I was twelve years old, in sixth grade when I lost in a Regional writing competition. The topic was “10 ways on how to live your life completely” and even years after, it got me wondering what can a 12-year old girl write about living your life fully? Back then I “idealistically” wrote my piece and I remember writing “Always let your conscience be your guide”. I failed to convince the judges, maybe because I lack realistic ideas, I lack strong points, I had a lot of grammatical error and today, in the most random moment, I realized why I failed – I lack experience. I was so caged in what the world looks like in my books and movies. I had walls so high that it protected me to the possibility of looking things differently. I never regretted it because I’m thankful for the right timing of things, events, and people slowly unveiling and re-discovering my view of the world. And now, I’m in my early 20s and I probably don’t have enough experience yet, but I think I have enough to share with you how to live your life completely. Love freelyTake it to Shakespeare to have a quote of every possible love situation, thus, the course of true love never did run smooth, which means love was never supposed to be easy. After heartbreaks, goodbyes and what if's, I learned that love was not supposed to be conditional… It’s meant to be shared – to friends, family and special people who are part of your life. It is supposed to be given away and not be trapped in bitterness and despair. No matter how the world throws you in, there’s nothing better than loving it back, freely. Small and close-knit support systemAs a kid, I thought getting everyone’s approval is going to make me happy, being everyone’s friend will be easy. As you grow older, you realized that you just need a small group of friends that you can be yourself with – they’ll accept your twist, turns, mistakes and craziness. Yes, you can be friends with everyone, but don’t spread yourself too thinly that you won’t be able to have a deep connection with a person. That small group will push and pull you in every decision just because they want you to see all the options and in the end, it’s always “We got your back, bruh.” Family is your pillarWe’ve all come to a point where we want to pack our bags, leave the house and live independently, or even, would want to be somebody else. We don’t realize how important family is until there’s nowhere to go but home. It is really true that at the end of the day, good or bad, we always go back to our family. Trust me when I say, they will be the definite permanent people in your life. As you grow up, you’re more likely to appreciate when your father drives you somewhere and just sit there and talk. You’ll find your way to miss your mother’s home cooked meal or her loving arms when you’re sick. And even, would wish that your brother and sister would go back being kids so you can annoy the hell out of each other. We can never turn back time, but what we can do it hold on what’s keeping us grounded all this time – our family. Hobby that is worth keepingWhether it’s watching black and white films, sewing or taking afternoon tea – we need to have a hobby that will tickle our interest and creativity. It could be something trivial or grand, but what is important is that, we have something going on always. And when people would ask you “What do you in your free time?” and your answer won’t be simply sleeping or being a couch potato but something that is effective and rewarding in keeping your interests. Healthy lifestyleThis is hard, I know. I’ve been struggling to be healthy for a while now. It does not come in to-go packages but it entails long term health benefits. Long term that we don’t appreciate just yet, but when we’re 42 “Good thing I didn’t live with fast food oil and microwavable food, if not I probably have a heartburn right now after jogging around the park.” Yes, we’ll be that hot momma jogging around the park in designer sweats. Spiritual connectionYes, we live by faith and not by sight. We may have different beliefs and be in a different religion, but what is important is to have a God that you can talk to. A God that is not high above the sky, but a God that would guide and light your path. Being religious is an option but to be spiritual is a connection to your creator. It is a process of discerning your life’s purpose and yourself. Being spiritual is something we all should be and should unconditionally choose. Time managementIf time is wasted, it is something disappointing. The key to having an organized life is to know time management; One of the things I hate is a monotonous life; imagine doing the same thing everyday – sleep-work-eat-repeat. Being able to have time for yourself, time for family, time for friends, time for work, etc. means being able to fully utilize the life that we have. It is hard to look back and not remember anything other than your clockwork life. Time means creating memories, sharing it with people and doing the right things at the right time. Speak outOne of the most important factors of living completely for me is having to speak for yourself – or simple, having a statement. We have to be able to express ourselves, we can have it in different forms – writing, singing, dancing, doing sports or painting. It is important that we have an outlet of our inner whims because from what I read people that commit suicide or have depression are mostly people with emotion and feelings that are bottled up inside. Letting the feeling flow outwardly gives us a breathing air to think and act accordingly. Always let your conscience be your guideTaking it from my 12 year-old self, there’s nothing better than having a clear conscience and living a dignified life. It is always a test of right and wrong, as we grow up. From the choices we take to our work environment, but we go back to what Jimmy Cricket said. We cannot have the right thing with a wrong process; the end does not justify the means. If it’s not right from the start, then the end won’t be as successful as it could have been if we took the right turn. A mentor once told me, yes, it may be hard, but it’s not impossible. Be true to yourselfBecause being able to live completely starts with ourselves. There’s no right and wrong in being true, but there’s always a better choice to do things correctly. There’s not enough time to be wasted in pretending to be someone else but there is a time to search for oneself. If you cannot accept who you are, then other people won’t too. I think loving oneself comes before anything else – you cannot give and share yourself to others when you don’t know who you are. And you can never live completely, if it won’t start with you. I have a lot to say now that I'm in my 20s and I have been through a lot of ups and downs in my life. I'm just glad that I kept that 12-year old wondering with me, if not, then I wouldn't have noticed how much have changed since then. It's safe to say that there's more to learn, when we look back and look forward the more we realized that there's a lot more to go. Someday, I would post another version of this, maybe during my late 20s, but for now, here's to a wiser and mature point of view. Cheers! xoxo, M
2 Comments
XX
12/1/2014 10:44:06 pm
Winning piece 👍 wow why are you not famous 😱😊
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Wannabe writer
12/18/2014 01:19:45 am
It's true we have to do the right thing. We look back at things and wonder what we did right and what we should have done right. I'm just glad that there is Someone who will never fail to love us despite who we are. We may hate ourselves or all that's happening to us in this life but He is faithful to complete what He started in us. And wherever we may be He will find us. Have a great day! Love this piece. It's alway nice to share something about yourself. It touches others.::)
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She wonders and wandersMonica writes about her life, what she eats, what she reads and where she goes. This space is where her thoughts, experiences, memories and feelings turn into words. She's glad that she can share with you. Archives
August 2021
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