There are times in your life when you are given an opportunity to touch a life... and perhaps also be touched in return. I believe one such event happened to me last wednesday June 8, 2005 - when I accompanied my good friend, Leah, to Greenbelt. It was supposed to be the usual - I had night classes, she had night classes, so we carpool. Yet that night was going to be different, since she had to go to Greenbelt 3 to meet with contacts from BMG records. Apparently someone from Jubilee was so impressed with her talent in singing that she referred Leah to her husband, who happened to have connections with the Television and Music industry. I offered not only to bring her to Greenbelt, but to accompany her as well through the whole thing if that was possible (since the people she will be meeting are complete strangers to her) - she was grateful for the company. The night was indeed interesting as I met the most unlikely people, one was Don De Guzman - a friend of my dad's and my cousins' (mother's side) and the other one was Blake - my classmate in Relstwo who was friends with me, Scott and JB (who also hosted Englicom's halloween acquaintance party last school year). Apparently the whole meeting was his idea - kinda embarrasing considering I asked him what he was doing there in shock of his presence amidst such reputable people in the industry.
Leah had a different aura that night (shown here on the left) - one that exudes confidence - in fact, she was practically glowing. I won't get into much detail on the events that happened other than the fact that we got her to sing outside of Via Mare's (evil grin... ;) ) - and sing she did, Don had his eyes closed listening to her voice whilst Blake and Greg (the person to whom she was referred) shook each other's hands in what I can only interpret as mutual congratulations for a job well done (Blake's idea, Greg's referral/talent). Cliche' as it may sound, the night was magical... if not for them, at the very least for me (and I'm pretty sure it was for Leah too). It was that moment of moments when I felt that I was truly a friend, where I could support a friend just by being there. A moment where I felt that I was able to touch a life more than I probably ever did. Just being there to share that milestone in her life is so overwhelming - I've seldom felt as good in my life (maybe even never as good). Also, I've never seen Leah so excited about something, here was a chance for greatness - an opportunity to witness God's goodness through her life (besides all the blessings he has already bestowed upon her) to more people she could have imagined, and she was getting it because of a simple referral by a wife to her husband. It is also at that moment that I could clearly see how God was moving in her life - and honestly, there is no one I know who deserves such honor as Leah. Her innate goodness, righteousness, and humility is truly mindboggling.
She is, in fact, an inspiration and a role model for most girls especially in today's pop-culture ridden youth. I feel like I've written too much, and yet I also feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of how I feel. Suffice it to say that this will indeed be one of those memories in life that I would truly cherish till the day I die. Would that God give me more blessings/opportunities of this same nature, I would truly be the happiest man alive.
(Right) Me and Le at Via Mare's. Visual aids like this are necessary to help keep the memory that much more alive in my mind.