"Good Job Singing"

I have always believed that when one becomes inspired, they can do great things. I also believe that to inspire someone takes genuine heart, passion, and an outlook on life that allows others to feel comfortable within themselves. My dream is to become an inspiration. To inspire anyone is worth the trouble to do it, because it can set up a chain of reactions that will lead to a powerful force, MLK or Gandhi are good examples.

A while back, I went on a retreat called JAC 62, the Junior Apostolates for Christ. This was one of my first retreats, I can barely remember it, and I don't remember when it was. Andy's dad just took me and my bro (and andy) down to san francisco for a retreat. I didn't even know what a retreat was. The retreat was run by almost all Filipinos (foreshadowing of my life maybe?), and was one of the life changing moments of my life. From then on, i wanted to live, laugh, sing and dance as hard and as loud as all those people there. You could say that that was the moment in my life where I would change and start breaking out of my shell, (though many other events also sparked this movement). I remember only 2 persons from JAC clearly, one was Mia, i only remember her because i had a cush on her. The other was Sister Zahra. I remember that how I was so quiet then, I didn't want to do anything, i mean, I had never been outside my comfort zone before. When we were singing, they were trying to motivate us, I wasn't a singer. But sister Zahra said "Good Job Singing, Brother Matt!". Forever changed. If you guys know me, you know how i love to sing. And all started from a simple compliment. Her and I weren't close, (i wasn't really close to anyone in JAC, I was young) but her words are forever in my memory. I just found out that she died yesterday. (she was like 20 something). I guess in death, I remember the inspiration she gave me, and it motivates me. Any small words can lead to something big, life changing. I don't know what I would do if i didn't sing, (probably be lame and learn to jerk) but I do know that she set my feet onto the path, opened my horizons, and helped me to grow into full expression of myself, as I want to inspire others to do. If anything, to everyone out there, "Good Job Singing" doesn't mean you are singing well. To me, it means that you're doing a good job just for singing, and throwing your heart and pride out there. Expressing yourself, and sharing yourself with others.

RIP Sister Zahra Era

Brother Matt JAC 62