Quarter-life Realizations

I started this blog entry last March 2018 to write about "25 Things I've Learned in 25 Years". But here I am, 4 days away from turning 26 and I'm still yet to complete this entry. I guess that's what 25 does to you right?

So here I am, the last day of 2018 trying to complete this list. This though isn’t meant to be some expert list, it’s just a reflection on the experiences I've had in my life so far. I do hope you’ll be able to relate to at least a few of these. So here they are:

1. Being a 25 year old is harder than you think. 10 years ago, I have always dreamt of being in the 20's so I could live my life independently. I used to say "I can't wait 'till I'm 24 so I could do anything I want to do without my parents telling me." Little did I know that being 25 is more complicated than I thought. You're in this age where you are too young to earn enough money and too old to be slacking around.

2. There will always be haters. No matter where you go, what you do or how much you give, there will always be people out there who loves to hate you. At this point in my life, I vowed to myself to brush off any negativity and non- constructive criticisms. You can't please everyone. It's your life. Live. your. own. life.

3. Do anything you want. And I mean, anything. When we were kids, we were always told to do what and what not to do. But as we grow older, we realize that life is too short to mind what people think of you and what decisions you make. You wanna go backpacking for three months? Go ahead do it. You want to move halfway across the world? Take that risk. Two years ago, I never imagined myself to be in California studying at the age of 25. But life does find itself its own way of surprising me. Thing is, the biggest thing between you and what you want is whatever lump of excuses you can stack up.

4. Every decision you make has an impact. You may think the decisions you make today doesn't matter right now, but trust me when I say it will be. Every decision we make affects our future. Today creates tomorrow.

5. Surround yourself with the best people. The ones who inspire you. You have to surround yourself with people that reflect who you want to be and how you want to feel as energies are contagious. You don't want to be hanging out with people who have negative outlooks in life. You know what they say, you are who you surround yourself with.

6. Reflect. Every decision in life requires a bit of a reflection (or in my case an intense research). When you're at this age, you really can't be impulsive all the time. Yes I did say you can do anything you want but not to the point where you put yourself in danger or hurt other people. You can be spontaneous at times but there are some instances where you really have to stop and reflect. Think of the consequences. Pros and cons. Seriously, reflect.

7. Be thankful. Always. If you're reading this right now, that means that you actually have a phone or laptop to actually check my website out. Which means that you're neither homeless nor starving. As a child, I never once worried about lack of food, water, shelter or love. My parents gave me everything and made sure I was never feeling neglected or abused. My parents sent me to exclusive private schools, sent me to school with a car, gave me allowances and everything else. Coming here in the US made me realize that not everyone has that kind of life. The older I get, the more I realize how crazily fortunate this makes me, this makes us.

8. Everything in life is temporary but have faith. First off, let's state the obvious. Your job, your emotions, your friends, your problems, they're not going to stay forever. As harsh and sad as it may sound, let me tell you that the friends you have right now might not talk to you in five years time. They might even forget about you. The problem you're stressing about now? Believe me, it will pass. See, I'm not trying to be negative here but we need to face the fact that change is constant. Everything changes. Sometimes you need to move on by letting go of the things(or people) that you won't need in the next chapter of your life. However, that's the beauty in life, love and relationships. No matter how constant change is, we must have courage to take risks and believe that some things could last forever. Have faith. You know what they say, what's meant to stay in your life will stay.

9. Be humble. Majority(not all) of people think they are superior than you.. and that's okay. That's just how the world is. But even then, most importantly then, that's when you need to be humble the most.

10. Love with all your heart. We tend to see love as a feeling directed toward another person. But that's not just it. One must remember that love is also a verb. For those of you who don't know,, I recently just got engaged to the love of my life. And in the process of wedding planning, I have come to realize that love is hard work and full of perseverance. I have come to know what loving your partner deeply and unconditionally really means. This is, we all need to constantly share love. Don't give up on it. Hold on to it and find the ability and courage within you to love in the face of uncertainty, and oriented toward the whole world. Love with all you heart.