Have you been told 'try to fill in other people's shoes' to understand them more?
Empathy is when you genuinely feel for what others are going through and see things from their perspective. It is simply asking “What would you feel if you were in that person’s shoes?”
Thoughts on the Before trilogy
If you happen to be looking for something laidback to binge-watch on a lazy weekend, the Before trilogy may probably interest you. That is if you don’t mind a plot with an intensive script of dialogues mimicking a chance encounter between two people, which is what this trilogy was good at. Not to mention the realistic acting of Hawke and Delpy and the nine-year gap of each movie release — all to capture the stages of maturity and physical appearances needed for each movie.
For World Teacher's Day, my teacher deserves the spotlight albeit now in her eternal repose...
Development Communication (DevCom) was not my first course of choice. I wanted to take Information Technology (IT), although a teacher in high school suggested to take DevCom since I planned to study at Visayas State University. I was handling our school publication then, perhaps she saw me as fitting for the course. When I went for enrollment, IT was not offered, only computer science. I thought of enrolling in Biology (since I believed I had a knack for memorization 😅) but that chat with my high school teacher convinced me to enroll in DevCom instead.
Young, passionate, and hopeful. But I found myself in a place where I struggled to find my purpose.
The hills are alive with the sound of music...
For my 30th Birthday, I did a 4-day tour of Austria. The greatest travel that I have done so far to pay tribute to my 3 decades of existence.
I didn't normally meet people who were fond of Filipino culture while I was studying in Belgium. My workmate at my part-time job was a rare one. I really enjoyed my stay there.
I had a workmate in his 60s who always came to me and shared how fond he was of Filipinos and our culture. He said he visited Phil in 2007 but never came back since. But he considers it his most memorable trip ever. He couldn’t stop blabbering whenever he would share anything Filipino. “Filipinized” might be an appropriate term to describe this fondness.
I found myself helpless on a bus when a drunk man sat on an empty seat beside me. In a country where people care less, good samaritans still exist.
I took a Flixbus from Amsterdam to Ghent. There was a vacant seat next to me because the bus was two-seaters. The bus made a stop in Rotterdam, and new passengers went in. I usually put things on vacant seats, but this time, I didn’t. I was high from last night’s party, so I was sleeping. Then, a drunk guy suddenly stopped by me, eyeing for empty seats, and spotted the one beside me.
Recounting what I learned from my first-ever boss...
Just before Christmas, we lost my first-ever boss, who taught me the value of grit, hard work, punctuality, and resilience in the real world.
Our offices were not the typical four-cornered walls but cafes and food chains at malls where we bask to get free wifi as we indulge in food that he would gladly order for us free. He loved to work outdoors, which tested our navigation skills around the Metro. For him, there were no 8 to 4 or 9 to 5 working hours. Work for him was round-the-clock as long as it was not done.
Perhaps, we are better off cleaning the house we are renting ourselves...
We have a cleaner who comes twice a month to clean the house. She only speaks Dutch, so I always have my phone handy to translate and to keep up with the conversation in case we want something specific to be cleaned. This is for instances when I happen to be awake when she comes.
I always find it fascinating whenever artists give the meaning behind their songs... it’s like knowing how deep they can get. Then I juxtapose what the song meant to me with what it actually meant to them. Interesting to find similar and varying meanings drawn from a single song.
And Reese gives that satisfaction. The depth of the lyrics and the story behind, she explains it every time she releases one song.
Maybe I like the fact that some artists play for the love of it. Not just the money in it. Because that’s how authentic an artist can be.
I remember the time when I would mope at my own discrepancies. Then, I realized that it was actually the people I was surrounded with that made me feel that way.
The egoistic, individualistic culture and toxic criticisms killed all the hopes that I had. It wasn’t a good sign. I left.
But you know, when you have your fill of worst things, you view things differently. You doubt people a lot. Trust is lost. The kindness and generosity I received the past years felt like something I did not deserve. And that in some way, somehow, there is something in it for exchange. I wasn’t happy. I was lost. I sulked at the thought of what-ifs.
I realized how broken I was. The pain I carried for so many years was burrowing a hole inside me. I was never healed; I just pretended to be. And I still am.
If grades are the sole measure of a person’s worth... then I may not be deemed worthy (men I’m just surviving, drifting as I go lols)
Funny how some people downsize someone’s worth into digits. Or are they too narrow-minded to think so? They must have not factored in, you know, other variables that make up a person as a whole.
Because grades are just numbers that 10 years from now, I doubt would even matter. We are on and about with our lives, paying the bills, raising kids (if we happen to marry), starting a business, and probably working on that job we always wanted.
Grit matters too, even more than grades, if you want to survive in this world.
My arrival wasn’t a pleasant one.
The gray sky above our heads, empty streets, rainy afternoon — sort of became our welcome parade.
For me it was a normal move to a different place that I do every once in a while. Nothing special, no spark (really sounds like a downer 😅). It didn’t feel like I was in a different country at all, except that I see different races, fancy streets, and old iconic European facades.
The pandemic probably spoiled all the excitement and fun that I had. I had my mind set on a worst-case scenario mode which continued until the end of the semester. Its a defense mechanism that I do when I don’t want disappointments to get into me (more like pretending actually 😁).
Anyway, fast-forward with all the drama... here I am on the same city I came into a year ago but with a different vibe to it. It’s totally not the same from when I left it months ago. Life in it is back and I’m loving it.
Cheers to Jekk and I as we celebrate our one year of chasing the great perhaps, navigating through complex drama, and creating memories to last a lifetime. 😊
Maybe we are not meant for those who are fleeting and passing - when only a portion of ourselves they've come to know.
In the end, we only want those who have seen our worst and torn selves to be part of our lives.
Don Quixote de La Mancha is a book I haven’t read.
I remember we had this thin book with summaries of classic books and Don Quixote was one of those that I read which I was never interested in. 😅 I preferred Alexander Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo, instead. 😉
Anyway, Cervantes wasn’t my go-to classic author despite being prominent.
Having the tour around Barrio de Las Letras is a good way to learn a few things about him if you care enough to know. 😅
I’ve been, ever since pain got me and deliberately hit me continuously. I remember running away from it rather than facing it head-on. But escaping from it is useless because, in the end, it traps me.
Maybe, because I can resonate with it so much. And that despite your dark world you manage to thrive. I have this unconventional attraction to those who are in the emotional abyss. I feel like I can dive freely into that deep and complicated emotions - soak myself in it until I get enough.
Maybe when we feel unloved for a long time, we can hardly feel real love at all. Instead, we dodge it, delay it, shove it aside - then we realize that we’ve lost it. We are used to grieving anyway, the normal case.
There are many times, maybe, that I’ve lost it. I can’t pinpoint exactly when but I knew I felt it. But am so used to not trusting my gut feeling and not going for it. Now, I find myself chasing after the wrong people. Mostly, a one-sided fascination. I question whether they will ever love me or not because I have given myself way too much.
But they never do. And the cycle goes on.
You see, as a person who does or categorizes things in both extremes (like it or not), I struggle to be passionate about things I don't like doing. Ooohh if you find me doing things just fine, I might be pretending or faking it (lols) just to get by.
This statement of Francis Kong is something worth pondering about:
"Passion isn't about what you like or love to do. That could be a hobby. Passion is about doing the things you do excellently and even though at times you may not even feel like doing it."
