So, I went on a 4 days, 3 nights trip with my sister together with 100 + others. Such a big number, you might say? Well, true. It was a trip for single men and women who went there to learn about growth in character, career and relationships. To be honest, there are so many things to write about in this 4 days. I hope to write about it in part pieces.
Allow me to start by talking about what this trip is about.
Session on relationships.
Singles Retreat: A time in a single person’s life to basically take some time off his or her daily activities (most of which are focused on career) to evaluate how he or she is living out his/her life. Retreats are very common in the Philippines. We grow up going to retreats. I personally think that this has a lot to do about us being a happy nation.
Retreats have different themes. But the main goal of it is to go home having a better perspective about yourself, about others, and about life. This retreat that I went to was more focused on the life a single person. I really appreciate it that there are organizations though not connected to school institutions who would still take time to organize an event like this.
This retreat talked about 3 main things:
1- Reputation vs. Character
-what I learned is that sometimes, we are too focused on what other people say about us. We get trapped in an image that we project only to find out that we are living double lives. We are not really true to others, nor to ourselves. We create a reputation but our characters do not say what we profess. Our reputation should only be a by-product of our character. One way be set free from this trap is to find a trusted friend who will tell us the truth in love. Us, on the other hand, should be open and should evaluate ourselves in certain areas in our lives. As the famous saying goes: The truth will set you free. I agree, as we listen and accept the truth, we are set free! There is authenticity in our change of character and in time, people will see it. Then we built a reputation based on the character that is rooted in truth.
2- Career
The speakers talked about being the best person you can be in your organization. Its tough for some or maybe even for most, maybe because they belong to an industry wherein they are really not created for, or it could be that they are not fully equipped to be in a task assigned to them, or sometimes, its really just a character problem that shows poor outputs in the work place that they do. Whatever the reason is, the work of our hands should come from the mindset of being a blessing to others. We are given jobs to help others, and the compensation comes after. We are placed where we are for a purpose. If we learn to embrace that whatever our jobs are, wherever we may be working at, there is a big purpose why we are there.
3- Relationships
We may not notice it, but a single person has 2 major stations in life. Both entails wisdom in the decision making in these stations. Station 1- career. Station 2- marriage. Choosing the person to marry is a very crucial decision. Don’t get me wrong, this is not something we should be scared of. Its an important decision because we are choosing someone we want to make important life decisions with in the future, important because we are choosing someone whom we can go in this life adventure with, build a family with and all the beautiful things life has to offer. The world is better when seen by two 
Team work! Showing an imagery of being happy despite being stressed!
Lunch with new found friends
One thing I learned being a single lady is that singleness is a gift as long as you have it. You can do the things you want to do because you have your own time, financial resources and for most, the energy to do the things you want to do.
So, as we wait for our time to come (we- meaning all single people out there) Let’s live our lives to the full!
1- Go on purposeful trips like do volunteer work both local or in a foreign country.
2- Discover the world! Grow in your life skills. What do you love doing? Embrace it!
3- Take advantage of the time you can spend with important people like family, friends and even new acquaintances. Chances are, when you start to build your own family, you will not be able to have the luxury of time to do this.
4- Build relationships with other singles both men and women! Learn from other people, support them in what they do. Encourage one another.
5- Build relationships with couples! Learn from married people, like how they raise their children, how they handle conflicts, how they manage time, money etc.
