Lian Buan

I was rushing out of the room after my Philosophy of Morals class when I heard someone from behind me say, “Chiars, habol tayo simba!” I replied, “Uh? O sige! Bakit?” As I checked my watch to learn that we were already running late for the mass, she then said, “Kasi death anniversary ng papa ko kahapon.”

a glitter

Name: Lian Nami Buan

Birthdate: 18 October 1990

Destined to meet in: the University of Santo Tomas

As we briskly walked toward the chapel under the rain, Lian, Monica, Karch, Cands, and I all together put our thoughts to respect the memories of Lian’s father. I watched her pray fervently after communion and I felt a sense of glow in her spirit. I can’t explain why but I felt at peace. Pointing out that the reason for her attendance was already worth grieving on, I remember her telling me after the mass, “Ayaw ko lang kasi magsimba mag-isa.” In my heart I had a sense gratitude as I realised, she chose to hear it with us.

If there is one person in my college friends who becomes vulnerable and expressive every time we talk about about love and family, it would definitely be Lian Nami Buan. In the four years that I’ve known her, she has remained faithful to her beliefs with regard to love: of God, boy-girl relationships, family, friends, TV series, sports, writing, you name it!

Many people have no clue about the story that lies beneath her smile. But hey, I’m in no position to tell you about those. Hah! However, I can tell you that she is as interesting as her daily chatters are, and often more colorful. She continues to be one of my biggest inspirations and one of the reasons why I believe in the beauty of story-telling, most especially, in the beauty of words.

I have seen her grow more mature as she takes every responsibility and delivers them well. It may be for our organization, TomWeb! or merely about homework, but she would always make sure she won’t let anybody down, most especially herself. Despite rejection, loss, and sometimes depression, she consistently face them head-on. Nothing stood a chance with her as she always picked herself up gracefully with her head held high, telling the world that life should be lived well.

But what makes Lian beautiful is her natural sense of balance (if you’re reading this, don’t give me a fist in class.haha!) and her faith in the goodness of love. She knows when it’s time to say something, she knows precisely when it’s time to have fun or when to study, or when it’s a perfect day for sulking, but most of all, she knows just how to be herself.

Yes, she may not be perfect — lazy at times, dinners at fastfood chains, or would rather listen to Peyton’s Podcasts instead of resting for the following day, and needlesstosay (world peace, Lian) all the clutter in her room and the spender she can be — but that’s also why many of us love her. The way she says, “I want to be with mom and ate” who live countries away, and “I love the Philippines!” makes her really human.

It was in Sports Journalism class when she randomly told me about missing her family as conversations around us revolved around the 6th Potter movie: London, movie theaters, and the fact that her two girls are always game for it. There was a sort of bliss in her face as she reminisced, but there was also a deep sense of yearning. Even though I knew only her mom and her ate can fill that space, I still told her that she can call on me anytime she needs a family-fix.

Balancing and admitting that there is a need of being in that unit and also the need to satisfy oneself makes her worthy of being called a loving daughter.

Never have I seen her look afraid or unwilling to accept a challenge. She would usually say, “Ganon talaga eh!” with a smile. Her words are brilliant, her creativity even more. The combination of  her intelligence and being a street smart make her all the more admirable. Strength, courage — maybe you get those from years of family and self-struggle experiences, which most of her friends know were not really a smooth ride. But those are important events that molded her into the woman that she is now. A woman so simple and yet so complicated, so strong but is full of heart.

I bet my ass her family, most especially her father, is very proud of her. Lian may just be another face in your crowd, but in mine, she can be equated with another four letter word, love.

Make You Feel My love – Lian Buan cover
Hallelujah – Lian Buan cover

Re-Do

This blog is getting a little boring. Admit it. Haha!

I have never felt at ease sharing stories about my life/whereabouts online and it has always been awkward for me to broadcast to the world how I spend my days or even my vulnerability. Haha! In my opinion, most of them are too personal for public consumption, that’s why I’m planning to re-format this WordPress account into something I’d be comfortable with, which I hope you’d still appreciate.

A lot of my entries involved ‘I’s and ‘me’s, so I decided to shift the angle to YOU. Soon, I will be deleting my previous posts and will replace them with more structured ones. Yes, they would still be very personal, just in a different sense.

In the coming entries, you will see my life in another perspective. A perspective not everyone has seen.

Change is exciting!

Live for Unity

Baller band by the Focolare Youth

Finally, we are launching the “FOR A UNITED WORLD” baller band!

A fund raising activity by the Focolare Youth. Yey! And the org’s URL is at the back.

Woot!

I am hoping this would give much delight to the Gen because we’re selling it for a very reasonable price. Let’s promote and help each other to build a united world,  to fulfill God’s words, “So that All may be One.”

Want to own one of these? Simply leave a comment or contact me through: carassunta@hotmail.com