new year part twenty-five


I can’t actually believe that 12 months have passed already. There have been a lot of changes in my 24th year. Mostly it was a fun year, one I am proud of. Here are some of the nuggets!

1 | GIVING UP ON MY ART IS NOT AN OPTION

Yes, it may not generate me a lot of money, or yes, I wonder every now and then why I’m doing it, when I would end it, ask myself when I’ll stop, or even wonder if anybody cares cos sometimes the thought that I’m just wasting time strikes me like a sharp back pain. I guess I got tired of these thoughts. So one day, the idea of doing a project called Life Inside The City zinged at me and I just keep at it. I sacrifice my non-alarm weekends for it, hash out money for it, fit my schedule around it. Yes, I may not have peaked this year, or even in the next, or 10 years from now, but I’ll keep at it. I know you know why... Because I just can’t live without doing it. Because giving up is not an option. Because it makes me ridiculously, stress-buster-ingly, madly-in-love happy. As simple as it is.

2 | BEING BRAVE TAKES PRACTICE

One of my biggest adventures this year is my solo travel in Cagbalete. It was a one-of-a-kind decision I’ll forever be grateful for. It was a communion with Jesus and myself that brought me out of city chaos into a safe house of strength and encouragement. Being a girl travelling alone is not easy, and it takes Jesus to be brave and to make the right choices. When’s the next adventure? Hold on to your seats!

3 | LETTING GO OF PEOPLE IS A LOT OF LEARNING

I’ve learned that it’s really up to me. That if there’s this nagging feeling, I need to do it. Nobody’s allowed to judge, I owe no one an explanation. If letting go means launching myself into a better me and a better place, there’s really not much to say.

4 | PRAY, LAUGH OFTEN, AND MOISTURIZE

The antidote to stress itself. If it's just too much, I usually put my earphones on, close the lights, and dance. Nothing beats that!

5 | WRITE, WRITE FOR MYSELF

There’s something magical in writing just for me. It’s calming, and it makes me organize. It gets what’s in the deep out to surface. It makes me understand, makes me somehow whole. It makes me ready for whatever it is outside that needs to be done.

6 | KEEP ON DREAMING THE MANY DREAMS

There’s no limit in dreaming, true. But I’ve learned that there’s such a thing as choices and narrowing them down. Ranking them is a good idea, but I learned to allow myself to dream as much as I can. Dreams need faith, many dreams need it, and faith is believing things you just can’t see with your own eyes yet. So I'll keep at it. At least if one fails, I have many more.

7 | BEING GRATEFUL, ALWAYS

Being grateful does not need any specific celebration nor any specific time, really. I learned that despite troubles, we can always look for something to be grateful for. For being alive, for having complete sets of limbs and organs, for winning the race and fertilizing my mama’s egg (haha I just realized I was a sperm once). It’s all a matter of perspective. It’s all a matter of looking to the goodness and kindness and not letting the circumstance get the best of us.

Cheers to a new year!


*Shot these earlier against fatigue. Went to the hospital afterwards. Reviewed the shots when I got home. Got eye booger. Rocks.

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