24 Random Thoughts/Realizations/Epiphany Episodes of a Freshly Turned 24-Year-Old
Yeah. I'm the freshly turned 24-year-old.
This is the longest list I'm gonna blog to date so I'm gonna get right on to it.
1. Turning 24 was not really as terrifying as I expected.
Honestly, it totally felt just like my previous birthdays only this year, there was a really bigass party that took me three consecutive pitchers of water, five hours of trying to remember what happened, and two generous slices of cake to recover from. IT WAS AWESOME.
2. I should really go easy on mixing my drinks.
Like I said, it took me five hours trying to figure out what I said and did the night of my birthday party. And all my efforts were in vain. At this point, my friends are all I can count on to tell a detailed account of my wasted birthday party adventures.
3. When a guy summons the balls to tell me he loves me, I really shouldn't laugh like a retard.
I'm one of those cowards who laugh when someone special drops the L bomb on them. I'm not really sure if that's a side effect of watching too much chick flicks or reading too much chick lit but whatever. Now that I'm somewhat mature (and sober), I would like to tell myself to suck it up and react to the L bomb like a model citizen. It takes a lot of courage for a guy to own up to his feelings. The least I can do is respond honestly. If I feel the same way, I should tell him. If I don't, I should tell him just the same and not try soothing the burnt areas with menthol-coated promises. The point is letting the other person know the truth, be it sweet or painful, and that's what's important. That's enough said.
4. I should never work under pressure ever again.
I especially want to tell myself this because I take pride on being able to work under pressure. But looking back, I realized that if I had worked on the things I did in the past with ample time and zero pressure, I would've produced kickass outputs. Working under pressure only produces well orchestrated mediocrity. This madness has to stop now.
5. I should give myself enough credit.
I have confidence issues which I'm sure many people would find very hard to believe. I'm no confidence geyser; I'm just a very good actress. But then I realized that sometimes, I tend to focus more on the potential bad outcomes. I always worry which now I perceive to be pointless since it really doesn't change anything. This is another madness that has to stop. I'm awesome and I should start believing it.
6. There are more fishes in the sea indeed.
I have yet to find the fish that will steal my attention and affection from all the other fishes. *wink*
7. Assuming is dangerous to my mental health.
In short, I shouldn't assume unless otherwise stated or I'd suffer the heart-shattering, gut-wrenching consequences.
8. Unless I'm a hot tattooed man who has a secret life of being a hitman or a gangster, I shouldn't wear sunglasses at night.
Or I'll just totally look ridiculous on top of unintentionally hurting myself while trying to cross the street or something. This is based on a true story. Please wait until I'm out of earshot before you laugh like a hyena. Thank you.
9. There's a reason why coffee is legal.
It's technically a drug that helps people to stay sane and productive. It has minimal harmful side effects and cheap. Let's all take a moment and give thanks for this colossal blessing.
10. I should start owning up to my feelings.
And with that being said, I promise to practice expressing my feelings properly. And when I said properly, I meant without being drunk or high. Maybe that way people would take me more seriously.
11. Everybody lies.
It doesn't matter if that person is related to me by blood or bond. At one point in my life, I would get lied to, both to my face and behind my back. I should just accept the fact that the only person I can trust with anything at all is God.
12. Not everyone has a hidden agenda.
It takes one heartbreaking story and a thousand more heartbreaks for one to realize this. I've lived 24 years and I've had my fair share of heartbreaks. I realized that just because one person had the guts to hurt me doesn't mean others do and will. While everyone lies as part of human nature, I should keep in mind that there are still good people out there. They may break my heart like the others did but they'd be worth the pain. That's what relationships are all about. It's not always rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns. Sometimes, it's plain Texas chainsaw massacre.
13. Life is lived forward and understood backward.
Like my old man always said, the only way to test the water is to get the hell in it. You can either sink or swim from there. I'm a big complainer and to make that even worse, I complain before even trying to do anything. Most of the time, I'm governed by fear which is funny for someone like me who has the size of two average teenage Filipinos put together. Now that I'm choosing to see things from a different light, I realized that fearing stuff is as pointless as worrying about them.
14. Time is the most priceless thing in the world.
Need I say more?
15. Sometimes, the things you do for others for no reason and reciprocation are the things that make them remember you.
I love doing things for people and my mom often throws a fit about it. She goes all Joker on me from The Dark Knight saying, "When you're good at something, never do it for free." I'm not really a walking charity for everything; I just think that it's only fair to demand "talent fees" from people who have the capacity to pay. As for those who don't, their appreciation is enough for me. God will do the rest.
16. Commuting isn't that bad after all.
I used to loathe commuting—the pollution, the noise, the people and most of all, the filth. The city is just so frickin' dirty that the first thing I always do when I get home is drench myself with soapy water. After years of commuting (and hating it), I realized that it's all about perception. Commuting allowed me to see the world from many different angles and those angles taught me to steer my mind which is sort of a requirement for a writer. Being exposed to the filth of the world helped me grow and get better. And right now, I'm starting to feel weird about my sudden profoundness. Let's move on.
17. People will always have something to say. I might as well do what I think is right.
Miley Cyrus was right about God being the only one who could judge people. In the end, it's between me and Him. It's really time to not give a rat's ass about the opinion of those who don't have a special spot in my life.
18. I haven't read enough.
As evidenced by the unread books on my shelf. I should put more time into reading. It's the only way I could live a thousand different lives in a thousand different worlds. Cheapest vacation I could ever get.
19. Only losers hold grudges.
Truth be told, none of us is deserving of forgiveness. The only reason why we're forgiven is that the person we've wronged deserves peace. Grudge holding is a one-way ticket to misery. At the end of the day, forgiving isn't about making the people who have wronged us feel like they're worthy of our kindness; it's about allowing ourselves to be free of negativity.
20. The things I failed to do will haunt me more than those I did.
In other words, YOLO.
21. I should consider going back to teaching.
When I was in the profession, a colleague of mine told me that I sucked in the eyes of the admin but I was the best in the eyes of my students. I didn't believe that at first because in a way, I failed my students by being a lousy employee. I made them lose a lot of times when I lost myself on the job. But looking back at all those years when my students dropped by my house and told me stories about how sucky school was long after I'm over the role of being their teacher, I can't help smiling to myself. "Sobrang mahal ka ng mga batang yun," a friend of mine told me after seeing how my former students are when they're with me. God is on to something. I can feel it.
22. I should start drinking a lot of water.
This I should've done a long time ago.
23. Bad vice is an insatiable motherfucker.
It took me three years and a bad experience to realize this. I should start having the good ones.
24. Life is what I make it.
Again, it's all about perception. From now on, I'd avoid crossing to the Dark Side of the Force.
I still can't believe I just turned 24.
Well, gotta go.
This is the longest list I'm gonna blog to date so I'm gonna get right on to it.
1. Turning 24 was not really as terrifying as I expected.
Honestly, it totally felt just like my previous birthdays only this year, there was a really bigass party that took me three consecutive pitchers of water, five hours of trying to remember what happened, and two generous slices of cake to recover from. IT WAS AWESOME.
2. I should really go easy on mixing my drinks.
Like I said, it took me five hours trying to figure out what I said and did the night of my birthday party. And all my efforts were in vain. At this point, my friends are all I can count on to tell a detailed account of my wasted birthday party adventures.
3. When a guy summons the balls to tell me he loves me, I really shouldn't laugh like a retard.
I'm one of those cowards who laugh when someone special drops the L bomb on them. I'm not really sure if that's a side effect of watching too much chick flicks or reading too much chick lit but whatever. Now that I'm somewhat mature (and sober), I would like to tell myself to suck it up and react to the L bomb like a model citizen. It takes a lot of courage for a guy to own up to his feelings. The least I can do is respond honestly. If I feel the same way, I should tell him. If I don't, I should tell him just the same and not try soothing the burnt areas with menthol-coated promises. The point is letting the other person know the truth, be it sweet or painful, and that's what's important. That's enough said.
4. I should never work under pressure ever again.
I especially want to tell myself this because I take pride on being able to work under pressure. But looking back, I realized that if I had worked on the things I did in the past with ample time and zero pressure, I would've produced kickass outputs. Working under pressure only produces well orchestrated mediocrity. This madness has to stop now.
5. I should give myself enough credit.
I have confidence issues which I'm sure many people would find very hard to believe. I'm no confidence geyser; I'm just a very good actress. But then I realized that sometimes, I tend to focus more on the potential bad outcomes. I always worry which now I perceive to be pointless since it really doesn't change anything. This is another madness that has to stop. I'm awesome and I should start believing it.
6. There are more fishes in the sea indeed.
I have yet to find the fish that will steal my attention and affection from all the other fishes. *wink*
7. Assuming is dangerous to my mental health.
In short, I shouldn't assume unless otherwise stated or I'd suffer the heart-shattering, gut-wrenching consequences.
8. Unless I'm a hot tattooed man who has a secret life of being a hitman or a gangster, I shouldn't wear sunglasses at night.
Or I'll just totally look ridiculous on top of unintentionally hurting myself while trying to cross the street or something. This is based on a true story. Please wait until I'm out of earshot before you laugh like a hyena. Thank you.
9. There's a reason why coffee is legal.
It's technically a drug that helps people to stay sane and productive. It has minimal harmful side effects and cheap. Let's all take a moment and give thanks for this colossal blessing.
10. I should start owning up to my feelings.
And with that being said, I promise to practice expressing my feelings properly. And when I said properly, I meant without being drunk or high. Maybe that way people would take me more seriously.
11. Everybody lies.
It doesn't matter if that person is related to me by blood or bond. At one point in my life, I would get lied to, both to my face and behind my back. I should just accept the fact that the only person I can trust with anything at all is God.
12. Not everyone has a hidden agenda.
It takes one heartbreaking story and a thousand more heartbreaks for one to realize this. I've lived 24 years and I've had my fair share of heartbreaks. I realized that just because one person had the guts to hurt me doesn't mean others do and will. While everyone lies as part of human nature, I should keep in mind that there are still good people out there. They may break my heart like the others did but they'd be worth the pain. That's what relationships are all about. It's not always rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns. Sometimes, it's plain Texas chainsaw massacre.
13. Life is lived forward and understood backward.
Like my old man always said, the only way to test the water is to get the hell in it. You can either sink or swim from there. I'm a big complainer and to make that even worse, I complain before even trying to do anything. Most of the time, I'm governed by fear which is funny for someone like me who has the size of two average teenage Filipinos put together. Now that I'm choosing to see things from a different light, I realized that fearing stuff is as pointless as worrying about them.
14. Time is the most priceless thing in the world.
Need I say more?
15. Sometimes, the things you do for others for no reason and reciprocation are the things that make them remember you.
I love doing things for people and my mom often throws a fit about it. She goes all Joker on me from The Dark Knight saying, "When you're good at something, never do it for free." I'm not really a walking charity for everything; I just think that it's only fair to demand "talent fees" from people who have the capacity to pay. As for those who don't, their appreciation is enough for me. God will do the rest.
16. Commuting isn't that bad after all.
I used to loathe commuting—the pollution, the noise, the people and most of all, the filth. The city is just so frickin' dirty that the first thing I always do when I get home is drench myself with soapy water. After years of commuting (and hating it), I realized that it's all about perception. Commuting allowed me to see the world from many different angles and those angles taught me to steer my mind which is sort of a requirement for a writer. Being exposed to the filth of the world helped me grow and get better. And right now, I'm starting to feel weird about my sudden profoundness. Let's move on.
17. People will always have something to say. I might as well do what I think is right.
Miley Cyrus was right about God being the only one who could judge people. In the end, it's between me and Him. It's really time to not give a rat's ass about the opinion of those who don't have a special spot in my life.
18. I haven't read enough.
As evidenced by the unread books on my shelf. I should put more time into reading. It's the only way I could live a thousand different lives in a thousand different worlds. Cheapest vacation I could ever get.
19. Only losers hold grudges.
Truth be told, none of us is deserving of forgiveness. The only reason why we're forgiven is that the person we've wronged deserves peace. Grudge holding is a one-way ticket to misery. At the end of the day, forgiving isn't about making the people who have wronged us feel like they're worthy of our kindness; it's about allowing ourselves to be free of negativity.
20. The things I failed to do will haunt me more than those I did.
In other words, YOLO.
21. I should consider going back to teaching.
When I was in the profession, a colleague of mine told me that I sucked in the eyes of the admin but I was the best in the eyes of my students. I didn't believe that at first because in a way, I failed my students by being a lousy employee. I made them lose a lot of times when I lost myself on the job. But looking back at all those years when my students dropped by my house and told me stories about how sucky school was long after I'm over the role of being their teacher, I can't help smiling to myself. "Sobrang mahal ka ng mga batang yun," a friend of mine told me after seeing how my former students are when they're with me. God is on to something. I can feel it.
22. I should start drinking a lot of water.
This I should've done a long time ago.
23. Bad vice is an insatiable motherfucker.
It took me three years and a bad experience to realize this. I should start having the good ones.
24. Life is what I make it.
Again, it's all about perception. From now on, I'd avoid crossing to the Dark Side of the Force.
I still can't believe I just turned 24.
Well, gotta go.
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