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My church loves to sing this song at Mass.

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Hillsong Worship // Mighty To Save Recorded on March 5th, 2006 and led by Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong team, over 10,000 worshippers at the Sydney Entertainment Centre sang, danced and worshipped their God wholeheartedly and without reserve. The presence of God was powerfully evident throughout the night as His name was lifted on high.

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This is my sister's website! You can see why she's such an inspiration.

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All of these things have impacted me, and I am grateful. Now, I am just waiting for anything else life will throw my way, because even though it might be hard sometimes, people and things like these are what keeps me going.

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The first time I had a group of really close friends.

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The first time I had a group of really close friends.

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In 5th grade, my vice principal approached me and asked if I was interested in participating in the Academic Decathlon competition. I said yes, and that started me on a journey to find some of the closest friends that I still have today. Fiona Mass and Grace Tighe, who were on my first 2 decathlon teams, are still 2 of my good friends that I still say "hi" to in the hallways. In 8th grade, my last competition, I bonded further with my current best friend (Claudia) and I even became friends with people who I didn't talk to prior to decathlon. Because we had to study together and had so many good times, we became a sort of little "family." It was my first time having a group of such close friends, and it affected me because I learned what community truly means, what true friendship feels like, and I learned more about different types of families, situations, and faiths. Overall, decathlon helped me find friends and helped me understand different types of people. I still hold those memories close to my heart, and I carry the lessons with me every day.

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This is my old school's newspaper, with an article explaining 1 of my 3 decathlon competitions!

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Last weekend, the Academic Decathlon Team, headed by Mr. Yniguez, Miss France, and Sra. Cross, had a tournament at the Sports Arena. I asked Madi Sebenius, one of the team members, to explain how the Academic Decathlon competes. She told me that the team competed in three different categories; logic, individual, and super quiz. In logic, you are given 20 questions that involve various puzzles that test your logic and reasoning skills. For instance sudoku. There were ten people that took this test. Next is the individual sections. For each individual there were certain subjects: science, done by Madi Sebenius who placed 9th; religion, done by Catherine Maldonado; math, done by Paul Hawkins who placed 2nd; english, done by Mitchell Valine; current events, done by Patrick Jackson; social studies, done by Everett Sayer; literature, done by Fiona Mass who placed 10th; and fine arts, done by Grace Tighe who placed 9th. Each person had 50 multiple choice questions according to their subject. Finally, the members had to take a quiz called Super Quiz. Super Quiz is a "fun, interactive multiple choice test" in which there were five subjects (two people studied for each). The question is read out loud and after a few seconds the team leader would hold a letter up. This event was most fun for the parents because they got to watch the teams' score. There were 50 questions and a few tie breakers. In this category, there were 5 subjects and two people competed for each. Madi Sebenius and Catherine Maldonado competed in literature, Mitchell Valine and Patrick Jackson competed in social studies, Grace Tighe and Fiona Mass competed in fine arts, Paul Hawkins and Katrina Manaloto competed in science, and Everett Sayer and Emily Wallace competed in religion. "In the Super Quiz category, Madi explains, we placed 8th out of the 115 schools we competed against. We place 7th in logic, and overall we placed 8th". It was a very good day for our Academic Decathlon team last weekend. Congratulations Decathlon for your outstanding work!

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Last weekend, the Academic Decathlon Team, headed by Mr. Yniguez, Miss France, and Sra. Cross, had a tournament at the Sports Arena. I asked Madi Sebenius, one of the team members, to explain how the Academic Decathlon competes. She told me that the team competed in three different categories; logic, individual, and super quiz.

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Until 3rd grade, I had only ever traveled within the United States.  Then, we got the news that my uncle in the Philippines was getting married, and we would be in the Philippines for 3 weeks!  I was excited.  Because both of my parents were born and raised there, I was familiar with the customs and traditions the Philippines had. I was born speaking tidbits of Tagalog and regularly hearing the language and eating the (really delicious!) food. But I was excited to finally have an authentic experience there.  It was beautiful, and I was able to see and meet a lot of extended family for the first time.  I was only 7 or 8, but seeing the differences between where I was born and where my parents were born affected my worldview, even if I didn't know it at the time.  Not only did I have a lot of fun, but I became more aware of the less fortunate because of the extensive populations I saw in my parents' home country. It made me want to do something about it. That was how I learned that I should share my wealth with others.  It was a valuable lesson that I continue to keep with me.

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Mabuhay means "hello" or "welcome" in the Philippines' national language, Tagalog.

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Fun Fact! My aunt is a famous singer/actress in the Philippines! Here's a tidbit:

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The next part that affected my faith journey was, well, my faith!

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The next part that affected my faith journey was, well, my faith!

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I was born and raised in an extremely Catholic household.  I have very little relatives that are not Catholic, which means that Catholicism is all I've ever known and experienced, until meeting people of other religions.  Being surrounded by my wonderful Catholic family, I realized that Catholicism brings people together.  Even when you go to a different country, if you go to a Catholic church, you will be surrounded by a loving community with a common love. Through all this, I realized that whenever I need something to rely on being there, my faith is there.  Believing in such a beautiful religion brings me a sense of peace because I know that I will always have it as long as I uphold God's expectations of me.  It has affected me because it keeps me going; it is my guiding light.

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Actually, to be more accurate, they were there before the beginning.  Before the start of my faith journey, my parents and my sister were already there.  They've endured my crying, smiling, and everything in between.  From the minute I was born, my parents and my sister have impacted who I am and continue to impact who I will become.  My parents chose my faith and initially set me on the path I am going down right now.  I admire them greatly (even if we fight sometimes) because they immigrated to America from the Philippines when they were teenagers.  I can't imagine how hard it is to move basically across the globe.  The life they've built for themselves is all a result of their hard work, dedication, and fortitude.  Maybe they don't realize it, but those traits are what I strive to have, and that's why they've influenced me so much.  They are also the kindest, most generous, and loyal people out there.  My sister is also a person I look up to.  Monique is 5 years older than me and like all siblings, we have had our fair share of fights.  But she's one of my greatest role models because she's tenacious.  She fights back at anything that seems impossible.  For example, in 2015, she applied to some of the hardest programs to get into for college, yet she managed to snag nearly all of them.  Carnegie Mellon?  Check.  USC (in a program that only accepts 25 applicants)?  Check.  It was an overwhelming conclusion of all the times she went against the tide and won, even if people or odds told her she couldn't.  Her tenacity is what has influenced my journey the most.  Lastly, the LOVE that my parents and sister give me is what keeps me on the wonderful path they started me on.