It’s a time to celebrate, a time to be joyful. A time to be generous, and thoughtful. A time to be forgiving, and compassionate. A time to be caring and loving towards everyone.

You are the only one responsible for your life, for your own happiness.

I am setting goal again, for myself, for my future, for the people I love. I am conquering odds once more, I am setting sail in the unknown.

2020 is here. A new decade filled with amazing opportunities to learn, to fail, to succeed, to encourage, to love, to laugh and to just live.

Growing up entails a lot from us. It changes our priorities, changes our perspective. Sometimes, it even changes us. And when these things happen, we can’t help but outgrow places and sometimes, even people.

Have you ever wondered what kind of fur parent you are? Keep reading!

In this fast-paced world we live in, everything is instant. Everything can be done with a tap and a slide of a finger — from staying connected with a loved one at the other side of the world to simply catching up with a friend to finding a potential date.

Oh, dating.

We live in a world where things aren’t always easy, where things aren’t always sunshine and rainbows, a world where our reality is different from our expectations. A world where everyone is fighting a difficult battle we are not aware of.

What is self-care? How do you actually care for yourself?

To think that self-care is as simple as a nice day in the spa, everyday visit to the gym, a glamorous facial treatment, or an expensive wine night with friends is quite shallow. Self-care goes beyond the physical things.

It’s okay to not have it all figured out.

The truth is, you don’t have to conform to anyone’s expectation of who you should be. You don’t have to be obsessed about finding out what’s in store for you, if you’re on the right track, or if you’re going to regret the steps you take.

The thing about losing a loved one is that: once they’re gone every single memory you have will come vividly like it just happened 5 minutes ago. I remembered everything. Every single memory.

The idea of discovering oneself or becoming someone unexpected scares most of us; we ignore it, avoid it and sometimes, we even run away from it.

Kindness is all the ways — no matter how grand or small — we show our love, concern, and compassion to those around us. And through the years, as we live our lives, kindness translates differently to different people.

We were not born rich. We don’t have much but we’ve always had enough. Our parents would always teach us the importance of sharing whatever blessings we had for they believe, it’s always better to give than to receive.

The sound of the voice of Jose Mari Chan fills the air waves, the sight of colorful lights and decorations, and the smell of freshly-baked bibingka and puto bumbong at the sidewalk– truly, it’s the most wonderful time of the year…again!

Truly, the way we celebrated the season may be a little bit different now, but we did
it with the same spirit and for even more important reasons!

Together, let’s bring back that Christmas spirit we once had.

It was wonderful, it was irreplaceable. Our Christmases have always been about that — about family, It was a celebration of our pure love & genuine care for each other.

It’s almost Christmas and I’m still here sitting at my desk, busy working — taking numerous calls and answering various concerns of people I don’t personally know, distracting myself from the fact that I’m not with my family.

A beautiful and memorable time where everyone gets time off from work, prepares their gifts and pasalubongs, pack their suitcases and book their flights only to come home and be reunited with our entire family.

It’s nothing fancy or expensive but to us, it’s always special and definitely something we look forward to every single year. Seeing our complete, happy family every year is truly a sight to behold. They are the reason why I am grateful and joyful as I celebrate the season.

Make your presence your present this Christmas. It may not be expensive or flashy, but it sure is unforgettable and priceless. No material gift can ever replace the amazing feeling of completeness and togetherness especially this season.

I just knew that growing up, we never celebrated the holidays at home. My mother and father had different beliefs and a celebration was never our top priority during the cold days of December.