Taken during the CCF Retreat with Imagine Nation people back in 2009, right after Batch 4 got accepted as apprentices 🙂
(Thank you Jamie Lihan for the photos)
In celebration of Imagine Nation’s 10th anniversary, I’m reposting an entry I wrote in my old blog, right after I found out I got accepted as part of the Batch 4 apprentices more than 4 (!) years ago. I’ve already reposted this before, when I was getting all mushy after leaving the studio for good. I find it apt to post it again (with a few minor edits). As much as I want to, I couldn’t edit out the giddiness. Hehe.
During the 10th year anniv party/reunion last August 30, 2013, I realized how much influence Imagine Nation had – and still has – in my life. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today in my photography career and in my life if it weren’t for Imagine Nation. More thoughts on this in my next entry. 🙂 For now, here is the entry, with an excerpt from Sir Jong’s old blog:
Friday, February 27, 2009
Lifted from Sir Jong’s Multiply (*way back when Multiply reigned supreme among the social networking sites. Hehe):
“Yesterday, the Batch 4 of Imagine Nation finally met for the 1st time. I really had a hard time selecting the 12 from the 72 people who confirmed that they wanted to join. They are: Benjie Tiongco, Dennis Garcia, Jaja Samaniego, Joseph Cruz, Lai de Guzman, Lianne Bacorro, Maritess Rimmer, Mary Ann Sy, Paul Vargas, Rigette Gutierrez, Tim Serrano & Zeus Martinez.
So today we start off day 1 of our Purpose Driven Life.
Whats truly amazing & something worth sharing is my reading today in Exodus 33. A little backgrounder on this chapter. Moses was up in Mt Sanai talking to God about the 10 commandments, after 40 days of being gone, people get impatient and worship a golden calf molded by Aaron. So Moses goes down and in his anger smashes the 2 tablets at the foot of the mountain. God wanted to kill the Israelites but Moses intercedes. So instead, Moses asks the Israelites for their commitment and orders those who could not commit killed.
Moses prays to the Lord in verse 13 “If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this NATION is your very own people”
With all the things thats happening to us… i can say that God gives me special favor. For someone who is totally undeserving to receive all these perks in life and lead such a great bunch of people i always feel that God’s presence is nearby. However, sometimes God doesnt reaveal to me his will and i get confused. Sometimes i try hard to listen but he just seems silent… Example is “whether i should continue on with the Galleria office or just concentrate on Oasis”. and i like how the verse ended with remember this Nation is your very own people cause trully God owns Imagine NATION.”
So *Yay!* i’m now an apprentice for Imagine Nation! But this is only the beginning. i have to attend ALL the meetings and comply with all the requirements in order to truly qualify for the two year apprenticeship program.
Caveat: this post is going to be long. I think there’s no other way to write this.
I first found out about the wedding photography team, Imagine Nation, through a friend. I’ve also seen their booth in bridal fairs (which I used to frequent). While randomly net surfing one time, i discovered that Imagine Nation holds apprenticeship programs for aspiring wedding photographers. I read about the program, and it seemed ideal for my sched since they won’t require you to quit your day job. And you don’t need to be an experienced photographer to join. As per the blog/s i found, the last time they took in apprentices was in March 2008. i felt bad that i missed the opportunity, especially since I had a lot of free time then while waiting for the bar results. So i immediately sent Sir John Ong a pm in Multiply, asking him when’s the next apprenticeship. He didn’t reply, but he added me as a contact.
A few weeks later, Sir Jong posted an entry announcing that Imagine Nation is once again accepting apprentices. He listed the qualifications/terms. Seeing that i possessed all the qualifications for an applicant (i.e., i’m under thirty, i can attend the Tuesday evening meetings, etc.), I immediately sent him a message showing my interest. We need to have a dedicated flash though, so I told him I’m buying one soon (and so I bought a Nikon SB-900 at the Photoworld Asia expo even before I was accepted. Hehe). Right before the orientation, Sir Jong sent me an e-mail saying that there were 92 applicants in all, and they’re only taking in a maximum of 12. I was expecting that there would be around 50 applicants at the most, i didn’t expect there would be almost a hundred applicants. Given the number of aspiring photographers these days (I swear, EVERYONE has a digital SLR), I shouldn’t have been surprised with the turnout. I felt a bit disheartened that time, but I still decided to join the orientation.
At the orientation, only 84 applicants arrived. At least that slightly (and insignificantly) increased my chances of getting in. 😛 But I knew the competition was going to be tight. The tough part was, we had no idea what the criteria was! Apart from the minimum qualifications, they didn’t inform us how they’re going to rate us or how they’re going to gauge our chances of getting in. We weren’t asked to submit any resume or portfolio. After the team presented their mission/vision and ideals at the orientation, I discovered that Imagine Nation offers so much more than photography services. It actually gives spiritual guidance to soon-to-be couples through seminars. And that made me want to join their group even more. But right after the orientation, I wasn’t feeling very hopeful. As I said, there were 80+ other people who presumably wanted to join the team as much as I did. Second, I started to get feelings of self-inadequacy. More than not getting in, I was worried of being accepted and not being able to meet the team’s expectations. (I think I completely lost my confidence shortly after I entered law school. Hehe). To add to that, I’ve been so confused about some major important things lately, career-wise. But during my quiet time, after the orientation, I came across John 14:12-14: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the father”. and Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” And at that time, I realized that I should stop focusing on my own faults/weaknesses and start focusing on what God can do through me.
The results of the apprenticeship were supposed to come out on Feb. 20, Friday. I kept on checking my e-mail to see whether the results are out. I didn’t receive anything. The next day, I was still hoping that they haven’t come up with the final list yet. Still, no e-mail. So I followed it up with Sir Jong and asked him if they’ve released the shortlist already. Still getting no reply, I just assumed the worst. Monday came, and I received an e-mail from Sir Jong telling me that they haven’t released the results yet, but they’re hoping to post the list within the day. I felt a bit hopeful again, although at that time I was too stressed to think about it. I was busy preparing a pleading due the next day. In the midst of all the stress at the office, I suddenly received a text message from Sir Jong telling me that I made it to the list! At that time, I thought they accepted half of the applicants, and that they’ll screen the group further until there are only 12 apprentices (or less). I even joked that they probably just trimmed the list down to 80 from 84. Hehe. So I was so surprised to see only 11 other people at the first meeting last Tuesday. Wow. There were 12 of us out of 72. That’s 16% – even lower than the bar exams passing rate last year. Haha.
I still don’t know why I was chosen to be part of the team, but I know I should be thankful for this opportunity. The results are just overwhelming. I’ve been praying about this everyday since i found out about the program. Siguro nakulitan lang sa’kin si God. Hehe. To the people I’ve been pestering for the past several months to pray for me, thanks so much. I hope i can use this opportunity to serve God and be a blessing to others. 😀
