In my last post, I rounded up my learnings from 2015 by quoting some of my children’s books. Since I get my own version of #hugotlines from them, I decided to share a few more:

9.  ON ENDURING HARDSHIPS AND EVOLVING

IN PIA’S WORDS:  In order for us to be the best person that we can be, we need to go through hardships. It’s the only way we can evolve.  It’s like preparing for that annual debauchery that we call #Laboracay. We need to go through the pain of going to the gym everyday and the heartbreak of saying no to every single Vikings buffet before we could get the bikini bod that is worthy of a no-coverup selfie. No amount of Bangkok pills or slimming tea will get us the same ripped results. Nothing good ever comes easy.

10. COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS

IN PIA’S WORDS:  Things are not as bad as we think. No matter what crappy situation we find ourselves in, it could always be worse.  Your ex cheated on you with your best friend and you lost your job. But you’ve never looked more  fab and that hair treatment that you splurged on really did pay off.  Plus, you now have the time and enough savings in the bank to start that gourmet truffle balot idea you had one drunken night. The point is, the universe always throws us a bone to keep us hopeful. There’s always, always a silver lining. So stay grateful and count your blessings.

11. ON REAL LOVE

IN PIA’S WORDS: Like the rest of life, love doesn’t come easy. It  entails having to sacrifice our own needs for the sake of another person; even if it means not getting the same effort back. It takes a lot out of us. But the weird thing about it is, as we lose a bit of ourselves by loving, we become the best, most authentic version of ourselves that we can possibly be. That’s because in the process, we discover things about ourselves that we wouldn’t have discovered had we not taken the risk to love.  Just look at Khloe, who stuck by Lamar (even if they’re technically separated) despite the fact that he’s a druggie who OD’d in the freakin’ Bunny Ranch. She may not have Kim’s butt or Kendall’s bone structure, but she has quickly turned into everyone’s favourite Kardashian. True love is batsh*t painful, but it also transforms you- It makes you more real, more special and undeniably irreplaceable.

12. ON LOVE EXPECTATIONS

IN PIA’S WORDS: Getting in a relationship and expecting our partner to fill in that void in our lives just doesn’t work. Jerry Maguire’s iconic ‘you complete me’  bulls*t may have been a box office hit, but it also created a generation of entitled lovers who have unreasonable expectations. It doesn’t translate to real life. Everyone, including our partners, have their own issues and own hangups that make them un-whole so to speak. And to expect that one day, we will find one whose holes and gaps fit ours perfectly is just setting us up for heartbreak. We need to strive to make ourselves whole. Nobody else can do it.

13. ON NOT TAKING LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY

IN PIA’S WORDS: Laugh and have fun. There are days when we just want to spend hours blowing up flowers in Blossom Blast. Nothing wrong with that. Not everything we do or say needs to have some deeper purpose or meaning. There is also value in recognising the absurdity in life and laughing even if we find ourselves in the direst situations. A friend who going through a really, really tough time with her husband, talked about how she bawling her eyes out one day when her tita suddenly stopped her mid-sentence to ask about her about her eye makeup. They then proceeded to discuss which mascara is the most ugly cry -proof. Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to have silly moments and indulge in inappropriate fits of laughing. Breathe. A little nonsense never hurt anybody.

14. ON FINDING BALANCE

IN PIA’S WORDS: To quote Dr. Seuss, “Life is just one balancing act”. Sometimes we need to sit tight and wait for the right opportunity to present itself, sometimes we need to move. Sometimes, we need to wait for our crush to text us, sometimes we need to take a risk and be the one to say, “Sup.” It’s all about timing and finding the equilibrium that suits our situation the best.

15. ON DREAMING AND BELIEVING

IN PIA’S WORDS: If you can think it, then it’s possible. If people let themselves be encumbered by what is “practical, realistic and doable”, then we wouldn’t have airplanes, smartphones, the internet and the Kardashians. So think outside the box. And dare to dream.

16. ON BELIEVING IN OURSELVES

IN PIA’S WORDS: The one person you need to bet on is yourself. Sometimes, we are so afraid that we don’t have what it takes to manage a certain difficulty that life throws us that same situation just to show us that dude, the universe has nothing on us. The hardships, challenges and problems of last year have managed to prove one thing: We can endure. No scratch that, we don’t just endure; we thrive. Einstein didn’t let his dismal marks in school stop him from winning a Noble Prize; Anne Curtis didn’t let her ghastly voice stop her from filling up an entire concert stadium. Each one us has been given the exact amount of brains, strength, heart and talent to become whomever we wish to become. The only thing left for us is to believe in ourselves.

So cheers to the learnings, hardships and triumphs of 2015! May we take every bit of wisdom from all the experiences that we had for a better, more peaceful, more prosperous and more kickass 2016. 🙂