Say Something

Wake a wise man up about his oppression, and he will thank you for it. Wake a fool up about his oppression, and he will blame you for it. Yes, we all want to live peacefully and make our living without thinking of the bigger issues of power because that is just too big of a headache. We don't need to take responsibility for what we can't do anything about. Those who speak up get burned, and those who keep quiet are preferred. It's better to stay on the safe side, right? Wrong. You can always grow new skin when you burn, but you can't erase the propagation of oppression after you've allowed it. We are all born with conscious minds, so being oblivious to even the slightest form of oppression is a choice, not a result of unawareness. Be wise and stay awake. Just because you're breathing doesn't mean you're living. Do something. Say something. Risk something. At least, if you want to make a difference.

Unconditional Love?

Unconditional love is not true love. It's foolish love. True love has an unconditional willingness to listen and to understand. True love has an unconditional willingness to give, compromise, and sacrifice while working for one future, not two. It has conditions of respect. Don't tell me disrespect can come out of love. Don't tell me violence can come out of love. Don't tell me manipulation can come out of love. True love is not blind. It has a vision. Though it may not make sense who you love, how you love them should.

Work Hard

Thirty years from now, what do you want to look back and tell yourself? If you keep in mind the purpose you have in your life, every hard day becomes worth it. So, if you're working hard, work harder. Don't give up. Don't ever stop. Building yourself, though it is exhausting, is more rewarding than the regret of not doing so, especially when you realize that you're not as strong as you once were, or as capable as you once were.

How Dare You

If you have a purpose in life, you will have enemies. If you care about the well-being of the people around you, even if you don't know them, you will have enemies. The world will try to convince you that the best life that you can live is one in which you care about yourself only. Lose your heart. Don't be compa.s.sionate unless you have time. As long as you earn enough money, shut your mouth. Who cares about everyone else? Never question authority because doing that is wrong. Who are you to know more than those who are in positions of power? How dare you? We seriously have forgotten what being human means. We've become machines. We've become experts at justifying our flaws, but we're not even close to acknowledging that those flaws exist because of the lack of basic human interaction. How can a mother sacrifice years of her life, put her career aside, make her dreams wait, without waiting for a paycheck at the end of the month? Would a paycheck bring her the same kind of happiness anyway? Not. Even. Close. We don't make ourselves compa.s.sionate; we are born compa.s.sionate. We selectively allow ourselves to be heartless because we are convinced that selfish people who put themselves first are the happiest. Yes, put yourself first but not in a selfish way. Put yourself first by working on bettering yourself. Listen to your heart when it tells you to help. Listen to it when it aches. Use your mind. Listen to it when it wakes up your dignity. Listen to it when it tells you to say no to what is wrong.

Your Inner Beauty

In an upside-down world like ours, it doesn't matter who you are. Who you make yourself seem like does, though. The higher your expectations, the harder people will work to reach them. And with your prestige, they value you more. It's true. But why do you look at materialistic people? Why do you look at those who make you feel like you have to be different to impress them? Stop and rewind. Go back to the caterpillar that you were before you got your beautiful wings. Who loved you then? Who respected you then? Who saw the beauty within you then? Those people right there are the ones who deserve to be impressed by you. Not the ones who make you feel small even though you're way bigger. Not the ones who make you feel worthless even though you deserve to be sitting on a throne in a kingdom of your own.

Heal

Don't point out people's mistakes unless you're willing to tell them how to fix them. Criticism can break the strongest of souls, and advice can build the weakest of spirits. Your words can be healing, or they can be sickening. Let them heal. Let them inspire. Let them be the crying shoulder that your shoulder cannot be.

Lost

You may not be where you want to be, but you are somewhere. When chasing after big dreams, you must measure your progress by how far you've come, not by how far you still must go. So, if your dreams are too far out of sight, be happy because that means they are big. You are not stronger than fate, but don't be too quick to judge where fate leads you. Keep moving. You may not end up where you set your sails for, but your hard work will get you to a destination that's no less great. Put your best effort forward and own it. Don't fight fate. Befriend it.

A Castle of My Own

I crafted the doors to my castle with a chisel I sharpened with every arrow aimed at my heart. I closed these doors and hid the keys in the highest tower I built. On every step, I engraved respect. I shattered every gla.s.s window and replaced them with bars of steel. I broke down every wall tainted by the hands of those whose trustworthiness I believed in and was disappointed by. I ripped apart every paper I wrote to those who heard my words with their ears, not with their brains or hearts. I shielded my heart with a golden cage. I left the key in a dark place, and I sought the light. My soul sought peace. It sought purity from the dusty world surrounding it. It ached for the innocence within it to shine. It sought the lost key but soon realized that it did not need it, for I am already the owner of my heart.

Make a Difference

Making a difference in the world begins with making a difference in yourself. Life may pa.s.s you by, and one day you will realize that you spent years on others and always wondered when you would have time for yourself. The truth is that it is so much easier to care for others than it is to care for yourself. Honesty hurts you, but being honest with others about themselves is a lot easier. So you invest in others. You forget that the best kind of investment is in making yourself a better person. Don't stop caring for others, but promise me this: start caring for yourself today. Let go of whatever is holding you back. No excuses. Just start.

Trust Me

It's not about who you trust. It's about what you're willing to trust people with. Even the most trustworthy of people will let out your secrets, even unintentionally. You know why? It's because no one is perfect. We are all flawed. And sometimes we underestimate our innocence and overestimate other people's innocence, so we trust with the best of intentions yet manage to come off as naive. Yes, naive, or too unrealistic. Too hopeful. Too positive. As if there could ever be too much goodness. Trust people, but don't burden them with your problems or worries. Don't trust them with things that could cage you in the past. Keep your heart on the harbor of safety. Keep your brain away from regret. Trust them with your thoughts on life, your reflections, aspirations, and values. Trust them with your manners. Trust them with your kindness. And if they betray those things, at least you've lost nothing. Instead, you will prove to yourself how strong your values are against the tides of ignorance around you.

Dream Your Journey Away

We learn a lot more from the journey than the destination. Don't focus on the result because the fear of failure will make you blind to the possibility of success. Focus on the process instead because it'll motivate you to take every step carefully. At least we can dream during our journey, but our destination may be scarred by reality. So enjoy your journey and push yourself to prove to yourself how capable you are of making the right decisions, of putting the right efforts forward, and of staying true to yourself.

Age and Wisdom

Respect your elders but don't ever accept power used wrongly. Just because they're older, it doesn't mean they're wiser. Just because they're in power, it doesn't mean they're just. Just because they're accountable for their actions, it doesn't mean that they realize the importance of honesty. If you don't stand your ground, they will walk all over you and even make lies up about you if they have to keep their statuses safe. Walk with your head up high and don't look down except to remind yourself of where we all came from and where we all will end up.

Choose Beauty

People will not remember the details of what your face looks like, yet you worry the most about that. They do remember your smile. The look in your eyes while they were talking to you. The way you made them feel. How gentle you were. The comfort your words gave them and the understanding you were willing to offer. How you went out of your way to make them happy. Your kindness, your compa.s.sion, and your respectfulness. The most beautiful of faces may have the ugliest of hearts, and if that's what you're looking for, that's what you will get. But if you have a beautiful heart, your beauty will shine on people's hearts. Whether they see it or not depends on what they're looking for.

A Taste of Your Own Medicine

Don't give them a taste of their own medicine. They already know what it tastes like. Give them a taste of your own medicine. If they lied, let your medicine be honesty. If they played with your emotions, let your medicine be maturity. If they broke you, let your medicine heal. If they made you cry, let your medicine make them smile. These remedies of yours may take years to work, but they work. And they last. So be patient. Stay true to yourself. And remember this: it is better for people to value you for who you are, not for who you pretend to be. Who you are lasts a lifetime. Who you pretend to be changes like the change of seasons. Don't be afraid to be yourself, even if it means removing yourself from lives that you want to be in. You are, no doubt, worthy of being valued for who you are. So be who you are.

Listen

Stop listening to the voices around you. Focus on the voices within you. Your heart's language is the most comprehensive. Your mind's logic is the most worthy of your time. Fix yourself before you worry about fixing others. At the end of the day, no one will walk your journey for you. You have to do that. At the end of the day, no one will dream for you. You have to do that. At the end of the day, no one will lose a moment of sleep because of the sleep you lose. Learn to trust your instincts. Don't ask for advice on personal matters unless it's from family. No one has an intrinsic motive to stand up for you. If you don't want people to a.s.sume facts about you, don't a.s.sume facts about them. Teach yourself to be independent of others' opinions but respectful of them. Love solitude. Love the person that you are. Don't ever believe that you are the same as anyone else. Don't ever dare to think that being different is a crime, no matter how many people shut you out. They earned the right to be let go of. You are different, and that's a fact. You are unique, and that's a fact. Your existence is in your hands, so let it shine. Let it inspire. Let it be free.

Understand Me

Would you ask the sun why it shines brighter on some days than others? Would you ask the moon why it breaks the darkness on some nights and not others? Such is the course of life. Some days, we give our best, but other days, we just exist. Some days, we are kings and queens of our minds and souls, and some days, we are slaves to our hearts. So much within us is easy to misjudge if it is not understood. And people are more likely to misjudge us than to try to understand us.

The Best in Me