Carlo Ople

This year was undoubtly one of the most exciting, happiest, saddest, and craziest year I’ve ever had. To those who don’t know, I turned 26 years old yesterday, July 21. Looking back, I can’t help but smile and wonder at how much life has changed in 1 year. Yes, there have been a lot of problems and trials, but I’ve always believed that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Thank God that I was able to keep my sanity during the most troubling parts and I was able to come out as a better and more focused person than ever before.

Another Life Coasting by
Ever get the feeling that you’re just like an drone ant? Working everyday, getting grains and bringing them home to the hive. There’s no real significance to your life except that you’ve been absorbed by the system of the world. That’s how I’ve been feeling for the longest time. We all have problems, career breakthroughs, and realizations every now and then. However in the grand scheme of things you’re just like a speck of dust in a desert of sand. There’s so much happening in this world and 99.9% of it doesn’t include you. You know for a fact that deep inside your heart you want to make a mark in this world but surviving and making ends meet everyday is much more important than chasing grand dreams.

When you’re finally free to go after your dreams, you realize that dreams are temporary - and that they can change. You can achieve one thing after the other but the joy is fleeting. It’s there one moment, it’s gone the next. What’s worse is that the world will always play cruel jokes on you. When you are happiest, it will send you waves of problems, challenges, and trials that will literally break you physically, emotionally, and most of all - spiritually. God is the easiest person to blame for all of our shortcomings and issues in life.

On Meeting the Real Christ
I’ve always been religous eversince I was young - I was very active in Youth for Christ and even Days with the Lord. However, there was always this space in my heart that was never filled. True enough, when temptation came, it was so easy to fall. We all have problems but I think the most fundamental issue we have to face is a spiritual decision. If there’s one experience I would tag as one of the most important things that has happened to me not just this year, but for my entire life, it would be my decision to meet and accept God once again. It happened when I was in the lowest point of my life, wherein I thought I had lost everything that was special and dear to me. I will spare you the details of all my problems since that will take like 4-5 blog posts, hehehe.

Eversince that day I went to Victory Christian Fellowship (VCF) in Music Museum at Greenhills, life has never been the same. Life is no longer a day-to-day drudgery. There’s this feeling of inner peace that you get, which makes you feel complete and whole. That positive energy drives you to succeed in whatever it is you do - be it sports, work, studies, or even at your hobbies. That same energy also makes your mind sharper especially in making big decisions that will affect your life like business or even changes in career. I just want to extend an invitation to all of you to try and visit us at VCF. Service is at Sundays, 4PM-6PM and 6PM-8PM. I usually go to the 6PM service since I spend the afternoon going around Greenhills, hehe.

That pretty much sums up my year. I look forward to a more exciting future ahead. I’ve made a lot of big decisions lately and I’m really psyched for what tomorrow will bring.

Special thanks to Mich for arranging the special dinner we had last night to celebrate my birthday.

I’d also like to thank everyone who sent their greetings via SMS, e-mail, and calls. Lastly, thank you to all of you who read my blogs. Cheers everyone!