Hello 2017, nice to finally meet
you.
Your brother, 2016, has had
its ups and downs. So with that, I decided to make the list of things I learned
from it. How it shaped me to be a better person than I was before.
And it turned out to be
my new year’s resolutions too.
Here it goes.
1.
Love Yourself
This may be the MOST cliché thing we all said to each other. And no, this is nothing like Justin Bieber’s
song about telling someone to love themselves because they are not capable of
loving others.
What I’m trying to say is that the key to loving life and loving
people, such as your significant other, your parents, your best friends, your
family, your pet, et cetera, is to always remember to love yourself first and
always be at home in your own body. Love your weird snorting laughs, love how
your tears rolled down your cheeks while watching a chick flick movie, love how
you sneak to the kitchen at 11PM to open up a new bag of chips, love how your
heart breaks when your grades are below your expectations or when you get
dumped by your first love, love your chubby cheeks, love how you still manage
to squeeze into your jeans after eating a lot, love your imperfections, love
your flaws, and even love your failures. If you succeeded on loving yourself,
you’ll be able to trust people more to get to know you, because you, yourself,
knows that there is a LOT of reasons to love you.
2.
Balance
There is one thing in life that you cannot control, and that is
time. Being in college and living far from home makes me realize that time is
the most expensive thing we have. As young people, we have so many dreams in
our heads. So many achievements out there waiting to be achieved. So many
activities out there for us to do. But the key to actually doing all those stuffs
is use time wisely. Always be on time, don’t procrastinate, always balance
between studying and resting, and don’t forget to have fun and schedule your
priorities too.
Sometimes we feel like 24 hours a day is not enough, especially
when you are in college. You have to go to class for 4 to 6 hours a day, do all
the assignments from your teachers, go to your extracurricular activities, eat on
time, catch up with your best friends, and the only thing to look forward to that
day; sleep. That’s why I learned that balance is not always about time management,
but boundary management. So, know your boundaries.
3.
Dream Big
You know what’s the irony? The only thing blocking you from your
big dreams is yourself. The only thing blocking your way from achieving
great things is yourself. Your own doubts, your fears, your laziness,
that is all you. Don’t ever downgrade your big dreams just to fit
reality. You can go as far as your mind lets you, so let your mind lets you.
And with that, you can finally let yourself.
4.
It Is Okay to Fail
Admit it, as humans we all have failed, even the worst kind of
failure. But don’t ever let failures define you. Failures don’t define
you. What defines you is how you get back up, chin up, stand tall, and rebound from
whatever it is that life has thrown at you. Failure is a normal part in life. Try
thinking of failures as your achievements, the more you fail the more you
learn.
5.
Be Vulnerable
As a die-hard Grey’s Anatomy fan, I must quote one of my
favorite lines from Meredith Grey that said:
“Vulnerabilities is not the opposite of strength, it’s a
necessary part. We have to force ourselves to open up, to expose ourselves, to
offer up everything we have and just pray that it’s good enough. Otherwise, we’ll
never succeed.”
From that quote I learned that it is okay to be vulnerable, or
better, be vulnerable. It takes
courage to be vulnerable, so don’t be afraid to show your vulnerabilities. Tell
the story of who you are with your whole heart. If you’re scared, say you’re
scared. If you’re sad, say you’re sad. If your eyes can no longer hold your
tears from coming out, don’t hold it. What makes you vulnerable makes you
beautiful. Those are the things about vulnerability that no one tells you
about.
6.
Every Person You Meet is
a Lesson
There is no such thing as wasted time on people. 2016 has opened
up my eyes to lots of different people with different personalities. Some of my
relationship with them went well, but some of them didn’t. But, I will never
allow myself to think of it as wasted time. Everyone you meet gives you a
lesson. They showed you things you may not know before, some of them revealed
the parts you didn’t know existed in you. But
if I could go back, I’d be more careful to whom I open up about certain
personal things in my life. The only problem with humans is that sometimes we
don’t listen to understand, we listen to reply. What we must keep in our minds
is that everyone in this world is fighting their own battles no one knows
about, so always respect people and their stories. Those stories might not be a
big deal for you, but their life could be depended on it.
7.
Be Forgiving
If you know me, you know that I’ve had those past (even present
or maybe future) histories that took most part of my life. And the hardest
thing I’ve ever had to do was forgive that
person who was never sorry, and it really made me a much bigger person. I
learned a LOT from this and trust me when I tell you to always be
forgiving, not for them, but for you. Don’t pollute your heart with
anger, sadness, and hatred.
And yes, I know it’s not that easy. Especially when that person
means a lot to you or your life. I’ve been there. And it took more than 10 years
for me to actually find peace within myself. But only in the process of
forgiving them did I know who I really was. And that is one of the most
courageous decisions I made, to finally let go of what is hurting me and be the
bigger person.
8.
Look Out for Yourself
In 2016, I learned that it is okay to disagree with people. It is
okay to say no despite the peer pressure. It is okay to say no to things that
bring you no good. It is okay to not fall in love with people that
brings more unhappiness than happiness in your life. It is okay to walk away
from people who hurt you. Let go. Move forward. Put one foot in front of the
other and keep moving.
The truth is, you don’t owe anybody anything. You are the only
one who can identify your priorities in life. Always look out for yourself first, because everybody is busy
looking out for themselves too.
9.
Keep Your Loved Ones
Close
Always appreciate the time you have with your family and loved
ones. With lots of things to keep us busy each day, it is so easy to let time
with your loved ones slip down from your priorities. But the truth is, they’re
the only ones who will be there for you with open arms no matter how screwed up
you are in life.
Spend more quality times with them. Put away your gadgets. Talk
to your grandmother, ask her how her day was. Talk to your friend who is
studying in the other side of the world, ask her what she had for lunch. Make
small talks to the people you care about. What opened up my eyes the most about
living far from home is doing small things together with my loved ones are
the times I cherished the most. Eating home cooked dinner together at home with
your family, staying up until late at night with your best friends in a
sleepover talking about boy dramas, eating out in your favorite restaurant in
your home city with your best friends from junior high, greeted by a warm big
hug from your helper who you consider as family when you just got home for the
semester break, and even having small talks with your driver in the car. Those are
the small moments in life that can make your day better. So, always enjoy the
time you have with them.
10.
Spread Positivity
Be passionate, be expressive! Don’t just do what you love but always
love what you do. Because in life, things don’t always go your way. Smile more
often, greet people with a warm genuine smile. Give, give, give. Give thanks to people, give laughter, give while
you still can. Always remember that no matter how sad, angry, sorrowful, broken
hearted, or depressed you are today the
sun will rise again tomorrow.
So, come at me, dear
2017! I can’t wait for the adventure slash
life lessons you’ll give to me in the next 365 days.
