“I Am Not”

There are days when everything seems out of place and I start to feel I am…

…ugly, unloved, unworthy, alone, weak, and begin to see myself fall in an emotional rut.

But He says and sees otherwise…

“You are not ugly, but you are beautiful.

You are not unloved, but you are truly and unconditionally loved.

You are not unworthy, but you are worthy and valuable.

You are not alone, but I am always there – in joy and in pain.

You are not weak, but you are made strong through My grace.”

At the end of the fall, I just get up, dust off what I am not, and start believing in what I am.

“Thinking Outside the Box”

While sitting in my sociology class this week, listening  onto the discussion about social change, a random question popped in my head,

In just a lifetime, can one person create a great impact and influence a positive change in the current state of society?

I’m not asking to get an answer, but I’m asking, for you and me, to take action. As I’ve said, we only have one life so better make it fulfilling, fruitful, inspiring, purposeful, and worthwhile; become someone GREAT.

Become the SALT and LIGHT

Life Lessons Learned in 24 Days

*Note From Mizepifany: This post was long overdue. It was supposed to be published 2 weeks after the month of October started, and I am very sorry for publishing it late. But it has always been one of my life principles that it’s better late than never. Okay, I think I need to change that principle of mine. Hope this post could somehow enlighten your perspectives and benefit from learning it as much as it had mine.

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Before writing this post, I decided to listen to some soothing and relaxing music of Switchfoot.

A quick note on Switchfoot: A Christian Contemporary Rock band based in San Diego, California that has been in the music scene since 1996.  What I admire most about this band has got to be their songs coupled with awesome tunes and melodies. Their genre of music is very diverse, and they have evolved album after album producing more intricate sounds and introspective lyrics on everything about living, its issues, its pains, its arguments, and the hope beyond this over-rated controversy we call, “life”.

Back to the topic, I chose to listen to their mellow creation, “24″, one of my favorite songs from Switchfoot. And the lyrics go…

Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

Still I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And I’m not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

Twenty four reasons to admit that I’m wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

See I’m not copping out not copping out not copping out
When You’re raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now

And You’re raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I want to be one today
Centered and true

I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You’re raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And You’re raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And You’re raising the dead in me
Twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts.
I’m not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.

Have you noticed the high-lighted line from the song, that one simple line, is my inspiration for this post. My 24-day Journey of Learning and Unlearning, started on Sept. 21, 2009 and ended on Oct. 15, 2009.

1. Advice on friendship: Learn to distinguish who are for long-terms, because they deserve much more value and time, rather than the short-term ones, because when you need someone, the long-terms are the only available ones you can count on.

2. Say goodbye to selfishness and embrace selflessness. It will take you a long way in life, and always remember being selfless is of a wise man’s attributes, and not a fool’s.

3. When everything you see inside is everything you hate, stop looking, and just look at the only hope for change, God. Because unless you set your eyes on a better hope of what you can be, rather than the disappointing figure of the present,  it’ll be much easier to accept your weaknesses and turn it into strengths. What you are now is much less important than what you can be in the future.

4. Having a strong hold on anger may cause you to be blind and numb to the love of others. Therefore, a perception of being unwanted and rejected is developed. It’s not that you’re unloved, maybe you’re just rejecting love.

5. Asking for forgiveness, even if you’re not at fault, is one of the most rewarding acts of humility and a stepping stone towards change of a prideful heart.

6. Being stubborn produces serious consequences.

7. When chaos surrounds you and you are at an utter loss, always remember that God is an ever-present help in time of need.

God bless you all.

One more thing, if you’re a graphic designing enthusiast or looking for talented art graphic designers, you might want to check this site out (It’s my friend’s) dejavu-1.deviantart.com. I believe my friend’s very talented and gifted in his craft, all he needs is his art to be discovered  by the people. So I really hope, you check him out.

Nostalgia + College Pressures + Life = Confusion?, Not Really…

NOSTALGIA

I bet you’re wondering what the title meant? I’ve logged on to my Facebook account a few minutes ago,  and I’ve been browsing through some of my former classmate’s recently uploaded photo album. After a few minutes passed, looking at those familiar beaming faces I used to see in class everyday, I suddenly felt sad. It’s true, you’ll never know what you have when it’s gone. A bit cliche, uhm, yeah, but it’s undeniably a 100%  solid truth. Now, nostalgia sets in. Oh, how I’d wish I could go back in that time. Last year was my first year in college. Finally, it meant a new beginning for me after being home-schooled for almost 3 years. It was a fresh start; new faces means new friends, new environment means another culture  shock I have to deal with, and brand new experiences that someday would all be part of just a memory in the past. Everything has gone well.  I made good and true friends, I had stocked a pile of good memories in my heart, there’s really nothing I could complain about, but after the second trimester ended, I made the same mistake again I did 3 years ago. I did not go to school, and officially decided to not enroll in the last trimester. My decision resulted as a waste of my time, my efforts, and my parents’ resources. The gravity of the consequences of one dreadful choice did not fully manifest itself until the start of  this trimester. I thought time and money was all that I had lost, but it didn’t struck me until I found out recently, I also lost my friends; the people I valued the most were gone. Well, they’re not really gone, I still see them once in a while, I say “Hi!”, and I would get the same responses all over again like a broken record, “Oh? Hello!, We miss you!, It’s sad that we’re no going to be in the same class anymore.” Then they’re off, leaving you hanging there by yourself in the school corridors. Don’t misjudge them, they’re not bad people, nor fake friends, with all those time I also left them hanging, not replying to their text messages of concern, I was responsible for cutting my connection  with them. No wonder, that’s how our friendship came to be.  Forgive me if everything I’ve typed are far too depressing for you to read, but I feel the urge to let go and type what I’m going through because I know there is someone out there in the world, even if that is just one person, would be able to read this and understand what I’m going through.

I have learned if you continue to live in your past, whether it be in a painful memory or a blissful one, you could never fully appreciate the present and the beauty it beholds, leaving you to ignore and neglect the pleasant surprises in store for you.

COLLEGE PRESSURES

Yes, after dealing with the former dilemma, I still cannot escape my alter-ego, “The Student”. Sounds like a superhero, doesn’t it? You might be surprised on how an average person is capable of having too many alter-egos, it’s definitely not exclusive just for superheroes on comic books. Prelims are so out-of-date, now for the latest news, midterms are next in line. I would try to make this pressure as much more enjoyable than it actually is.

Keep in mind that all pressures can be handled well, if you can maintain a good attitude all the time. Then you’ll see, everything will just breeze through like it was nothing.

LIFE

Life can never be too unbearable for us. There has never been a demand for you to carry the weight on your shoulder. There’s Someone up there who’s willing to carry your loads and worries, so that you’ll be able to enjoy life and live it to the fullest. The past may not always be a pleasant memory, we hope it would be; it may be filled with sadness, pain, and heartaches. One truth is far more greater than any advice to a happy life: If you fully surrender your life to God, you’ll be amazed with the wondrous things He can do in it.

Switchfoot – More Than Fine

I’m still alive!

Yay! I finally got the time to write and update my blog. To tell you the truth, I’m not in the mood to write. It feels like I’m all messed up on the inside. Every emotions were mixed and mashed together that I couldn’t pinpoint what I’m exactly feeling as of this moment. I’ve got to get myself together before school starts, I’m not ecstatic of messing up every decision I make again.

Well, it’s obvious that I’m not enthusiastic with everything that’s happening to me lately. And it really irritates me when you’re the only person feeling this way when everybody else is celebrating life. I don’t want to be a pessimist and all, that’s why I tried avoiding people and socializing with them. I’m in refusal to be in contact with anyone. Now, I sound like an emo kid desiring to be alone, but I’m not at all. It’s just that for me, being in a crowd makes me feel more alone than when I’m in solitude. It’s very unlikely for me to feel this way again. I’m definitely not accepting what I’m feeling, I’m not letting my emotions get the best of me. I’m not taking a step backward after all the progress I have made through these years. If anyone with the same situation as me would have the opportunity to read this, I just want to tell you, don’t let your emotions control you and bring you further down. Learn to encourage yourself in the Lord. Out of every encouragement and advices anyone could give you, God is much more able to uplift you from the negativity you’re feeling and experiencing. He has the power to restore the joy and the healthy countenance of your heart. Like what David had experienced and relayed in Psalm 42:11,

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted within me?
hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him,
who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”

Hope this post has also been an encouragement to you, and continue to hope and put your trust in the Lord. He has always been mindful of you from the first day you came in this world. He has prepared still the best for you and He cares for your well-being. He will, with all His might, bring you good things things and blessings that you may enjoy life abundantly. God bless you and take care.