Friday, June 22, 2012

thoughts of one family

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

While Carla, Cindy and I were at UCLA, we were all involved with Samahang Pilipino. One specific Samahang activity that we all enjoyed participating in was the annual Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN). I found myself reminiscing about PCN recently, and thought of how one of my favorite memories is when the entire PCN cast would sing the Samahang Pilipino Theme Song. The chorus of the song goes like this...
'Cause we are
Brothers and sisters
Always and forever
We are
Brothers and sisters
We live as one
We are
Brothers and sisters
Samahang Pilipino
We are
Brothers and sisters
We live as one
Family
Although the end of the annual PCN performance was one of the most poignant times for singing the theme song, we would also do so after PCN run-thrus, occasionally at a Samahang general meeting, or at a number of other Samahang special events. Anyone who has been involved with Samahang can hopefully remember the loving sentiment that you felt while singing the theme song... from the first "Laaaaaaaa, la, la, la, la's" to the final "ONE FA - MI - LYYYYYY".
This reminds me of Cyn specifically because of the "and sisters" part of the lyrics. Whenever my sisters and I were part of the group, we would manage to find each other at least once or twice, just as everyone was singing, "and sisters". At that moment, as we swayed to the music, we would playfully point to each other while exchanging a silly look or smile, because... well... we were sisters.
I wonder now, whether other "Samahang siblings" shared the same little ritual. But I'm glad that we did, and that I have those moments as some of my loving memories of Cyn.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

thoughts of thoughtfulness

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

After our May 2nd blog entry, there was a lovely comment left by a current UCLA student named Melanie. Although she didn't even know Cyn, they were both members of UCLA Mortar Board, which led her to our blog. I was really touched by her kindness and thoughtfulness to want to learn a little about Cyn, and even more so by the fact that she took the time to leave a comment.

That's just like something Cyn would do, I said to myself. Leave a comment on a somewhat random blog about someone who is technically a stranger, because it was meaningful to you in some way... that is so Cyn.

Cyn epitomized the concept of random acts of kindness, a reflection of her thoughtfulness. I am certain that everyone who knew her would be able to share a story that talked about "this one time when Cyn did this one thing because I had accomplished something or was celebrating some occasion. I wasn't expecting it or may not have even deserved it, but she did it anyway."

Or you may possibly have a little bit of a different kind of story where Cyn did something for you just because, maybe out of the blue, or because she was thinking of you... sent you a card, brought you a snack, made something for you, discovered and purchased some obscure item and gave it to you because she knew it was perfect for you and that you just had to have it - not because of any recent achievement or personal milestone. Again, that is just so Cyn.

So thank you Melanie, for your thoughtful comment. And thank you Cyn for continuing to inspire me and so many of us to remember to be thoughtful towards one another, and to put that thoughtfulness into action. I think I'm going to try a little harder to do just that.