Life As We Know It

Life is a journey ... with numerous stopovers, slippery roads, and busted traffic lights.

Life is a song ... with meaningful lyrics and a heart pounding rhythm sung by an Angel's voice.

Life is a bitch ... with too many complicated situations, stubborn and rebellious thoughts.

Life is a rainbow ... with pretty colours, vibrant curves with striking hues, God-made and temporary.

Life is a movie ... with playful characters, long storylines with happy endings or otherwise.

Life is a calendar ... with deadlines to meet, daily habits, boring routines and marked dates.

Life is a battlefield ... with brave warriors and honourable knights with well-honed axes and swords.

Life is a game ... with playful tricks, shuffled cards, addicting wins, huge bets and bluffing players.

This could be "Life As We Know It",

No matter how our life defines us, we must learn to let go of the all the what ifs and look forward to the many reasons we exist.

Let us not forget to always give ourselves the best chance to live and enjoy, "Life as we know it."

Isn't It Ironic ?

I can only stop but never give up.

I can only hope but never assume.

I can only surrender but never quit.

I can only forgive but never forget.

I can only understand but never question.

I can only wish but never expect.

I can only listen but never trust.

I can only smile but never be glad.

I can only look back but never hold on.

I can only fight but never triumph.

I can only see but never believe.

I can only forget but never let go.

I can only play but never win.

I can only rant but never be obeyed.

I can only think but never act.

I can only dream but never achieve.

I can only breathe but never live.

Lovin' the 90's

This post is a tribute to our childhood years, wherein things are more simple and life is less demanding. The ultimate throwback Thursdays, wayback Wednesdays and flashback Fridays posts in other social networking sites mostly come from the 90's era. 

Being born in 1989, I lived my younger years during the 90's. And I am thankful that I have happy memories to share with other people. If only I could turn back the time just to experience these again, I would. Regard me as sentimental, but I just love being nostalgic about life.

Here are just some of the things that made our childhood worth remembering. 

Fashion & Accessories

Ring Watch

- which I remembered asking my mom to buy it for me the moment I saw it in a store. Mine was purple with an elephant figure as a cover.

Butterfly Clips

- I remember seeing  lot of these in school especially during flag ceremonies, where all of the students are lined up for the morning routine. Most of the girls wear these colorful, glittery butterfly clips, not just one but a lot, imagine that!

"WWJD" Bracelets

- What I had was a lilac-colored WWJD bracelet. I don't know where I got it, or who gave it to me, but I remember wearing this one. It stands for "What would Jesus do?" I got no idea for its purpose. *face palm*

 

Junk Foods, Candies, etc.

PomPoms 

- cheesy, curly and yummy! haha. This is how I remember Pom Poms.

Haw Flakes

 - This is one of my favourites even until now. Many would agree with me that it has a unique taste. And after eating a bunch of these since childhood, I still don't know what it is made of, not until I googled it. ;) So I learned that Haw flakes are Chinese sweets made from the fruit of Chinese hawthorn or hawberry.

Bazooka

- Clearly, Bazooka is a bubble gum. It is pink in color and thicker compared to other gums. Aside from this, what made it really special is the wrapper. 'Cause inside the wrap you'll find a comic strip! Clever, isn't it?

Powdered Milk

 - I don't know why, but powdered milks are quite a hit in the 90's era. Remember these two famous powdered milk, the one that comes in a plastic baby bottle and the ever famous "Mik-Mik". 

 School Must-Haves

Magic Pencils

- I can't remember how many magic pencils I had in grade school. Because you see this pencil must be carefully kept. Once you lost a piece of it, you cannot use it anymore. It became popular maybe because Mongol pencils are too mainstream in school. Magic pencils on the other hand, are colorful, new, and fun to use.

By the way, if we got "Magic Pencils", we also got "Magic Erasers" ^____^

Slam Books

- In addition to the heavy books and notebooks, are slam books. The owner must need to pass it around her classmates to fill in certain questions. It is an exciting way to find out what your classmates think about you, their crushes, first love, favorite things/people.

Art Kit

- Remember this? Its a plastic box full of coloring materials and art supplies. It comes in handy, but may become untidy & messy if not properly kept. Inside were a set of water color, colored pens, colored pencils, crayons, oil pastels, ruler, paper clips, eraser, scissors and sharpeners.

Pencil Case

- A pencil case with many compartments for erasers, sharpener, pencils, pens, etc. It's multi purpose for me since I remember using this as my wallet. HAHAHA !!! I was a kid then! *_*

Toys

Plastic Balloon

- A typical Filipino childhood will never be complete without experiencing these plastic balloons. 90's babies can surely relate to this.

Slinky / Rainbow Spring

- A colorful toy in the 90's that originated in the US. Just juggle, toss it around, stretch it, do whatever, it's a spring baby ! :)

Kisses

- Kisses are scented gel-like beads that comes in different colours and sizes. It's quite controversial because many children believed that it has the ability to multiply. The steps are easy, simply enclosed it in an alcohol-soaked cotton and then keep it for days. I was a believer then. I've tried this but nothing happened. HAHA!

Tamagotchi

- My first ever digital pet was a tamagotchi. It is housed in an egg-shaped case with three buttons. Like a normal pet you feed it, make it sleep, play with it and even celebrate its birthday.

Waterful Ring-Toss

- I remember playing this toy out of boredom. Haha! Pressing a button to stack all the rings in both pins. Voila! That's it, you won the game. Then just shuffle back (restart). Hoohoo!

So there! These stuffs are just a glimpse of my "Take-me-back to 90's Please" jaunt.

But before I end this post, never would I forget the classic Filipino street games like

Patintero, Chinese Garter, Luksong Baka, Luksong Tinik, Tumbang Preso, Touching Ball, Taguan,  Piko, Langit-Lupa, Sili-Sili, Agawan Base, and Ten-Twenty.

Love the 90's ! *Fist bump*

Supreme Love & Respect

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements?

At one point in your life, you will need to step up for yourself and for what makes you happy. It feels much better to finally let go and learn the value yourself once again. After all the disappointments and doubts comes that moment where your heart will slowly burst into pieces and breakdown; Suddenly you will start listening to your brain, or to what you think is necessary. You will see how being carefree and wild becomes more satisfying. Through the process, you might end up hurting each other but it is worth the pain. The love that you once shared was tough yet true. Your weakness became your strength, and that strength became your happiness. The promise of supreme love and respect has always been there. But not until something pulled the trigger and slowly took everything away. All turned into nothing if for at the end of the day, that so-called “respect” was nowhere to be found.

As I moved on, I am thankful for my choices.  I firmly believe that when the right time comes everything will fall into places. Answers will come in time, like how it heals all the wounds of the past. No more chasing of pavements, no more "what ifs", no more lies. So I just breathe in, and breathe out. I let it all go and let it all pass.

Two Words

Never give up. Stay strong.

We are born to live. And living in this world, means being happy when everything fails, being  brave when everything stumbles, staying strong when everything gets tough. Not even one of us is blessed enough to be immuned to all of the pain and the sufferings this entire world has set for us. We are simply human beings. We are vulnerable. We are special.

Our outlook in life greatly affects how we pursue our happiness through difficult times. Our faith will always be shaken but we just need to keep it high and hold on a little tighter. Dig in harder for there is that sustainable amount of strength deep within ourselves. Embrace all of it with the determination to fight and eagerness to survive.

And now, more than ever, we should enjoy life and stay strong.