Dreams.

"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." - Langston Hughes

A childhood full of dreams. To become a doctor. To become a soldier. To fly up in the sky. The kind of dream where impossibility has no room, only imagination and aspiration. As we grow, as we engaged more in the world, as we collect more problems and responsibility, did we grasp on our ability to dream? Have we retain the same sparkling eyes of  childhood?

Remember: Dreams creates aspiration. Aspiration sparks passion. Passion drives determination and hard work. Passion burns  a fire that makes life interesting and worth living. A fire money can't cease. Live your life by living your dreams. Spark your eyes with pure wonder that no one could steal. In contrary, let them be inspired by it.

For Him II.

I look up and I remember how I felt about you,
The stars reminded me.
The day has gone by and I forgot how did it go.
I just stared and felt certainty to something huge and amazing, something unknown. Just like my love for you.
And no matter how many days passed,
how many things have changed, when I look up,
I would always feel that way, just like how I felt about you.

Leadership.

Leaders aren't born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.

-Vince Lombardi

We often admire those people who can stand up, bring about change and lead. It was not because they are born to be a leader. It was not because certain chemicals in their genes carry such characteristics. It is because they chose to be brave enough and take the risk to stand firm in their beliefs, to influence others and be subject to criticisms in doing such. They are just a bit bolder in crossing the line between being selfish and being the man for the welfare of others.

Inner Soul.

"Anyone can love a rose, but it takes a great deal to love a leaf. It’s ordinary to love the beautiful, but it’s beautiful to love the ordinary. " - Unknown

When I go around and stroll the malls, I see all these advertisements and marketing stuffs that seems to cover everything with fancy and beauty. I remember the quote above. We often forgot to see what  lies deep inside, we forgot to dig deeper and find each beautiful soul thriving deep inside each creature. We are blinded to see only what is outside and to judge things profoundly based on what our eyes see, what the advertisements call on as beautiful.

I thought about a fruit stand in a province and in an established malls as an example. Let's assume that the fruits in the province are fresh and sweet but only sold on a carton box and the fruit in the mall are sold on a well decorated fruit stand but are bland in taste. What fruit will you buy? Will you judge the fruits' quality based on the marketing strategy or are you wise enough to know the better?

The End.

"The greatest motivation of all is in knowing that everything is not permanent."

 Early morning, as I wrote this self-made quote on my diary (not even knowing whether someone breathing or stopped breathing has already formulated the same group of words), I wonder how Steve Jobs turned into motivation the awareness of his disease and the question "If this is the last day of your life...?"

Late in the evening, I deeply thought about the end - the end of the day, the end of my two year bond in the company, the end of my twenties, the end of my life. And I felt that surge of feeling of regretting what you have done instead of what you not ought to do; the potential I can harness if I remove away all the expectations from other, all the worries and all the fears I self-created. Knowing there is an end is like knowing that you have to fully live your life. YOLO. You only live once as what they say, so as Steve Jobs.

It was a practice: to think of the things you ought to regret if this was the end - of the day, of your youth, of your life. Yes, it was much easy to stay in that zone where you live comfortably, where you live with the norms and cultures of others, where you feel safe. Yes, exploring what is outside of that zone seems terrifying but try to listen to that inner self of yours that tells you to took a little step outside, that whispers to you ambitions that you burned deeply. Trying sometimes hurts, but never trying is like dying.

Keeping Strong.

It was real hard to find wisdom when it was too easy to stay juvenile.
Nor to be nice after all the hurts.
Nor not to remain blind to someone's suffering when we are too comfortable with our lives.
It was easy to give in, to remain blind, to close our hearts.
But we shouldn't.
We should keep strong for ourselves to find wisdom and understand things without any selfish prejudice.
We should keep strong to return kindness for the the hurt, neglect, or cold someone has given us, never knowing when their hearts return the warmth.
And we should keep strong to remain aware of those around us, offering a hand or lending an ear for their suffering, though it was much easy to only own our problem and neglect theirs.
Sometimes, we must keep strong for others to remain strong.

Competition.

 Prizes do not weigh the grandeur of a competition, it is the journey towards betterment. Being the defending champion, the one on the top holding the trophy, is a pride not because of the fame but because you become an aspiration for others to excel. You set an example, you set a standard that we can do more. And for those who are yet striving, do not be discouraged, in contrary, aim to be better than yourself before until the betterment let's you win. Strive not for the trophy but for the journey towards unleashing your potential. Losing only signifies that you have yet another challenge to accept wholeheartedly because passion is what drives you, not the prize nor the fame.

This is what I've learned upon watching UAAPP CDC season 77 last Sunday, the 14th of September. I was awe by how the teams cheer dance advance from last year and I think this is because of having a defending champion worth competing with. The National University deserves to win because of their technical skills and executions, while the University of the Philippines has shown me of thinking outside of the box (by girls lifting the boys, their bahaghari song) and that on many ways we can tackle/advocate issues in our country (by having the theme of equality). Kudos for both!