Lesson Learned from Minesweeper

Life is like playing minesweeper.

Sometimes you are faced with situations where you don’t know what to do. It appears intimidating and you fear to commit a mistake for the result may be fatal.

Lesson Learned from Drowning

Photo Credit: Sandervanderveen on flickr.com

Life is like going for a swim. It's enjoyable and refreshing. But there are times that the water becomes too much for us to handle. Sometimes, the pool turns out to be deeper than we imagined. Upon realizing this, panic easily follows.

It's easier to just give in...to let the water pull us in effortlessly. Struggling for oxygen could be tiring. Exerting force against the water could be exhausting. It would take a determined mind to fight the inviting current of the pool…to resist being drowned.

Follow Your Destiny, Wherever It Leads You

A close friend who always takes time to share motivational messages sent this to me this morning. I think it is something worthy to share and spread. 

Before you read the poem, CLEAR your head, close your eyes, take a deep breath, relax your mind and body. Forget all your worries. Think about your dream, ambition... The ultimate desire that keeps you moving in life and which is also the source of your stress. But don't focus on the stress, concentrate your thoughts on how badly you want to attain your ambition. And read on...

Lesson Learned from Ascending A Staircase

Life is a lot like ascending a staircase, it will take you several steps to reach the top. There are people who would look up to you from lower levels but there will always be people above you too whom you look up to.

Humility is a necessity in ascending the stairs because you will never know when you will slip. And one false step may cause your fall. 

Be humble.

Between Sisters: For Chesca

Our sisterhood is neither perfect nor is it fairytale-like. Ours is as humorously chaotic as the endless cat and mouse chase of Tom and Jerry, and sometimes as dramatic as an episode of Walang Hanggan.

We are opposite as two individuals can be. We don’t always get along well because you hate it when I give orders and I hate it when you don’t obey. We argue because of senseless, trivial things and most of the time, only because no one wants to lose and we both desire to prove our superiority over the other. Despite all the differences, misunderstandings, and consequent squabbles, the bond between sisters remains undamaged. The good memories ALWAYS overshadow the negative ones. The ever-forgiving love of a sister, after all, is insurmountable by any mistake, mood swing, annoyance, and hurt.

Never Grow Up

I love Taylor Swift. She writes her songs from her own experiences and puts her heart into the lyrics. I feel them every time. The message of "Never Grow Up" (written by Taylor Swift from the album, Speak Now) hits home.

Your little hand's wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Dose of Optimism

The Heavenly Father had enlightened and empowered me today. He made me see my current situation in a different light – a more optimistic and enthusiastic perspective. Law school and the adjustment in terms of study habit that it entails had made me really lonely for the past week. Although I maintained a smiley outside facade, I was actually hopeless inside. I don’t know what exactly transpired. I just felt lighter. Perhaps, God carried the burden I was carrying on my behalf. He lifted my worries, and filled my heart with the Grace of His love.

The First Roadblock

Five days in law school and I already found myself crying in hopelessness. Right from the start, I knew that it would be hard. Before classes started, I tried to prepare myself emotionally. I actually thought that I succeeded. But obviously I didn't. This is the first challenge I faced in law school - winning the mind game. Law school tests the students' character and passion.

Fear: A Dreamer's Enemy

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself." This is one of my  favorite motivational statements of Paulo Coehlo. Indeed, our fear hinders us from doing or achieving certain things. Fear is all in our mind. Once we've learned to conquer our fear, we will discover that it is actually what was restraining us to achieve our full potential from the start.

A Just War?

Soil covered of blood. Dead bodies scattered everywhere. Destroyed buildings. Gun fires in the distance. Wailing ambulance. Weeping families. 

War brings many dreadful effects to humanity and society. Despite the negative impacts brought by wars, the world is not unanimous in its opinion of it. There are those who oppose war while another side believes that war is justifiable and for the good of mankind. Benjamin Franklin believed that “there has never been a good war or a bad peace.” In this sense, can we say that war can be tolerated if it resulted to peace?

The Real Essence of Education

"If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man's future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual's total development lags behind?" -Maria Montessori

Accounts of our very first day at school – we all have them. Most people, especially our parents, treasure this moment and they try to retell this over and over. The first-day experience varies from one person to another. My other siblings, according to our mom, did not want to be left behind at school. They shed buckets of tears just to convince our mom to stay until their class ends. For them, school was frightening because it was an unknown land, an unexplored environment, an unfamiliar world.

A Better Me to A Better Country

Back in 2009, I was awarded as one of the 10 Outstanding Expat Pinoy Children. The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), as part of its efforts to recognize the contribution of OFWs or Expat Pinoys, holds an annual search nationwide for 10 children with OFW parents who excel academically and hold leadership positions in school or in the community. Among the requirements to the said search is an essay citing the ways that one can be an instrument of nation-building. Below is the essay I submitted:

Confucius once said, “To put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.” I think the most remarkable contribution I can give to our nation as a child of an Overseas Filipino Worker is to improve myself and become an asset to the country.  I can do this by becoming a conscientious student, a considerate sibling, a respectful daughter, an upright citizen, and a God-fearing Christian.

Comfort Zone

I must let go. I've been holding myself for too long. It is difficult for me to leave my comfort zone and take risks. This attitude is greatly influenced by my closest friends in school who possess the same. They are part of my comfort zone. I don't try to mingle with other people and join other organizations because I already have them. I never go to a place without one of them as a companion. We support each other as a group but at the same time pull each other to be stagnant (even if we don't intend to).

Identity is A Big Deal (Lesson Learned in Mae Sot, Thailand)

Value your identity because many have lost theirs and are struggling to the point of death just to preserve the little identity they have. This is what I learned from illegal Burmese migrants I met in Mae Sot.

Mae Sot is a province of Thailand that is commonly called as the "Little Burma" since it's where most Burmese sought refuge when they flee Myanmar  to escape from danger (Burma is the old name of Myanmar). Some Burmese refugees and migrants who grew up in Mae Sot lost contact with their families and relatives. They are not considered citizens of Myanmar nor of Thailand. They are stateless individuals.

Lesson Learned in Myanmar

Just because you don't get credit for what you do, doesn't mean you stop doing it.

In Myanmar, my friends and I had the opportunity to meet and talk to residents who carve statues and figurines for a living. They were a group of four or five men.

This group of men transforms the wood into something beautiful, something with a face. They give life to the wood.

You know, what was sad about their story?