenge that I'm willing to work through. I'm willing to put in the effort to maintain friendships with the people I consider close to me as long as they're willing to meet me halfway. A mistake I made in high school was giving too much and not receiving enough back, and it put me under a lot of strain that was not necessary.

Is there ever truly a way to get out of small talk? How do we get past it and further our friendships? We don't need to get to the nitty gritty of our childhood stories with everyone, but it would be nice to know more about the people around me rather than how "good" they are feeling.

My First Beauty Haul!

Last week, I stopped by Sephora and decided to get some stuff as a result of being part of Sephora's Beauty Insider program. I was so excited! I initially went to receive my birthday gift, but I also decided to redeem some Beauty Insider points for a really nice red nail polish from Formala X for Sephora. I was given a few free samples as well, which I can never refuse if it's free. [:

This is the birthday gift that Sephora has been giving out for this year! In it: 

• Benefit They're Real! Mascara - 0.14 oz. bottle $10
• Benefit Watt's Up! Highlighter (The one featured in link is the regular-sized product.) - $30

As a result of some extra Beauty Insider points I had, I was able to receive this Formula X for Sephora nail polish. This is exclusive to Sephora.

• Formula X for Sephora New Classics in Pyrotechnic - Dynamite Red - $10.50

Everything I got, including the three free samples!

The samples aren't pictured individually, but: 

• Fresh Black Tea Age-Delay Cream (next to birthday box) - full size $95
• Christian Dior Hydra Life BB Cream - full size $56
• Perricone MD Photo Plasma - full size $69

Along with this post, I also did my first haul video! It's literally (and figuratively) a mini haul, but I was so excited to get this stuff that I had to document it! I don't shop at Sephora very often due to its high prices so I always appreciate any opportunity to get something from there. 

I actually recorded this whole video from my iPhone's camera. I think I will start doing videos through there and editing on my computer until Darell or another friend of mine can help me. This was a great way to start off my birthday month! If you want to see more videos like this, subscribe to my channel [:

Everything is available in Sephora stores and on Sephora.com. This is not a sponsored post.

Jesus is Still Greater than Religion [Book Review]

Disclosure: I was given a copy of Jefferson Bethke's book, "Jesus > Religion" for review purposes. I was not financially compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. 

Jefferson Bethke caught the attention of Christians and non-Christians alike when his spoken word, "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus," was posted on YouTube almost two years ago. Since then, he has challenged Christians and non-Christians to think twice about what they believe. He has opened the doors for many conversations between people from all different types of religious backgrounds.

The front cover to Bethke's book

Yesterday, he released his book, entitled Jesus > Religion, which expands more on some of the themes that Bethke mentioned in the poem. In the first chapter, he talks about his testimony, mostly through college. He talked about his struggle with pornography, parties, and girls, and how he had come to take Jesus seriously in regards to his own faith.

He reminds us that everything about Jesus' life wasn't safe. He actually went against many of the social norms of that time in order to minister to people. Bethke talks about how at some point, we all fall into the category as being one of those "Christians," where we are prideful and sometimes treat church as a chore rather than something we actually want to be at.

What I really appreciated about the book was how he stressed the importance of understanding the differences between Jesus and religion. Religion is a set of rules that you follow with fear of punishment. A relationship with Jesus is because you love Him and He loves you back. Well, that's the short version of the book, haha. If you don't understand that concept still, don't worry, because Bethke goes into many different examples to illustrate his point. A key concept is obligation versus genuine desire to know Jesus and follow Him. Your word versus your lifestyle plays a factor as well.

I recommend this book because whether you agree with everything Bethke says or not, this book will cause you to think twice about your beliefs and even the way you live your life. If you do read this book, however, I also highly recommend allotting a significant amount of time to read and understand what the book is talking about. The book talks about a lot of different concepts and it's important so set aside time between each chapter or every few sections to contemplate and process what you just read. Although I enjoyed reading it, I wish I could've balanced more time between school and the book to get the most out of it. I'll probably read through it again so that I can get the most that I can out of the book.

Interested in buying a copy? There are a few websites, but check it out on Amazon here. You can buy from Barnes & Noble, Family Christian, and other places as well, including the iBookstore if you want it for your iPhone or iPad.

I'd love to know your opinions on the book or what you expect the book to be down below in the comments!

Until then, chau for now ♥

Currently Obsessed with: Hillsong Young & Free

Note: This post was updated in April 2017. This post is not sponsored.

One of my favorite bands ever are Hillsong Young and Free. They are a band that I have loved ever since they released their first album in 2013, and since then have released an EP, another album, and tons and tons of touring.

This band is popular and a favorite among a wide variety of audiences (regardless of religious belief) for a few reasons, most of it being the music style matching music of popular music without sacrificing their faith in the lyrics. The band was even nominated for a Grammy award in 2017!

Here are a couple of their most popular songs (and my favorites):

The craziest thing is that this used to be a band that I listened to on my phone when they first came out, and now I go to church with these people! 

I recommend giving Y&F (as they are called for short) a chance regardless of your church background or the type of music you listen to. They have a sound that isn't cheesy but it reaches out to our current generation. These people have true and honest hearts and I love what they are doing!

Let me know what you think of Hillsong Young & Free!

Chau for now ♥