30 thoughts when I turned 30

Writing was my first love. It has been my outlet. It feels rewarding. It feels empowering.

I write when skies started to darken. I write when the surrounding gets gloomy. I write when my heart gets heavy. I do not know but when I'm sad, that becomes a perfect time to ink my thoughts. With writing, I could release tension, fears and frustrations. Every word I write is every plate I want to throw and crash on the wall. Every paragraph I write is every step I must take forward. Every title I write is every drop of tear I needed to shed. Every article I write is every thought I had to shout. Every page I consumed is every person I had to let go and forget.😊

Today, I will be sharing my personal thoughts as I keep on journeying and learning with life.

Below are random pictures I took everywhere I go which I used to be captioned by these running thoughts in my head.

LET'S BEGIN!

✍️ LIFE IS A GIFT. Life isn't complicated. It isn't unfair. It isn't a never-ending struggle. It isn't a prison. It isn't a misfortune. It doesn't torture us. It doesn't deprive us happiness. It isn't a competition of who's better and happier. Life is simple. It is light and easy. It is beautiful. Life is magic. Life is a gift. It is the way we react and perceive things that has to change.

_{@ The Ruins}

✍️ IT'S OKAY. It is okay to feel lost and tired. It is okay to cry,frown, get mad and worry. It is okay to think a lot of things at a time. It is completely okay to be vulnerable and weak. What is not okay is when you give up on yourself.

_{@ Bermuda Beach}

✍️ WE HAVE TO LIVE. We shouldn't be pressuring ourselves with the things beyond our control. We shouldn't be overlooking things and realized too late that they matter. We shouldn't be on top all the time. We just have to exist. We just have to live.

_{@ Bermuda Beach}

✍️ YOU ARE BRAVE. With all that has been happening, you managed to survive and to stand on your own feet. Leaving things and people behind are not for the weak. You are brave because you give chances and you take risks in order to be happy.

_{In the neighborhood}

✍️ WE DESERVE TO BE HAPPIER. We all deserve to unload those burdens which keep us from walking forward, those nightmares which didn't allow us to sleep peacefully at night, those pains which flame inner fear and self-doubt. We have to stop resuscitating dying promises. We have to pour the forgiveness that we long deprive ourselves with, breathe new life and glow with new and genuine love.

_{In one of the milk tea stores I have visited.}

✍️ TAKE THINGS ONE AT A TIME. I know the pressure that you are dealing right now. The uncertainties of the future. The kind of person and future you want to be held accountable for. The plans you want to realize. The passion you want to pursue. The place you want to see. The culture you want to discover and experience. The family you want to build. The timeline you set and chase. But you don't have to rush things. Take it one step at a time. Slowly but definitely, surely.

_{@ Bayer's Cafe}

✍️ STILL YOUNG. Hey, look. You are still young. Do not be too occupied of the standards set by the world. Do not get too paranoid of the unnecessary noises outside. Do things one at a time and learn to enjoy. You cannot bring back a lost second spent on pressure and worries.

_{@ Goldilock's store}

✍️ CELEBRATE SMALL SUCCESS. Recognize small victories- may it be losing several pounds in a week, learning how to ride a bike or cook your favorite dish, making it on time for work, or just surviving another day. You don't have to be always on top seizing that roaring applause. You just have to live and exist everyday. Learn to appreciate life with its complexities.

_{@ Dumaguete City}

✍️ KEEP GOING. No matter how life makes you struggle, how difficult the way is, how uncertain the future is, you have to keep going. Something worthwhile is reserved to those who give a good fight.

_{@ Bogo City Hall}

✍️ GOD'S BLESSINGS. We had been through a lot. We were challenged by the twists and turns of fate. We hit the lowest mark in life we could ever imagine. People left, some judged, others laughed. We were held down, left as orphan-----rejected, unnoticed, invisible in their senses---but because of God's constant presence and overflowing blessings, we were able to rise above the ashes.

_{In the neighborhood}

✍️ EVERYTHING IS TEMPORARY. Things and people around us are temporary. Hence, we should learn and master the process of letting go. It might be difficult but you will always gain more by losing.

_{Near Sidlak Danao}

✍️ CHOOSING BATTLES WISELY. As we mature, we know the value of choosing our battles. Not all noises of the world deserve our time and energy. As much as we can, we have to protect our inner peace than engage in drama and explain ourselves to others.

_{@ Cebu Saffari}

✍️ DON'T EXPECT. You just can't expect people to do the same as you did because technically, not all people are like you. However, don't you ever change. You'll get paid for the goodness of your heart.

_{@ Sebu Cha}

✍️ IT'S A WIN. Scars are proof that you've won, survived and stood tall in life's arena. You've managed to gain victories to certain silent battles inside. You've healed your deepest wounds with the aid of the ticking of the clock. You were once empty, alone and wounded but look at you now- dazzling and brave. Your scars made your heart even more beautiful.

_{@ Pantaland sa Bogo}

✍️ THE ONE. May we find that someone who stays despite the battles we can't fight, the problems we can't solve, the mistakes we can't forget and the wounds we can't heal. May we find that someone who validates our pain and suffering, someone who understands our silent tears, someone who always chooses us, despite how messy we are inside.

_{@ Asturias, Cebu}

✍️ ALONE. We fear being alone---eating alone, going to places alone, sleeping alone and growing old alone. But being alone is far way better than being with people who let you face your struggles alone. There's so much bravery and peace being a solo person.

_{In my own backyard}

✍️ SIMPLICITY. In the end---we just want the calm. We no longer need extravagance and grand. The noise of the world is too much. We crave for silence. We just want to rest our hearts . It is so tiring pleasing the world.

_{In the school premises}

✍️ BE KIND TO YOURSELF. Forgive yourself for the wrong decisions and poor choices you have made. Forgive yourself for the time wasted on fleeting love and insignificant people. Take them as lessons. This time, you know better.

_{In one of the coffee shops I visited in the city}

✍️ BE CAREFUL. You just can't take back that easy what you have already lost so be careful who you are letting go.

_{Hanging Bridge at Salag, Tabogon}

✍️ BE REAL. How perfect do you have to be before you will be appreciated? The answer is---you don't have to be perfect. You just have to be real.

_{On my way to school}

✍️ BE BRAVE. Sometimes, giving up is the bravest thing to do. You don't have to force something to happen just because you have planned it well. You don't have to hold on if it means letting go of all the opportunities you worked hard for. You don't have to stay committed if in return, it makes you miserable. You don't have to pretend you're still happy if it is slowly killing you inside. You don't have to hide or deny the pain. If it is no longer working, let go. If it doesn't make you happy, leave. If it is already hurting you, give up. And when you give up, that's the time you stood brave for yourself.

_{SM Cebu}

✍️ HAPPINESS. A lot of times, we often equate happiness as glittering glamour, expensive properties, well-known names, rich bank accounts and the like. But I think happiness always comes with appreciating the simplicity of things.

_{In the neighborhood}

✍️ THE RIGHT ONE. And I guess, our best will never be enough to the wrong person and even if we are in our worst, the right one will always choose to see the good in us.

_{@ school}

✍️ BE CONSTANT. In this fast changing world, where things are bound to happen in a blink, where people seem to just pass by, where everything gets temporary, may you find someone who is permanent. Someone who is your constant. And just as you wish, be not the quick stop of a person. May you be a home to someone who finds a dwelling place.

_{@ Lamaw sa Tabogon}

✍️ TAKE REST. If you feel like things aren't going as you have planned, do not quit but take time to rest. Do not entertain the stress and pressure of the outside noise. Listen to what your heart says because it will take you to places.

_{@ TCH}

✍️ DO NOT BE DECEIVED. Do not be deceived by the looks, the sugarcoated kindness with silent motives, the masked innocence. Not everything you see or you hear is real.

_{@ Salag, Tabogon}

✍️ CHOOSE YOURSELF. Always remember, whatever happens, you have to choose yourself, at all cost, with no second thoughts. Because if you don't, who else will?

_{Sunset at Pantaland sa Bogo}

✍️ DON'T JUDGE. Do not judge someone based on the decisions they have to make in life unless you wear the same size of shoes.

_{@ the church, attending a Baptism}

✍️ EYES ON THE GOAL. Reaching your goals needs a lot of hardwork and determination. Likewise, you have to undergo several rejections and unsolicited opinions. The road may seem untraveled and uncertain but you have to keep going. Walk slowly but never walk backwards.

_{@ my terrace}

✍️ CONTINUE TO LOVE. Continue loving no matter how much pain people have caused you, no matter how unloving they may become. Life is too precious to not spend it doing the things we love. Life is about loving and living, before leaving.

_{Hebrews Cafe and Restaurant, Medellin, Cebu}

This serves as a short compilation of my personal thoughts. When I get to read them back, I was reminded of how tough times were for me to craft and bring these thoughts alive.

This is all for today's blog. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog. Be well. Be safe. Until the netswriting.

_{(These thoughts were inspired by the articles and books I have come across. Some photos and ideas were posted in Wounded Soul and Pieces of Me where I used to share my thoughts before. )}