Things I learned in the past 25 years

I don't know the authenticity of this claim, but apparently on the day I was born, the skies cleared up and the sun's rays pointed towards our house as if it was being spot lighted. Then there came the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bringing gifts of katana, nunchucks, and a kung-fu pole. 

Seems legit.

Here's what I know based on what I heard from oral accounts from my aunts who were with my mom during the day I was bound to come out: apparently, my mom while carrying me in her big tummy was doing the laundry when she experienced the first contraction. She refused to be brought to the hospital at that point because she insisted in finishing the laundry first. I am not sure about the part about my mom driving our owner-type jeep with my aunts to the hospital. We were already at our second case of Red Horse when I was told this story so the authenticity may be questionable. hahaha!

Yeah, my mom was a true badass. She was a military nurse and she was even at the height of her military training when she was pregnant with my older sibling.

I was born on June 8, '88 8:35pm, Zamboanga City. Twenty-five years on, there's three very important things I learned so far:

#1. Playing video games is essential.

I was lucky enough growing up in the era of Family Computer, Sega Genesis and the grand daddy PlayStation. Playing Super Mario, Contra, Battle City, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX taught me some things. 

Games that are easy to beat are no fun at all. Challenging games are very much worth your time. 

Just like in life. Afterall, life by default, is programmed to be in hard mode. Learn to play it diligently, learning at every stage. Learn to harness your most important weapon - experiential knowledge. When you observe that you are encountering the same problems over and over again, it only means one thing, you failed to learn the first time.

Every video games lets you live in a world of adventure, albeit virtually. Do this in real life. Live a life filled with adventure. It is through this that you meet interesting people. You will learn many things and pile up experiential knowledge along the way. Just like Cloud, Squall, or Zidane would gather experience along each adventure to level up. 

Never worry about a damn thing. Most of our problems are not really problems, we create them out of anxiety. Just like battling King Kupa in order to rescue Princess Peach (who apparently is in another castle), challenges come and go. How you tackle it makes the difference. Face it head on, at the end, wether you succeed or not, you know you fought a good fight. Be satisfied on what you have accomplished.

Find your Princess Peach (or your Mario/Luigi), prepare to make mistakes, and never give up. Eventhough you fail to find the right one from time to time (because, again, she is in another castle), just press on. Going all the trouble is worth your time when you eventually find the right one. But take note, when you don't have the looks that is not considered 'beautiful' (as defined by the standards of beauty that is dictated by the society), be prepared to play the dating game in INSANE mode. Play your cards well. hahaha! Trust me, I've been playing the insane mode in the past 25 years.

Unlike video games, you only have one life. No save points. No pause. No restart. Carpe diem, seize the day my friend.

#2. Have an audacious ambition.

Looking inward, your ambitions can tell you so much about yourself. Materially-driven ambitions are shallow ambitions. Having material prosperity as an ambition is not at all bad, because people can argue that having so much material blessings will enable you to share it to the unfortunate. If such is the case, why not aspire to that bigger goal of alleviating poverty? Material prosperity can follow afterwards. This is just the idealistic me speaking, don't pay attention because it is imparctical.

Anyway, ambitions enable us to focus on a central goal. It really pays to have one, because time and again, it has proven me that it is a great support tool in making decisions. In making life choices, ask yourself one thing, will it get me one step closer to my ambition?

Libre mangarap, mangangarap ka na rin lang, gawin mo nang bongga! This is what my mother used to tell me over and over because I kept on answering "gusto kong magtampisaw sa swimimpul na puno ng bola" (the one you can find in Jollibee and McDo playgrounds) when asked what my ambition when I was a kid. I still do aspire that, up until now, but I'm too oversized to fit in those playgrounds. hahaha!

See that personal hero that you look up to? Ghandi, Bruce Lee, Lee Kwan Yew, Oskar Schindler, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Nelson Mandela, Jawaharlal Nehru, Masashi Kishimoto, Akira Toriyama, Ramon Magsaysay, Ramon Bautista, Lourd de Veyra, Justin Bieber. Whoever it is, be that hero. You might emerge even a greater hero than them. Who knows?

  

#3. Be that unsuspecting eccentric: Never spill out everything you know. 

In one way or another you get to share to someone any of life's learnings you have gathered throughout the years. I think it is best to keep it to bare minimum, on what is essential, on what that particular person needs to learn because the most important factor in learning is through experience. Let them search and learn from their own experience.

It is also best not to appear as that all-knowing asshole you love to hate. Let other people underestimate you at times, because the first one to underestimate his opponent is the one who loses first.

I was once deprived of an opportunity to apply for a position at a company because the wife of the owner of the company (which I worked with in a bank) accused me of not using a serving spoon during her birthday lunch celebration. That's right, apparently A F*CKING SERVING SPOON sealed my fate. My friend in that company, Badong, told me that she told him that, and that she did not like me because I look like masakitin daw. Damn, she did not even looked at my credentials. I did not deserve to work in that kind of organization, who values physical attributes over qualifications. True enough, she reserves the right to do so, afterall, they are the owner of that company.

Wherever I am now, and wherever I am headed hereon, was decided by me back then by not using that damn serving spoon. To that past me, thank you very much for doing that. Trust me, we are at the best possible path right now. hahaha!

See, these kinds of situations you don't experience everyday. Treasure it. Learn from it, so that at the end, you will emerge victorious. Let them underestimate you, because it is only you who really knows your own potential. Be confident. So, Ma'am Marivic, you had your chance to judge me. When the time comes that I have my own autobiography published, I reserve the right to include you in it as the "Serving Spoon Lady" and let history judge you. Trust me, that's gonna happen. HAHAHA! 

Small, mundane things can have a profound impact on your life. So be mindful of these little bastards. hahaha!

My friends, again, the first one who underestimates his opponent will be the one who's going to lose first. Don't be that loser.