
It happened the day of my freshman orientation in Ateneo. I was fresh out of high school from the “province” of Davao, and it was that precise moment—lining up with a sea of then unknown batchmates outside the Ateneo covered courts for our freshman orientation, scared shitless because Manila seemed so freakin’ daunting—that I met my good friend Haidee “Haidz” Hsu.
I was alternating between looking lost and pretending like freshman orientation was something I did everyday (read: I looked lost anyway) when I heard the person in front of me say the magic word: “Block P4”. I looked at my registration form and true enough, the cheerful Chinese girl talking nonstop in front of me was apparently going to be my blockmate. Relieved to have somebody to finally talk to, I quickly tapped her shoulder, introduced myself, and told her we belonged to the same block. And Haidz, sporting that goofy grin of hers, turned her attention to me, chatted me up all the way to our designated area in the covered courts, and without her realizing it, had rescued me from ORSEM hell. Suddenly, Manila did not seem so daunting with my new friend with me. :)
Haidz and I instantly bonded—she was the type of person you automatically warmed up to because she had such a light aura, so full of good, joyful energy that you can’t help but feel happy in her presence. She was somebody who would reach out to a stranger, and with no holds barred, make you a part of her life without you even having to ask for it. And she was the only one who could get away with calling me Trishipoo. Haha.
Haidz, I immediately learned, loved to eat. In fact, food was a non-negotiable every time we hung out. I remember meeting up with her when she was working for Ateneo Professional Schools along Dela Costa street and she took me to the original New Bombay in Makati, where we feasted on shrimp masala, lamb curry and cheese naan. There would be a looong list of restaurants we would later try.

Haidz also loved reaching out to people. Even when we were both too busy with our accounting and finance exams in college, not to mention our entrepreneurship project (our version of the usual college thesis), she would still find time to be active in all the orgs she was a member of, especially Kythe, and she had all the time in the world when it came to her friends. She was the type of person, whom once you met, will be a constant presence in your life. While some college friends remain just that, college friends, my friendship with Haidz continued even beyond our years in Ateneo. She saw me go through one phase of my life to the next, always listening (over a delicious meal, of course!) to my rants and raves, always telling me the words I needed to hear. She was the type of friend who would tell it to you straight.
In 2007, Haidz, without her knowing it again, saved me from quarter life crisis hell. I had just resigned from my first PR job and was in a state of limbo. I went online one day on YM and Haidz buzzed me, told me about this new restaurant she discovered and wanted me to try, and we updated each other about what was happening in our respective lives.
She told me she had just finished taking LEAP, a leadership empowering program. It was probably the happiest I’ve seen her. And that’s saying a lot because Haidz always seemed happy! She told me all about the program and because I saw how much of an impact it made on her, told her I wanted to try it, too. She took me with her to an orientation (I didn’t know we were going to an orientation, btw; she asked if we could drop by her friend’s place before heading out for coffee) and just like that, my life changed for the better.
I had all my questions answered; made the most important breakthroughs in my life; met the most awesome people—friends like Haidz who would do the craziest things for me, no questions asked; finally had the courage and strength to go after my dream to be a writer; and I even found myself in a relationship. And even though I know these changes were a result of my choices, Haidz was an instrumental part of all that.
She was one of the few people who reached out when I was at my lowest. Meeting her would always be one of the best gifts of my life. She was such a joy to be with, such a vibrant presence, and boy did she know how to love!
Last Thursday morning, the day before my much-anticipated trip to Singapore to watch Wicked, I woke up to the most awful news. Haidz, my good friend, had died at the young age of 28. She had been a victim of a hold-up along with her brother. The two were on their way home after closing shop, and just a few meters away from their home, came across four gunmen. She was shot and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
You know how people say they felt their world had stopped? That was exactly how I felt when I learned the news.
This weekend, I finally watched Wicked and the moment I heard the song, “For Good,” I knew I was a goner. As they say in OCCI, “Ugly cry na ito.” My thoughts immediately drifted toward Haidz, and true enough, I cried buckets because, more than anybody I know, she embodied that song. Never did I feel the importance of these lyrics the way I do now.
I’ve heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true
But I know I’m who I am today
Because I knew you
Hay Haidee Hsu. I love you and I will miss you every day. Thank you for bringing love, joy and happiness into our lives. You have touched countless of people with your vibrant energy and that goofy grin of yours. You are THE GIFT. And while I know there are no words to express how devastated we all are to see you go, we take comfort in the fact that your life, no matter how short, was a life well lived. A life lived to the fullest. No holds barred.

And in the end, it’s not the years of your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
Rest in peace, my dear friend. <3



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