Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Tita ARMY Tours South Korea at Festa 2025
“We were together / Every moment was forever.” — Take Two, BTS
What made it so was many things:
How some of us had been saving up since the Pearl ARMY Festa of 2024, turning this into our ARMY Glow Up project, a dream sustained by intention. How bravely some of us made the decision to travel alone and join a group for the first time, choosing courage over comfort, and community over solitude. How some of us brought family—daughter, sister, niece, to bond, uplift, and support each other’s fangirling. And in the process, we discovered how powerful our desires can become when channeled through creative ways. How we held space for one another at the dining table from the communal and down-to-earth warmth of Yoojung Sikdang to the quiet elegance of Otsu, where stories flowed as freely as soup. How we looked out for each other in crowded streets and alleyways of Myeongdong and Hongdae, when bodies were close but hearts stayed open. The walks we took in forest and stadium, in silence and in laughter. And the way we laughed. The way we wept. Seeing our OT7 together on that stadium screen, dancing to Mic Drop, then collapsing emotionally at Spring Day and Jamais Vu.Team Labas. Team Loob. Team Hotel. Lahat tayo. We were all part of it. We were different but together.
We weren’t just in Seoul for a clique-ish girls’ night out. We came to experience and listen to the city. To bear witness to its character. To understand how it shaped BTS and how BTS shaped us, continuously so, in our own unique ways of expressing ourselves as ARMY.
Thank you Teena Ordoño of Savedbythebest Travel and Tours for making this happen!
Apobangpo! Purple and true!
Monday, June 16, 2025
Kuwentong Bangtan: Our Celebration of BTS FESTA 2025 is a Pilgrimage of Purple Love
This trip is precious to me not only as ARMY but as a mother. Being with Zoe, my daughter who became ARMY years ahead of me, this is a mother-and-daughter journey through Seoul; through light and shadow, memory and music.
I wrote and reflected each step of the journey on my social media pages. Here's everything from Day 1 to Day 5.
D1: Heart and Seoul – We Never Walk Alone
Theme: Arrival, belonging, and walking in their footsteps
Key Stops: HYBE Building, Hyuga Café, Old Big Hit, Hakdong Park, Yoojung Sikdang
Reflection: From fog to warmth, from dorms to dreams, from their footsteps to ours, we were never alone.
D2: Heart and Seoul – Shared Memories
Theme: Reverence, rest, and memory that transcends ownership
Key Stop: In the SOOP Mansion
Reflection: To visit a space where BTS once rested is to understand that silence is a kind of presence. Rest is sacred. Memory is shared.
D3: Heart and Seoul – Why Do You Sound Like Soul?
Theme: Namjooning, city rhythms, and sensory immersion
Key Stops: Myeongdong Cathedral, parks, alleyways, food stalls
Reflection: Seoul isn’t just a city—it sings. And for the first time, I knew the lyrics were meant for me, too.
D4: Heart and Seoul – Born in Seoul, Raised in Ilsan
Theme: Movement, generational role shift, and place as identity
Key Stops: Seongsu, Ilsan commute, Lake Park
Reflection: She leads now, the way I once did. I see the city through her steps—and remember how Namjoon once walked from hometown to dream.
D5: Heart and Seoul – Light and Shadow
Theme: Becoming, motherhood, and shared inner journeys
Key Stop: Gyeongbokgung Palace (Hanbok day)
Reflection: She is growing up and out into the world. And I, once her guide, now stand beside her as a friend, an ally, a witness.
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Lighthouse Diary #75: Learning Through the Seasons
"Life has seasons and each season has something to teach you… it is during tough times when you discover happiness. Joy does not come from ease. It takes time, meaning and purpose. Trust the journey!” ~ Angeline Tam, Commencement Speaker, ANGKAS PH CEO
The closing weeks of the Academic Year is often laden with events and activities that drum up accomplishments, nostalgia, gratitude and hope. For the first time, I walked with our graduating seniors in their Batch Night bearing witness to the rituals and traditions that define us -- the senior tribute and send off. What was new this year was the recognition of staff and faculty who served in the Academy for a decade and more. This was definitely a surprise.
So, I received a service award. And then some.
Let me count the ways...
1. Working alongside a resilient Advisory Team inspired me to up my game as adviser for the next academic year -- only if asked or chosen.
2. Our senior batch reps step up on their last week of school. I can't be anymore prouder.
3. Our school leadership's tenacity and the intentionality in striving to keep integrity intact is admirable. Beyond compare.
4. This year brought many challenges, "bulaga" moments, surprises that we never expected. And along with it are heart breaks that I thought I was already used to, but... we recognize them. Mistakes and all. And we move forward with grateful hearts.
5. Friends are leaving the Academy and we hold them dear to our hearts as they venture forth to new adventures. Their contribution to the growth and development of the Academy is now a part of Griffin History.
6. On the last few days before graduation, convening as a faculty to reflect and look back at academics, advisory and student life programs to firm up our commitment in maintaining the high standards of teaching and learning.
7. And lastly, I am truly appreciative of the openness and honesty to which we can all talk about what matters to us all -- to continuously become better versions of ourselves as teachers in light of changes and the uncertainty this new age brings.
Academic Year 2025-2026 is waving at the distance, but summer is beckoning. This break, short as it is, is well deserved. I will make the most of it.
Thursday, June 5, 2025
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