How Many Things Have You Lived Through?

How Many Things Have You Lived Through?

I have read a lot of books.

I have been on some sort of varsity team.

I have run more than 2 miles without stopping.

I have been to Canada.

I have been to Europe.

I have watched cartoons for hours.

I have tripped UP the stairs.

I have fallen down an entire flight of stairs.

I have been snowboarding/skiing.

I have played ping pong.

I swam in the ocean.

I have been on a whale watch.

I have seen fireworks.

I have seen a shooting star.

I have seen a meteor shower.

I have almost drowned.

I have been so embarrassed I wanted to disappear.

I have listened to one CD over & over & over again.

I have had stitches.

I have had frostbite.

I have licked a frozen pole and got stuck there.

I have stayed up til 2 doing homework/projects.

I currently have a job.

I have been ice skating.

I have been rollerblading

I have fallen flat on my face.

I have tripped over my own two feet.

I have been in a fist fight.

I have played videogames for more than 3 hours straight.

I have watched the power rangers.

I attend Church regularly.

I have played truth or dare.

I have already had my 16th birthday.

I have already had my 17th birthday.

I’ve called someone stupid.

I’ve been in a verbal argument.

I’ve cried in school.

I’ve played basketball on a team.

I’ve played baseball on a team.

I’ve played football on a team.

I’ve played soccer on a team.

I’ve done cheerleading on a team.

I’ve played softball on a team.

I’ve played volleyball on a team.

I’ve played tennis on a team.

I’ve been on a track or cross country team.

I’ve been swimming more than 20 times in my life.

I’ve bungee jumped.

I’ve climbed a rock wall.

I’ve lost more than $20.

I’ve called myself an idiot.

I’ve called someone else an idiot.

I’ve cried myself to sleep.

I’ve had (or have) pets.

I’ve owned a spice girls CD.

I’ve owned a britney spears CD.

I’ve owned an N*Sync CD.

I’ve owned a backstreet boys CD.

I’ve mooned someone.

I have sworn at someone of authority before.

I’ve been in the newspaper.

I’ve been on TV.

I’ve been to Hawaii.

I’ve eaten sushi.

I’ve been on the other side of a waterfall.

I’ve watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies.

I’ve watched all the Harry Potter movies.

I’ve watched all of the Rocky movies.

I’ve watched the 3 stooges.

I’ve watched “Newlyweds” Nick & Jessica.

I’ve watched Looney Tunes.

I’ve been stuffed into a locker/I have stuffed others into lockers.

I’ve been called a geek.

I’ve studied hard for a test and got a bad grade.

I’ve not studied at all for a test and aced it.

I’ve hugged my mom within the past 24 hrs.

I’ve hugged my dad within the past 24 hours.

I’ve met a celebrity/music artist.

I’ve written poetry.

I’ve been arrested.

I’ve been attracted to someone much older than me.

I’ve been tickled till I’ve cried.

I’ve tickled someone else until they cried.

I’ve had/have siblings.

I’ve been to a rock concert.

I’ve listened to classical music and enjoyed it.

I’ve been in a play.

I’ve been picked last in gym class.

I’ve been picked first in gym class.

I’ve been picked in that middle-range in gym class.

I’ve cried in front of my friends.

I’ve read a book longer than 1,000 pages.

I’ve played Halo 2.

I’ve freaked out over a sports game.

I’ve been to Alaska.

I’ve been to China.

I’ve been to Spain.

I’ve been to Japan.

I’ve had a fight with someone on AIM.

I’ve had a fight with someone face-to-face.

I’ve had serious conversations using IM.

I’ve forgiven someone who has done something wrong to me.

I’ve been forgiven.

I’ve screamed at a scary movie.

I’ve cried at a chick flick.

I’ve watched a lot of action movies.

I’ve screamed at the top of my lungs.

I’ve been to a rap concert.

I’ve been to a hip hop concert.

I’ve lived in more than 2 houses.

I’ve driven on the highway/been on the highway.

I’ve driven more than 400 miles in a day/been in a car that went more than 400 miles in a day.

I’ve been in a car accident.

I’ve done drugs.

I’ve been homesick.

I’ve thrown up.

I’ve puked on someone.

I’ve been horseback riding.

I’ve filled out more than 10 myspace surveys.

I’ve spoken my mind in public.

I’ve proved someone wrong.

I’ve been proven wrong by someone.

I’ve broken a leg.

I’ve broken an arm.

I’ve fallen off a swing.

I’ve swung on a swing for more than 30 mins straight.

I’ve watched Winnie the Pooh movies.

I’ve forgotten my backpack when I’ve gone to school.

I’ve lost my backpack.

I’ve come close to dying.

I’ve seen someone die.

I’ve known someone who has died.

I’ve wanted to be an actor/actress at some point.

I’ve done modeling.

I’ve forgotten to brush my teeth some mornings.

I’ve taken something/someone for granted.

I’ve realized how good my life is.

I’ve counted my blessings.

I’ve made fun of a classmate.

I’ve been asked out by someone and I said no.

I’ve slapped someone in the face.

I’ve been skateboarding.

I’ve been backstabbed by someone I thought was a friend.

I’ve lied to someone to their face.

I’ve told a little white lie.

I’ve taken a day off from school just so I don’t go insane.

I’ve fainted.

I’ve had an argument with someone about whether cheerleading is a sport or not.

I’ve pushed someone into a pool.

I’ve been pushed into a pool.

I’ve been/are in love.

I have lived through 77 things. 

Dysphoria.

Uncertainty is sickening. Then you try to blame your sadness on someone who barely even knows you. It is nobody else’s fault you are upset. You let something negative affect your mood, which in the first place shouldn’t have happened. You are responsible for your actions because you have an impact to your environment. You think too much. You see things beyond results. You make simple things complicated. You make your own problems. You worry too much. Your thoughts are misleading. Your mind blows every bit of logical reasoning inside your system to an abyss of endless hopelessness. You suck at several subjects—confidence, being one of the many others. You find it hard to solve your problems because the solutions you came up with are not to your best welfare. You are sinking into a deep black hole and you don’t even try to save yourself, nor ask for anyone’s help. The stench of insecurity kills you while you assume suicide is the best answer to your cataleptic situation. You are holding a white flag on your right hand when all of a sudden you see a mirror fall from nowhere—its reflection shows a banner saying “Wake up and get moving. Lives may be wasted for any reason but that shouldn’t be the case. Breathe. Exist.”

Life is composed of people who believe in something.

I believe that a person is entitled to his own opinions be it wrong or right. One is responsible for whatever his actions may be anyway. Therefore if a person thinks or says something wrong, forgive him. Everyone has the privilege to make mistakes whether by intention or not. We may all make sins but we should accept the liability of being aware of them, and being responsible of these behaviors. Naivety may not always be a good excuse. Sensitivity is something we should already have in our systems.

People act based on their experiences, the education they’ve received in and out of the school, the laws they believe in, the environment, and the culture that nurtured them. Life is too deep for a four letter word. It roots from the sperm that met the egg of our ancestors which eventually bore the parents of the parents of the parents of our great grandparents, who then bore our grandparents, then our parents, then our sisters and brothers, then us. It is full of experiences unique, but relevant to anyone else’s life. Experiences are most of the time relative to people—the main reason there are “friends”. Sometimes, these experiences can be totally different—that’s why there’s a term “misunderstanding”. Nonetheless, everyone must not mean harm to anyone because one way or another, we are connected to each other the fact we are all humans, and that most of us are made the same (as human beings). Not just because one is rich doesn’t mean his body need not release toxins through bowel movement. Yes, a person may feel above some or most of us, but not to a point when he makes us feel his level in life.

One can have education but not all of it consists of good manners and right conduct although these are a part of the primary and secondary level’s curriculum. People choose the laws they want to abide by depending on what matters a lot to them. Our culture and environment may force us to do things we don’t want to do because of norms and superstitious beliefs but still the decision of doing what or doing what not depends solely on the power of our minds. Simply put, as long as a person takes responsibility of his actions, regardless of his background, he must be allowed to express himself. Denying someone of his right of expression is like asking someone to just jump off the roof of a 20-storey tower—it’s like suicide.

I believe that art is a vague word that anyone can give a unique definition to it. We are bound by rules and religion. We all have our own gods we believe in, but we only have one government. Differences in gender, religion or even education may mean trouble because of ethnocentrism; nevertheless, each one of us should know how strong art can strike us. It may be positive or negative, but we need to know one of its purposes is to express one’s self, and self expression is one of the keys to live a healthy and happy life.

I may be wordy and redundant. I repeat saying words that I’ve already said despite using its synonyms. I use simple language. I use English to write though I am a Filipino. I use the third party pronoun “he”, but that doesn’t mean it weighs heavier than the pronoun “she”. I am not consistent and not parallel when constructing words into sentences, and sentences to paragraphs. I am an English major, but I’m not an expert in speaking the language.  This is just me. I know when I have to say something, where to say it, but not exactly how to say it. I criticize despite my flaws. I say words that I mean, or that I don’t mean, but as far as I am concerned, I only hurt people a few times compared to not hurting them. I am not a saint, nor an individual characterized to be a good-enough person, but I know how to admit my sins (though some may be sins to others but to others not), and I know that I should do something to minimize them (but sometimes I’d rather keep some), and that it is not a good trait for a person who believes in religion to be sinful but I still become one. Everyone isn’t perfect. People make mistakes. Some are good; some are evil. I know I am somewhere in between the two, and I have the courage to say it because being true to yourself, and being able to speak it up is something free that anyone really needs to take advantage of. It definitely makes life easier, and lessens the burden our problems have brought us.

You used to be beautiful.

You are beautiful. You make my heart sing out loud. You embraced my whole being—my flaws, my complexion, my tenacity and all. You made it so easy to love your human form. A cliché it may be but I think you’re heaven sent. Your face brightens up my day. Your words give me strength to move forward. You make me feel good about myself.  You’re just wonderful and I don’t know how much thankful I am to have you, to have met you.

Then you became my weakness.

I am with you, but I can’t feel you anymore. You’ve always been present, there, staring at me—but it is not as good as it was before, as compared to how everything started.  You became different. It is not enough to see your body near me; what matters is, your whole self should be with me, or at least pretend to give your attention to me. Your words are turning into ashes—I see them, hear them, but they go away in a finger snap.  My body used to excrete more endorphins whenever I see you, but now these hormones only become available whenever I eat chocolate. I am starting to hate myself, for letting me dive into the realm of charming words you made use to lure me. Maybe I was thankful back then, because I thought you were beautiful; but now I am more thankful because I know that isn’t true and I realized it soon enough.

What a Woman Needs

Love a man who respects women in general—his mother, sister, female cousins, nieces, aunts, godmothers, grandmother, great grandmother, his teacher back in his primary, secondary and tertiary education, even his principal who nagged almost everyday about how ill mannered students behaved. Love a man who treats strangers significant beings. Love a man who doesn’t just take care of his belongings but the things surrounding him—the roads, lamppost, the passing vehicles, the benches, the books, public computers, and all other objects he’s bound to deal with. Love a man who worships the environment and its existing creatures—the trees, plants, flowers, leaves, grass, seeds, butterflies, the school of fish, birds, and the farm animals. A man who values little things will value big things even more. He who’s kind to strangers sees his woman’s worth.