A Total 180

I opened the front door this morning and felt cool air hit my face. I now realize that summer here in New Jersey is slowly coming to an end. My life at this point is truly a completely different reality than it was last year. Last summer was probably the most difficult period of my life. However, this summer has managed to be the exact opposite. It's safe to say that this summer has probably the best summer of my life.

Last summer, I saw several doors in my life close in front of my face. One door that closed was particularly difficult for me at that time. I can't remember a time in my life in which I was more depressed, scared, alone, and miserable than last summer. As the summer of 2010 ended, I was uncertain and unsure of where my life was heading. I was eager to start a new path in my life and leave the old one behind, yet I didn't know how I was going to do so.

Fortunately, God brought me through several moments through the Fall, Winter, and Spring that led me to where I am today. Some moments were fun, others were frustrating, and some were downright annoying. But, God truly opens the right doors and closes the wrong ones.

This summer has been a series of open doors. In May, Bayani Warrior opened at Jersey Fight Club in Cranford, NJ, becoming our new home and blessing us with new students and new friends who support our mision and what we do. In June, I got to speak at a summit in New York City for the UNIPRO organization in front of some of the top names in the Filipino community. I saw the Bayani Warrior Gathering take place on that same day and saw our numbers literally triple in the span of that one session. In the first weekend of July, I was given the honor of attending, demonstrating, and teaching at Sayoc Kali Sama Sama...it's been my lifelong dream to have the honor of demonstrating at Sama Sama, let alone teach there. At the end of July, I attended the SFL Conference in Dallas, Texas where I got stronger in my faith, made so many new friends, and best of all, I met someone very special to me who has all the same core values as I do. In August, I have also been able to train under some of the greatest warriors on the planet this month, learning skills I never thought I'd be able to learn.

This summer, I've learned that our past only dictates our future if we allow it. We have the ability to move forward, and once we do, God opens up doors that we never thought we'd see opened. However, it is up to us to MOVE. God won't move unless we do. He's waiting for us to move forward away from the negative aspects of our past...to move towards a Higher Path. Once that happens, and once we shed the chains of the past, only then will we see true opportunity and growth in our lives.

I am stronger, more self-aware, and happier than I have ever been. I know there will be battles to face in the future, but I now have the right faith, the right training, and the right people to stand by my side.

So to conclude, I will say this: Life isn't perfect. But, it is good. :)