Scars and Stars

My old blog was named Scars and Stars (2005-2012), mainly because I have a lot of scars and I have a penchant for anything star-shaped. When I say I have a lot of scars, I’m not talking about emotional scars… I am referring to real scars. I suffer from skin asthma and I’m allergic to a lot of things, an attack would leave me with rashes and patches of scars. I remember my kindergarten graduation when I insisted on wearing a pair of white lacey leggings not to look cute but because I really feel insecure about my legs. That early? Yes that early. During my junior prom, I wore a cardigan over my sleeveless dress because I don’t want to show my arms. One classmate nicknamed me “ dalmatian ” obviously because of my scars. I started to have a relationship with numerous jogging pants too. I overcame a lot of my allergies. I can now eat chicken, eggs, and seafood. I also rarely get my skin asthma unless I’m really stressed out. I don’t know when or how I was able to rise above t...

Dear Yseph, Today you turn 1! Tita will not be physically there to party with you today but I always make up for the missed birthdays when I’m home, right? I know you’re too young to disagree.  Your Dada used to be our baby too, just like you. I can’t help but look back when he was still little and your Lola Vicky spoils him so much because he is our only boy. You will carry our last name… That is until you get married and it’s too early to talk about that right now. Anyway, as I was saying, amongst your cousins you are the only one who will carry your Lolo’s last name. I don’t know why I mentioned that but it’s amazing how time flies so fast. I know you will grow up to be a fine lady… I know you will make us proud. Always follow your dreams, we will always be here to support you. Love, Tita Jimi

I think I have laid back too much. I feel sad because lately I have taken some things for granted. I haven’t been able to practice my photography, I am often too lazy to wake up early to practice driving, I haven’t spoken to our Mandarin teacher about the classes, the one international trip for this year seems to not materialize, I’m two books behind my a-book-a-month project, work is not a ‘happy place’ anymore and I haven’t spoken to my mom or my sisters in a long time. The list could go on and on and I know that I have a strong hand on turning the table around. I’m not sure if this is just because I feel lazy most of the time or maybe because I already lost my focus. To be fair to myself, I’ve had several accomplishments to boot – I’ve finally opened my personal savings account separate from my travel account and I have resurrected my travel blog. I have visited a lot of new places lately and I am always confronted with the beauty of this gift – this life, this world, thi...