Retreat 2018

Retreat 2014

Retreat 2015

Retreat 2016

Retreat 2017

Y’already know what it is, so every year my church has a summer retreat where we go away for a weekend of like worship, games, fun and fellowship. Retreat is always something I’ve looked forward to, but this year was much different. I can safely say that this year, I honestly didn’t wanna go. Like some years I’ll feel like man, I’m not gonna have fun but I’ll suck it up...this year I just straight up didn’t wanna go. But something inside of me was like “hey Rod, just give it a chance.” I just remember sitting down with my friend as the retreat was about to start...seeing a bunch of kids and teens sitting around us...my friend and I looking at each other like wow why’re we here, man we look so outta place LOL. But as the weekend progressed, my mentality and my feelings changed drastically...and God really hit me hard and answered a lot of the questions I’ve been having for a real long time (but I’ll talk about that another time).

For one...the theme verse for this years retreat...James 1:2-4. It may or may not be familiar to you, but for me...well that’s the same exact verse I have tattooed on my arm, it’s also my first tattoo and the one that means the most to me. Right then and there, seeing that that was the theme verse for the retreat, I knew for sure that was no coincidence...that was God hitting me with the “bruh, c’mon now” face. So the whole retreat, we kept going back to that verse and it was just overall really refreshing...a reminder that trials are necessary, to look past them and see the purpose and end goal. To find joy knowing that if there’s trial, there’s something so much better that were being prepared and refined for.

To sum this retreat up...it was honestly being able to talk to, chill and hang out with people I don’t normally and never get the chance to. The first day, I came a bit early...so my boy and another guy I don’t really talk to that often chilled in my room for like 2 hours just playing board games and talking. After the program had finished, the night was ours to just chill and hang out. So first we went to McDonald’s and we made my boy do the ‘In My Feelings’ challenge LOL. It somehow blew up and ppl who didn’t even follow me on Instagram saw it. But lemme tell you the highlight of the retreat was definitely water pong, this stupid kid (LOL) asked me beforehand hey let’s play water pong at retreat (beer pong with water) and I was like bruh, whatever I don’t mind, wondering if he was semi joking. So I see him at retreat and he’s like yo I brought cups and ping pong balls LOL. I’m actually glad he did because it was really fun and brought a lot of different people together. Apologizes to the cleaning lady tho lol. So it was maybe like 12 or 1 ish and I was going back and forth between rooms just chilling with different people when I saw one of the kids walking by herself so I was like oh hey why don’t you join one of the rooms and like chill with them. She didn’t really seem bout it so I asked if she wanted to go play pool and talk or something. We ended up chilling for like 2 hours...it was super random, fun and personal all at the same time lol. We both just kept asking each other random, personal and dumb questions. So thank you for that, it was a good time. So after that I went back to my room and my boy was still awake so we ended up talking for another 2 hours just about life and how we’ve been and what we’ve been up to cuz we haven’t caught up in a while. I had to be like yeah we should sleep cuz it was 5 am and we had to get up at 8 for breakfast lol.

So day 2...lemme tell you I was so excited for breakfast cuz my friend kept hyping it up saying there was hot foods and stuff. BRO, there was muffins, toast and cereal...I could’ve slept in for another hour, hella cheesed LOL. Lunch was cool cuz these 2 kids asked to sit with my boy and I and yeah, I never really talked to them that much so it was nice being able to sit down and chat with them about random stuff. The day was definitely a blur cuz I was running on 3 hours of sleep...napped here and there, water pong here and there. Then it was dinner and it was cool sitting in a booth with like 6 of us guys just chilling...it reminded me of like when my boys used to come to retreat and we would squad up. So yeah that night, again I was really back and forth between rooms cuz I wanted to chill with as many different people as possible. My friend wanted to show me a book she was reading and it really hit me the segment that she wanted me to see. I won’t go into super detail, maybe I’ll save it for another time...but one thing it said was how we focus so much on the differences we have with people in church rather than the similarities, rather the most important similarity that we love God. That really hit me cuz coming into retreat I was all like man...none of my friends are going, I’m older than everyone, they’re all kids, what am I gonna talk to them about and just all these questions and worries about how we’re so DIFFERENT that I didn’t really think to see that we might have a lot in common as well.

Retreat this year was honestly such a good time, well I guess one reason is cuz I had low expectations, but God really used this opportunity to speak to me. To take me away from my friends, my comfort zone, put me in a new, scary and different environment and challenge me to really be there and make the most of it. It also wasn’t until yesterday night when I was in bed thinking about this post that it really, really hit me. Everything that I’ve been questioning and thinking about had suddenly become much, much clearer. Where I am, where do I wanna be? What is my calling? Is this the place for me? So yeah, that was my weekend...it gives me hope and excitement for not only next years retreat but just everything leading up to it...seeing where God leads me and this church. So yeah, till next time...peace out.

The Worst Neighbour

If you need more affirmation that I'm a terrible neighbour, read about the time "I Broke Into My Neighbour's Backyard"

So you know those stereotypical neighbourhoods in movies...where like someone moves into the neighbourhood and everyone’s like hella friendly and some lady named Betty or Sue will probably ring your doorbell with a pie or some sort of dessert? I’ve always lowkey wished to have that LOL. But unfortunately I’m probably like the worst neighbour ever. For one, I’ve never really gotten to know any of my neighbours, outside of like saying hi whenever we see each other outside. So before I got my own basketball net outside my house, I used to sneakily play on one of my neigubour’s nets LOL. I legit never saw him use it, I don’t think he was even into basketball, so I would always be peering through my upstairs window waiting for their car to leave and I would run outside and shoot around for short spurts of time in case they case back LOL. I guess one day I was having too much fun and lost track of how long I had been there and next thing I knew I saw their van pull up and I had to awkward move to the side and stand there and watch them get out of the car. I was like uh...sorry...and they’re like oh it’s cool you can use our net anytime LOL. So fast forward to when I actually got a basketball net, I lived in a town house, so it was attached to another house and our backyards were connected. So this neighbour loved to garden, I’m talking clean cut grass, hella flowers and flowerpots everywhere. So me with my new basketball net and young hoop dreams, I’m out there shooting around every single day and as a result, like trampling all over his grass, the ball rolling onto his flowers, BUT...and this is very important, he was ALWAYS super nice and cool about it. So one day I walk home from school and I see this huge fence separating my backyard and his backyard LOOOOL. Like man your neighbour must really hate you if he builds a big fence so he don’t have to see you ever lol. Anyways, so back to my hoop dreams, so picture this...the basketball net, behind it is the fence (lower than the net but taller than my head), and behind is his backyard. So of course, there’s gonna be a few...actually more like a lot of times where the ball went over the fence and into his backyard. And for the first little while, I was very respectful, would walk all the way around, ring his doorbell, apologize and go get the ball. After a while, I just started hopping the fence because the door was all the way on the other side. So there were PLENTY of instances where the ball would go over and I’d hear glass shatter or I’d hear his voice say something and he’d throw the ball over LOL. The funniest was when I hopped the fence one time, trampled a couple of flowers, pick up the ball and see this man standing behind the screen door staring at me and shaking his head LOOOOL. So one day, I walk home from school...excited to play some basketball, and I see this envelope taped to my door. I open it and written on it says “stop playing basketball” LOOOOL...I’m laughing now, but yooo when I got that letter I was sooooo cheesed, my inner like Batman came out and I was like YO, who put this on my door...I’m gonna search this whole neighbourhood till I find out LOL. Thinking about it now, it was probably the dude who’s flowers I kept stepping on lol. Then I moved and I never saw him again, the end lol...I also got rid of my basketball net recently since I never really use it anymore, the end of an era forreal.

The Weight Of Perspective

So I always like to talk about perspective and how it's really important to be able to see things from different perspectives, but I think something that's super undervalued and underappreciated is the weight of perspective. Now what do I mean by the weight of perspective? Well take a look at it this way. Say my mom thinks I'm the coolest person in the world, she thinks I dress hella fresh, that I'm super funny and I'm just overall hella dope. Now compare that to say the girl that I like and if she thought I was the coolest person in the world, she thinks I dress very well, laughs at my jokes and thinks I'm a really good guy. See my mom and the girl that I kike both think of me the exact same, the have the same perspective of me, but the weight that their opinions of me hold are much different. In my mind, my mom is hella biased for one, but she is like programmed to think all those things about me, so that naturally makes her perspective hold less weight. But the girl that I like, the girl that I'm trying to impress and chase...of course what she thinks about me becomes infinitely more important because I'm trying to impress her. Like I know a lot of people that think I'm really cool, I also know a lot of people who think I'm really lame. Some of my friends think I'm really quiet and soft spoken, some of my other friends think I'm super loud and I won't shut up. Even take this blog for example...I receive compliments and criticisms all the time...from friends, acquaintances and even strangers...they all hold different values and weights based on their relation to me and how important I deem their perspective of my blog. I just think that concept is really cool, that we value certain opinions and perspective over others. That 2 people can say the exact same thing to us, but one holds more weight and means more to us because we like them better, they're more popular or we just care more about what they think. It reminds me a lot of like the criticisms we receive everyday...on our looks, how we dress, how we speak and present ourselves. Constantly remind yourself that not everyone's opinion of you matters as much as it should and learn to value the ones that do and tune out the ones that don't. So yeah, till next time...peace out.

How Do You Know You've Made The Right Decision?

You make decisions every waking moment of your life. You decide whether you wanna hit that snooze on your alarm, you decide what you wanna wear...whether you wanna dress to impress or dress for comfort and relaxation. There are easy decisions and then there are tough decisions. A lot of things can impact the decisions you make...your friends, your mood, your surroundings. If it’s a cold winter day, I don’t care who you are...I’m putting on some warm sweatpants and a comfortable hoodie like 80% of the time. With most decisions in your life, a factor is also the possible outcomes of that decision. If I choose to dress to impress and wear some jeans and some Chelsea boots for example, I risk my lower body not only being cold but getting wet as well, but I’ll look hella fresh if I plan on seeing people or going on a date. Every decision that we make is based on so many different things. When it comes to the easy decisions in our lives, we don’t really think much about it because it’s not that big a deal or we just do it subconsciously. I’ll wake up and eat a sandwich instead of some eggs because it’s faster and I’m lazy. But some decisions in our lives are not so easy...and take a lot more thought. Where you wanna go for university is a big decision most people face, to stay home or move away, to live with roommates or to live alone, a lot goes into it. I’m sure all of you can recall some point in your lives where you were faced with a tough decision, that had long lasting impacts, and you just weren’t sure what to do. You think about both (or the multiple) options, the outcomes and how it’ll affect you and everything/everyone around you. You’ll probably flip flop between which you think is the right decision, but ultimately a decision has to be made. And that’s kinda where I am atm in my life...stuck at a crossroads, flip flopping between options, struggling to decide what is the right thing to do. To be honest, I don’t think there’s ever a clear cut answer to these kinds of questions because there’s always good reasons to pick one option over another. Then it just kinda becomes which option has more good reasons. I don’t really know how to end this because I don’t really have a clear cut answer myself, I feel like I’ve been venting but also having a heart to heart with myself. Ultimately, you gotta roll with the punches and live with the decisions you make. There’s no point in telling yourself, whoops...should’ve picked the other option, you just gotta make the best of whatever situation you’re in and trust that it’ll all work out for the better.

Note to self:
Think long and hard Rod, pray always, whatever happens and wherever you go...God will guide you, trust in His plan and the path that He has set for you. Talk to those who you trust and respect, but don’t let their thoughts and opinions become yours, use it as a guide not an answer. In due time, your decision will become more clear and concise, make sure its your own. Really, really pray about this...lastly, don’t stress...you got this.

She Asked For My Number Part 2

So this kinda stuff doesn't happen to me too often, but when it does...best believer it's super weird and awkward and that I definitely have to write about it later on LOL...read up part 1 if you're interested as well, it's just as weird and funny probably.

Part 1

Hey friends, hope you're doing well throughout these few weeks of like ridiculously hot weather. And if you're not from Canada (cuz I know a lot, more like some of you may not be), then I hope you're doing well in general. So anyways, let's set the mood for this story...I was at the mall a couple of weeks ago with my brother and it was raining really bad so it was super gloomy and downcast outside. I forgot why we were at the mall, probably for some wedding stuff for my bro cuz we've been going to the mall a lot recently...for his shoes, shirt, suit and just other random stuff. So we walked into this one store and like any store you walk into, the people working there greet you (most of the time) and ask you if you need any help and stuff. So it was just me and my brother in this store and a couple of workers. So this girl that's working comes up to me and bro and goes hi my name is ____ do you guys need any help and I'm just like oh nah we're just looking we're good, thanks tho. Then she looks at me again and she goes oh so how's the weather, I'm just like yeah it's not that great, it's raining outside. She goes oh okay, so why're you at the mall? I'm just like oh just walking around and stuff you know. Then she goes, so how;s your day going? My brother's already giving me this weird look/smirk...sp I'm just like oh yeah it's good, just chilling. Then we kinda walk to a diff part of the store, I don't really think nothing much of the conversation we just had, I figured there's no other customers in the store, she's just having friendly conversation. So we're still browsing around in the store and she pops up again and she's like so are you in school right now> I'm just like nahh I graduated lol, she's like ohh yeah you look really young. So for context, my brother was looking at tank tops, so I had picked one up to put against his body to see if it'd look hood on him. So I'm still holding it and she goes yeahh that would definitely look good on you, so I chuckled and put it back on the rack. Then she goes oh wow, I really like your shirt, I didn't notice it before but it's CDG (some random brand) right and I'm like yeah it is, she says some other stuff like oh that's a dope colour and I've never seen that design before and I'm just like yeah thanks, I appreciate it. My brother and I walk out of the store and he's just absolutely dying and I'm like relax lol, she was either suuuuper friendly, was hella bored, wanted a sale or was genuinely flirting lol. So anyways, we're back to walking around the mall and we do so for another half an hour or so and low and behold, we bump into her as we're walking around, I guess she was on her break or something. So she comes up to us and she goes what a coincidence bumping into you again. I'm just like haha yeah, you're on your break I guess? Literally I kid you not, she goes yeah I am...so I know this seems forward, but I wonder if I could get your number and we can grab coffee or something sometime. So I gave her my number and we texted a bit and met up once, that was it LOL. But it was just such an interesting sequence of events lol and I mean like you don't really see girls being the aggressors in this situation too often so it was really funny but also kinda cool at the same time. But what made the stiuation as funny, awkward and memorable as it was was that my brother was literally beside me when all of this was happening LOOOOL.