What’s up, Hivers! School break has now begun and summer is here, so expect me to spam you with the highlights of my life. 'Tis I again, 
“As long as I’m with you, I’ve got a smile on my face"
As corny as it sounds, the line from the song by Daniel Caesar I’ve put above is dedicated to them. If home were a person, it would be them— but of course, second to my family. I despise school, but it gave me them. It was them who made my school year fun and bearable.
And now that school is over, it is the time to live our lives and have fun without stressing over schoolwork! So, my peers and I agreed to go out and spend the day together. The Philippines is a renowned country for its beautiful beaches, so deciding where to go was not a problem. We chose the beach in San Remegio located in the Northern Part of Cebu in the Philippines, as it is the closest and convenient for everyone.
The coast
We were delighted as we arrived at our destination around 10 am at the place with fine sunny weather. The place was surrounded by triangular colourful banners which we call ‘banderitas’, these helped the place look more lively. Fun fact, ‘banderitas’ are a symbol used for festivity in the Philippines. The area was clean and well-maintained. The owner or the manager of the resort was also accommodating and pleasant.
The site was serene—a perfect place to take a break and enjoy the day with your friends, with your family, or you can even go by yourself. The sea was calm, the sea breeze was warm and the sound of the waves was calling to us! As tempted as we were to hurriedly go swim in the water, we arranged our belongings in the cottage first, changed clothes, readied ourselves— and put our sunscreens on to protect us from the sun damage.
The scrumptious meals
We ordered this ‘bilao’ from a local service we know for 799 pesos which is converted into around $14. It is a ready-to-eat food ‘bilao’ which was delivered to our cottage moments after we arrived. ‘Bilao’, is a circular basket in which they carefully arrange the mouth-watering meals. It was worth its price, given its generous portion of serving, the cleanliness, and the aesthetic.
This ‘bilao’ consists of the four famous cuisines in the country. The ‘lumpiang shanghai’ is a lumpia wrapper filled with ground beef. ‘Bam-i’, is a Filipino noodle recipe garnished with pork, carrots, ‘calamansi’, and parsley. ‘Inihaw na baboy’, it is a grilled marinated pork. And fried chicken along with a sauce that is placed in the center.
Let's go for a swim!
After placing everything in their place, we rushed and jumped into the sea in delight. The hot weather did not do justice to the water, it was warm. Yet, we had fun swimming, played a game, and talked about anything that came up in our minds.
The feast
Time goes by fast when you’re with the right people, we didn’t realize the time until we felt our stomach grumbling. We decided to take a break from the water and savored the food served. They are as delectable as they look! All the pennies we contributed to buy that meal were worth every single one. We ate, talked, teased each other, took pictures, and many more.
Into the deep sea, we go!
Let me tell you a secret🙊 as a girl who loves the beach so much, I don’t know how to swim. But when we saw this banana boat on the shore promoting their business we shouted and called them. Moments later, I was impulsively out on the front of the banana boat sailing along with my friends. I was thrilled, it was one of the moments when I felt like I conquered the world. When we were in the middle, the boat stopped and my friends encouraged me to jump with them into the water. And I did, I had my life jacket on but my heart was pounding out like crazy when I reached the water and I couldn’t touch anything with my feet. I couldn’t thank them enough for convincing me to do that. It felt amazing to go out on your boat and explore things beyond your capabilities.
As we returned to the shore, the rush still lingered inside me. This was one of the most unforgettable experiences I had. Although it was not a survival mode choice, that was the time when I felt so alive. I realized, what good is surviving if you are not living?
Scorching vibe
After that, we changed clothes since we were already weary and we still had plans. We took some strolls to find street foods and we reached a public beach resort, where we bought some snacks and took some pictures, which a random person offered us to do. And that is where we met these amazing random people! They were cheering for us as we took our pictures, and then after that, they asked for a group photo!
Ocean whispers at low tide
After that chaotic moment, we sat and enjoyed the scenery together. The sea tide was now low, as low as what we felt because the day was about to end. But the breath of fresh breeze warmly hugged and cheered us. We wanted to wait for the sun to set but remembered we had a curfew and our parents were already calling us. So we cleaned up our mess in the cottage and brought home the food portions left. We didn’t want to leave yet but we had to, so we bid each other goodbye. We had different routes so we had to go home separately. I got home with pockets empty but full of memories. Money will come back, but time will not, so we have to spend our time with the right people like it is our last.
Thank you 
