Tis the Season

Let me just say this --

More than the religious aspect of Christmas, the psychological and emotional effects the holidays have on us are reasons enough to celebrate. I'm not so sure about December 25 as being the actual birth of Christ, but I am sure that the Christmas season gives us all a strange sense of positivity.

People are suddenly generous and understanding. We suddenly become aware of the things and people around us. People tend to forgive more (during the holidays). 

I may not believe that Christmas Day is Christ's actual birthday, but I believe in the warmth and hope that the season brings. We need warmth and hope. The world is becoming a scarier place by the minute, and warmth and hope is good.

Happy Holidays!

Dear Mr. President

Good day. I hope you are doing well. 

I am a Filipino immigrant (migrated three months ago) here in Wisconsin. My husband, although born in the Philippines, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. I came here with my 2-year old daughter and we are really glad that your country allowed us to stay and live here for good. 

We've been here three months but we haven't been around much. My husband has a full time job so it's just me and my daughter at home most of the time. Sometimes we go to the library, which is two blocks away, and sometimes we go to the park beside the pond. Back in the Philippines, our libraries and parks are shabby, almost non-existent, and for that I will always consider us lucky. 

We haven't been to Olive Garden or IHOP. We haven't been to Six Flags or Disney Land. But in the short time that we are here, we already know violence too well. Mr. President, my daughter means everything to me. She turned my life upside down in a good, refreshing way. Just the other day I was scouting for good pre-schools in our town because I was planning to enroll her this coming school year. But with what happened in Connecticut, home-schooling starts to make more sense. 

We love it here, Mr. President. We love the independence and the convenience of getting things done. Our neighbors are kind, couteous people. But apparently here in America kind, courteous people become monsters. I feel so scared, Sir. I'm scared that my beautiful little daughter will not be safe in school, a place that's supposed to be a child's second home. 

What do you think should I do? I don't want to be scared every single day. I want to be able to drop my daughter in school and not feel the slightest kind of worry. I want to go to work confident that come 5:00, I will see my daughter again and hear everything about her day. I want to go to the mall with my daughter in hand without being vigilant for people holding guns. I want my entire family to watch movies in the cinema, and not just wait for Blu-Ray or Netflix because it's safer.

I know you have the entire world on your shoulders and my problem is really just a morsel of what you have on your plate right now, but I do hope that you can help me. I know the Philippines has its horrors and we are not as great as the U.S. in so many levels, but I was never scared there in the same way that I am scared here, now. I love America, but tonight I wish we were back home in Cebu, watching third-world TV shows in our third-world TV living the third-world life.

Respectfully yours,

E.

24 & Fabulous!

Today is my 24th birthday.

Back in high school, I thought people who are approaching their mid-20s are scary and serious. I thought by 24, one should have her own car or perhaps hold a Master's degree. By 27 you get married, and by 30 you announce to your friends that you are expecting a baby.

I'm 24. I'm married and I have a beautiful 2-year old daughter. I don't have my own car yet and neither do I have a Masters degree. Hell, I don't even have a Bachelor's degree. I left school a semester shy and since then it's been getting more challenging to come back. And that's okay.

You will come to a point in your life where everything, and I mean everything, is okay. You can't find a job? That's okay. You missed a deadline? That's okay. Still pining for the love of your life? That's okay. Failed an important exam? That's okay. 30 and still single? That's okay.

It's not apathy, it's just the rare ability called letting go. Why dwell on something that you know will destroy you? Choose not to nurture dark and twisty thoughts and instead come up for air and embrace the sunlight. 

My life is not perfect, but whose is? We all have problems. We all have things we wish we have but couldn't. We all have been hurt, cheated, betrayed, and violated. But at the end of it all, the only difference will be how you managed to glue yourself back together and how you handle your life despite the damage. You can choose to let go or you can choose to bask in the brilliance of your failures and stay there until you kick the bucket.

As for me, I choose to be 24 and fabulous!