On living within one's means

April 30 entry

Jori and I have been talking about how we both don’t know how to live within our means. The Ateneo Human Rights Center gave us P2000/week as allowance for our basic living expenses, and yet there were days when we spend over a thousand bucks. Thank you, extra allowance from parents. Haha! We both agreed, though, that we should both learn to live within our means. We’re both used to spending more than what was given to us as allowance for the internship. But then again, that’s because the allowance from HR is really just to cover basic living expenses. Hahaha, those who know me and/or Jori would agree that our “basic” necessities are not so basic, after all.

But I must say, I’m also quite proud of us. We regularly eat in carinderias. We walk daily to and from work. And we’re really trying our best to save. Maybe we spent too much on the first week because we were still trying to adjust to a new environment, and we had to buy quite a number of other things we need. I’m hoping that in the days to come, we’d be able to spend less.

I suppose that aside from learning more about the law and the situation of the CICL’s and trying to be of help in any way we can, this internship is also an opportunity for us to learn how to live simple lives. To not be bratty. To get out of our comfort zones. To be more independent. To learn how to deal with situations we are not used to. To grow.

I’m hoping that the money I asked from my parents yesterday would be the last that I’ll ask until next sem. And yes, I am claiming that I’m still going to be a law student next sem ^_^