1/4/2018 2 Comments Just Another New Year PostWell, hello there! My fellow digital champion. I am writing this blog post while waiting for my plane, I still have 2 hours of waiting time and I thought, why not write a blog post? It’s been a while. In all ways, 2017 had become the toughest year I’ve ever had in my adolescent life. Although sometimes I’m not sure given the fact that every yearend, I feel like that year has been my worst. This year opened a lot of eyes, ears, arms and…uhm, never mind. My point is, I learned a lot about myself this year than all the years of my life combined. Just like anybody that is on the verge of this excruciating quarter life, it had led me to choices that would change my perspective in life forever (or at least, as long as I live). There were a lot of moments where I caught myself thinking, “Why am I doing this to myself? Why are they doing this to me? Why is this happening? What should happen?” I experienced a lot of mind-boggling, ass-humping, stupid crying and other things that did not make sense to me. But, here I am. Still holding on, still hustling and still living. Few days before every New Year’s Eve, gives off this “New Year, New Me” hype. When I was younger, I always thought that this is some cliché resolution that you just write about for your elementary composition writing, or post on social media. Now that I’ve had a taste of what the real world is, it doesn’t seem so cliché at all. Instead, it’s actually brave for someone that has gone a lot of stress, loneliness and pressure to still have high hopes in the chances that the New Year brings. Now, how can we make our years better and better each year? Well, here’s my take on it. Remember to love yourself. You are your own gem. You are one of a kind. You might come across someone in your life that thinks, talks, walks, even poops like you do (sorry about the last one), but there aren’t anybody else that has the same, magnificent cellular structure like you (okay that was too literal, but you get the point). Losing yourself should never be an option just for you to experience contentment. Happiness should come from your true self, not from any alter ego. And with this being said, loving yourself also means securing your heart, mind and body. Never allow somebody to give up your own principles just because they think you seek validation. Never stop learning. I’ve always believed that the moment you stopped trying, is the moment where your life ends. I’m not talking about occasional mundane things like trying to charge your phone even though there’s a blackout or something similar. What I am saying is, continue to learn things about your capacity, your weakness and strengths. 2017 was unbearably difficult for me. It made me feel like I am a magician in a vault, submerged in a large tank of water filled with serpents that I cannot escape. But, like I said, I never stopped trying to get around these kinds of obstacles. I learned how to bypass the vault from the inside like some super S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and fought my way out of the tank. And by the time that I got out, I saw a whole, new, different kind of world that I would love to explore and discover. Use your talents wisely. You may say things to yourself like, “I don’t have any talent.” Well, sure you do! There are two kinds of people that say those exact words in that exact order. One, that person knows that he/she has this incredible talent inside themselves, but is either too afraid to show it or too unconfident about it. And then there’s this other one, who claims, feels and thinks that they are no good because they can’t seem to do anything right, or worse – can’t seem to do anything at all. I hardly believe that there’s someone like that, everybody has something that they are really, really good at. It may take time for you to understand that it has always been inside you, but since a new year promises you with a new start, you might want to take your chances in re-discovering yourself. And for those people that has always known and used their talents, boast not about it. Make sure you use it fairly, and appropriately. Credits are bound to the creator. One step at a time. Here’s another would-be cliché phrase that I never thought of using. I grew up being a big dreamer; I never liked anything in minimal scale. I’ve always seen the bigger picture, and I thought it was the best version of me. Being the go-big-or-go-home kind of guy for many years, I never really realized that I was too hasty or too grandiose but never really getting anywhere. That moment hit me like a cruising train and I was caught up in the rail tracks. Even then, it did not push me enough to know what I am doing with my life. Until I lost almost everything that I had and was forced to reconstruct myself from scratch. I remember Finnick Odair’s line to Katniss Everdeen in "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins saying, “It takes ten times to build one’s self than it is to break.” Eventually, I learned how to slow things down, focused on short-term goals but never losing the long-term ones, taking every baby step forward. I’m still not far from where I used to be, but at least now I can say that I am really moving forward. One step at a time. Value the people that fuel you. Your life is just as good as how you treat the people that are good to you. There are a lot of things that you need to consider in this life, and one of them is Time. Some people say that time is just an illusion, but even so, it cannot hide its reality. Just like these days, before 2017, we were all hopeful that the year would bring us the happiness that we think we deserve, but we cannot control the tide of what is and what is not meant to happen. That’s why we need to value all the people that had made us happy, and even those who weren’t really that helpful to us during the past year. These are just some of the guidelines that I think would sum up all the necessary things that we need to do in life in order for us to achieve, not entirely perfect – but a better world to live in. Free of hate, disrespect and shallowness. And now, the same as to all of you, despite all the things that had happened in the past, I welcome 2018 with open arms and ready to take on the challenges that it brings.
Cheers to a better life, to a better year. -Bryan
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