Why Travel Solo?

So, I tried traveling solo abroad for the first time. At first it was both exciting and terrifying at the same time (maybe terrifying is a bit exaggerated), as I don’t know what to expect and some of my friends think it is not that fun and may even be dangerous. But after doing it, I really loved the experience and I will definitely do it again.

Here are some things I like about traveling solo:

1. YOU HAVE CONTROL. Control over where you want to go, when you want to go, what you want to do and not want to do. Unlike when you’re with your friends, you don’t need to compromise with what to do –  Everything is up to you. You can do everything you like without thinking if your friends is up to it. You don’t even need to have a plan of what to do. No pressure.

2. YOU CAN MEET MORE PEOPLE. When you’re with your friends or your special someone, somehow you create a wall that separates you from other people; you somehow create your own world that keeps people from approaching you. But when you’re alone, you’re somehow more vulnerable and it would be easier for people to approach you and talk to you. And personally it is easier for me to talk to a person that is alone than a large group of people. Also, if you’re alone, somehow you’ll be forced to talk to other people, for directions, for tips, or just because it is boring to just talk to yourself.

3. YOU’LL APPRECIATE THE PLACE, THE VIEW, AND THE CULTURE MORE. When you’re alone, you have more time to concentrate on and appreciate the place you are in. In a way, you can be immersed more with the place and the culture.

4. SOME ALONE TIME IS HEALTHY TOO. Sometimes it is good too to spend some time alone and discover how to enjoy yourself. You’ll somehow lean how to be more in touch with yourself. You’ll discover things about yourself that you may not know unless you’re alone. I can’t really explain it but it is refreshing in a way.

5. IT IS FUN, PERIOD. It is a totally different experience – talking to strangers, getting lost, not knowing anyone, meeting new friends, doing crazy things that only you can understand, discovering new things, learning new language and other things. And yes, maybe it can be more fun if you spend these experiences with friends. But still, traveling alone offers a different kind of fun, and besides you may probably not alone all the time as you’ll definitely meet people along the way.

So, go ahead and try traveling alone even just once. or maybe twice. or thrice 🙂

 

 

 

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Note to Self no.1 (or something): PAUSE

When everything is in chaos, just pause.

Breathe.

Relax.

Zoom out, then analyze what is happening.

Take time to think.

Sometimes we just need to be refreshed to find a solution.

So every now and then just PAUSE.

 

Supertyphoon Haiyan: “The Filipino Spirit is Stronger than Any Typhoon”

It is really devastating to see the damage that supertyphoon Haiyan/Yolanda (the strongest typhoon in the world by far) has done, especially that some parts of the Philippines just recently experienced  earthquake too.

But as they say, there’s always a rainbow after the rain. And what’s good about us, FIlipinos, is our unwavering spirit, and despite after all this, we are able to stand up, shrug it all off, and is still able to smile and be able to be grateful for what is left. The faith of the Filipino people is so amazing.

It also overwhelming to see that after every calamity, we all stand as one nation and as one world, and a lot of people from everywhere are very willing to help. It is really heartwarming to know that we are all there for one another, whether or not we are directly affected by the typhoon.

In these sites are how/where we can help:

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/09/21386694-how-to-help-organizations-offering-relief-to-typhoon-haiyan-survivors

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/09/haiyan-how-you-can-help/3484467/

I guess, I can speak for all the Filipino, that we are all grateful for all the help we are getting.

(credits to the owner of the photo)

LIFE PLAN: It is never too late

I am a work in progress – I am not “there” yet, but at least I have progress.

In the past few months I have been trying to manage my life. I decided that I’ll start to have a life plan for a change.

I never really had a plan or a goal whatsoever. I have always lived my life on a day to day basis. I’m the type that just gets by.

Maybe I do have some short term goals before, like finishing studies and passing the board exams. But after passing the boards, somehow I feel lost, because after that, I don’t seem to have any concrete goals anymore; no more exams to pass, or to get ready for. The feeling is like when your favorite series that you’ve watched for six years suddenly ends; it is like you have nothing to look forward to.

Sure I do have things I want to achieve, like getting rich, having my own architectural firm, or doing something else. But, those are just some aspirations, and I don’t really have a plan how to get all of those.

There are times that I did try to start to prepare or something, like saving up my money. But every once in a while I slip, and spend my savings to buy some shoes, to travel or whatever, thinking that I should be enjoying what I earn. I am really not good at having priorities and restraining my desires and sudden urges.

And then, some time at the beginning of this year I realized that what’s really wrong with me is that I don’t have a plan – a life plan. I need to have goals and I need to have direction. So I tried doing that for a change.

By that time, I don’t know how to do it, so I experimented at first and study how to do it.

First, I assessed myself.

Where am I right now? What did I achieved? What do I have?

It is now four years since I graduated, four years since I started working and two years since I had my license, but i don’t feel like I achieved something significant and somehow I still feel lost.

I guess it does help to be lost sometimes and feel down, so you’ll have more motivation to better yourself.

And then, I asked myself what I really want. I brainstormed

I started with loose ideas of what I want -> from small things to ambitious things.

What are my passions?

What excites me?

What am I good at?

Then I drafted my Life Goals

I organized the thoughts I gathered into short term and long term goals

I wrote it down and constantly add something to it

Then I asked myself how I’ll achieve those goals

I assessed myself again. What do I have to achieve these? What do I need to get what I want?

I reviewed my skill sets; my strengths and weaknesses

I educated myself. I attended seminars/talks, read books and a lot of other things.

I developed a financial plan to support my life goals.

I tried to learn to manage my time and other resources; look at possible opportunities and threats along the way.

At first, it is really exciting, and I was really passionate about it.

But, after a while though, I got distracted.

I tried a lot of things. Some worked. Some did not. Sometimes I still slip and not follow through, and then I do things all over again. But at least with every time I learn something.

It is a long process of trial and error.

Right now, I’m actually starting over again. And I tell myself that it is never too late to start over again. And I say to myself that nothing has been and will be wasted as long as I learned from the past experiences and failures and continuously learn along the way.

One reason also that I have this blog is to keep record of my progress. I have in my life plan saved in drafts, so I can look at it, edit and update it every now and then.

And now, looking at it, I know that I am still a work in progress. And though I am not ‘there’ yet, at least I know there is PROGRESS.

So, here I am again, starting over, telling (convincing) myself, that it is never too late.

All I need is to have  discipline and commitment to make this work.

Random thoughts about WEAKNESS

In order to be better, one must also be aware of his weaknesses.

We should face our weaknesses because after all, it is a part of us.

We should not run away from it and instead face it.

We should admit it to ourselves; we should recognize it.

We have to determine it to be able to know how to deal with it.

Ignoring these weaknesses and suppressing them doesn’t really solve anything.

We can only solve a problem once we know what the problem is.

Turn your weaknesses into strengths; use it to your advantage.

Take it as a challenge and not as a burden.

Be creative; you can do something about it or maybe you can gain something from it

Don’t let it drag you down.

It is all about mindset.

(And yes, this is some sort of a pep talk to myself, but I do hope I made sense, haha)

 

CREATE YOUR FIRST POST: Why is it so hard to start?

When I started this blog, I am sort of clueless. I am still learning how to navigate through this, but I know I’ll learn it along the way, and it is kinda exciting; discovering things is actually fun.

I don’t know a lot about a blog, but one thing is for sure – I need to post something (it is after all the purpose of a blog). But the funny thing is, when I reached the section where I have to create my first post, I was kinda stunned; I paused for God knows how long and It really took me a while.

Most of the times it is really hard to start something. There really is something about the ‘first times’ that is somehow terrifying. Sometimes the first steps are really the hardest. Even though you already prepped yourself and you really think that you are ready, sometimes when you are already there, you just froze.

Well, this is not my first post technically (I got over it, thankfully). But I can’t help but think of why s it hard for me to start some things, and here is what I came up with:

1. First Impressions Lasts

Sometimes we do things to impress other people, especially for those people who have strong needs for other people’s approval. I am not really sure if the “first impression lasts” is true to other people, but the thought of it is somehow terrifying.

It is hard to start if that thought is hanging on your mind, because you want things to be near perfect before actually executing it. You want to polish and polish and polish and then you stall, you postpone and you do that again and again and most of the times you end up not doing anything at all.

It is really nice to establish a good first impression (especially if that may be your only chance to impress), but the thing is no one is really sure if what you’ll do will impress people, unless you try and actually do it. After all, we can’t really please everyone. And maybe it would be better if we do things to EXPRESS and not really to IMPRESS.

But then again, if we really want to impress, we just need to prepare, and have the courage to take the first step.

2. Fear, anxiety and fear and anxiety

Well, this is somehow similar to item number one; maybe I just want to give FEAR some more emphasis.

Fear of failure, fear of being criticized, or pretty much fear of a lot of things. Sometimes we really just worry a lot, or think a lot, making things a bit more complicated. We tend to do that a lot of times and sometimes we seem to overindulge ourselves with this anxiety.

True enough, anything unknown is really terrifying, but sooner or later we do have to face that fear. So, just say to yourself to hell with fear

3. Instant Excellence

Again, related to number one.

Sometimes, we want our first shot to hit the jackpot instantly; we want our first try to be super excellent. I guess, it is just normal to want that, and sometimes we can get lucky and hit the jackpot instantly. It is always a nice goal to aim for the best. It is just that sometimes because of being too perfectionist, we tend to overthink, we stall, we postpone, and we never actually take a step to start until we are convinced that everything is perfect.

The truth is sometimes we may need to start small, and we should not be afraid to start small. We have to accept that we can’t always start big time. What is important is we START.

4. Idea Overload

Having ideas is good, but having too much of it is sometimes drowning. After all, too much of anything is really not good. Too much information is so confusing and overwhelming that we don’t now how to start. This for me is a serious problem as it happens to me a lot of times. But what I do is pause, take a deep breath and then panic. Just kidding. I don’t know what works for other people but for me, what I need is to relax first, write the random ideas, try my best to organize, and I select what topic to focus first.

5. Simply Clueless

Sometimes, you just really have no idea what to do. It happens. Sometimes it is just mental block. But sometimes you are simply clueless; you’re just too excited with an idea without even knowing anything about it, so when it is already time to start it, you are clueless and don’t know what to do.

However, I believe that it is ok to be dumb or clueless sometimes as long as you don’t stay way.

6. Lazy 

Sometimes we are not really dumb, but just lazy.

There are times that we are just so in love with an idea but uninterested to really start it. Or maybe we really want an idea, and we love planning it, we want the goal and the idea of what we can yield from it but then we get lazy when it comes to the execution.

I don’t really know if there is a cure for laziness, but I guess sometimes we just need some motivation and a little PUSH.

There may be a lot of other reasons why it is hard to start. But what important is we start. It may be hard (It really is), but most of the times, once we get past through that “first step”, the rest is easier (at least most of the times, I guess, as there may still be some bumps along the way, but that’s usual). We can never be sure if what will be the result of our “start”, but starting something is always better than not starting at all. If ever we fail, we just get up, learn from the experience and start-over.

Why Blog

So, Why Blog?  I have no idea why other people blog or write or whatever. I also don’t know why SHOULD people blog.

But I guess for me, I started this blog for the following reasons:

1. To do something new. 

Well, technically, this is not something new to me as I already tried blogging before. But, that was ages ago, and I haven’t really wrote of this sort for quite a while; so at least for my lifestyle nowadays and daily routine, this is something new.

Sometimes our daily lives becomes so monotonous, predictable and boring, as your life becomes more and more of a routine. So it is healthy (in my opinion at least) to always try something new, whether it is blogging, writing, trying a different route to work, or whatever. It doesn’t matter if it is small or big. It is after all exciting to try something new. Yes, it may also be terrifying (and yes it terrifies me sometimes to write), but I guess for now I don’t care because i really want something that will spice up my life and break the routine. 

Lastly, I am convinced that there are much to gain and nothing to lose in trying out something new. It is an adventure where I may discover some new learning and realizations.

2. To practice my writing prowess and my English.

I am not sure if I have a talent in writing. I can say that I can write decent essays back in college or at least I believe I can because I got decent grades with those essays, but then again, the grade may be because of the whole thought of the essay and not the manner it was written. Also, I actually think that I may have problem(s) with grammar (I guess, the mere fact that i am unsure of my grammar means I have a problem with it), and I don’t think my vocabulary is that broad.

Hopefully in doing this blog, i’ll be able to improve in all of those mentioned above. After all, as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect, or at least it will make you better (I hope). It is always in trying (by trying, I mean really doing things done), and sometimes failing, that we really learn and improve.

3. To have a “trash can” slash outlet

Everyone needs an outlet somewhere you can channel or dump your emotions, rants, thoughts or whatever, even if those thoughts are actually nonsense. It is after all free. And I don’t care about responsible posting, blogging or whatever. On a second thought, I actually do care, but still I can write my rants here and maybe just save it in drafts – sometimes I just need to release things through writing them down, but I don’t really need it to be read by everyone.

Or it can also be a venue for EXPRESSION.

4. To have an online notepad of Ideas

If my memory serves me well, there is a quote that says we need to write down our ideas, or at least something like that. I actually spent some time searching that quote but I cannot really find it. But anyways, I do believe that whenever we have ideas, even those that seems silly, should be written write away, because we may easily forget those ideas. It is important because it may be the key to our success or the answer to our problems. And yes, we need to write down even the silly ones; sometimes the silly ideas turn out to be brilliant. Writing down ideas is good for brainstorming and in focusing on a certain topic; it helps the mind works. It can also serve as a reference for future use or for someone else’s benefits.

There is also a possibility that i added this item just to look intellectual or insightful( though I personally don’t want to think that this is the reason, so I’ll stick with the first one).

5. To start something and to discover

Somehow I am hoping that in writing, I’ll figure out something new for me or maybe a new talent.I am thinking that maybe by writing things and ideas I’ll find something I’m good at. But I guess that will just be a bonus, if that ever happens.

6. I Actually don’t know

Maybe, I just want to try this out, again, This can also be just a spur of the moment and just me being spontaneous. I may actually have no reasons at all, and I just made up the previous items just to rationalize why I’m blogging and so that I can have a decent first post.

 

Well, whatever! I may have other reasons or I may have no reasons at all. I can believe whatever I want to believe after all. But for now, I’d probably stick with what I mentioned above.