Ang babaw.Can you develop a feeling for someone based exclusively on their looks? It's very doubtful.Having feelings for someone solely for his or her aesthetic value is, at the very least, is a shallow mode of thinking and feeling even if this disillusioned individual does not realize it."Alam mo, Isaac, pagsabihan mo nalang 'yang kaibigan mo na itigil nalang niya ang kahibangan niya." Hindi ko na maiwasang sabihin. Tanaw namin ngayon si Aquilino habang abala sa pakikipag-usap sa mga bata. Sabay-sabay silang nagtawanan nang may sinabing biro ang isang bata. Halatang nalilibang siya. Aaminin kong may istura naman talaga itong si Aquilino. Pero hindi ko gusto ang ugali niya. Napakasalungat naming dalawa. Hindi kami kailanman magkakasundo. "Hindi nga pwede, Ramona..." mabilis nitong tugon."Bakit naman?"Biglang napalingon sa gawi namin si Aquilino kaya mabilis kong iniiwas ang tingin ko sa ibang direksyon. Natawa bigla si Isaac sa naging kilo

When it's right, you'll know.I've heard that cliché so many times before—when you find the right person, when you get the right job, when you’re on the right track, you'll know—and for the longest time I couldn’t help but find that annoying. What does it mean to ‘know’? Would I have this fluttering heartbeat, this subconscious sense, this universe-given affirmation that this is exactly who I’m supposed to be loving or what I'm supposed to be doing?Until, suddenly, there wasn’t any doubt in my mind. Until I felt a sense of peace in my heart, in my soul. Until I realized that all the time before I’d been running around, searching in the wrong places, bouncing from thing to thing never feeling satisfied or like I belonged. Until I realized that my life had the potential to be good, really good, if I simply let it.I'd always been told that the 'right' things will come. People I looked up to cautioned me to not settle for anything less than what felt absolutely perfect—and not that it

Bata palang ako, alam ko na ang pakiramdam kung paano kasakit ang maiwan— iwanan. Ikaw ba naman iwan ng mga magulang mo sa murang edad dahil hindi na nila alam kung paano ka buhayin? Alam na alam ko ang pakiramdam. Pero dahil sa mga kumupkop sa akin, nawala ang sakit ng nakaraan. They filled me with love that they think I deserved. Maswerte pa rin ako.Hindi. Napakaswerte ko."Wala naman akong pakialam...""Totoo ba 'yang sinasabi mo, Ramona?" Tinignan ako ni Maria ng puno nang pagdududa. Napayuko ako. Pilit hinahanap ang tamang salita."Oo naman. Ayos nga iyon, tumigil na siya. Wala nang mang-gugulo sa buhay ko."Nagulat ako ng bigla niya akong tapikin sa balikat. Dahil nga nakakatanda si Maria sa akin, madalas niya akong payuhan sa buhay at kahit mas matanda siya sa akin, hindi niya man lang ako hinayaang tawagin siyang ate. Ayaw niya nun. Tumatanda daw siya tignan."That's right. Focus on yourself, on what you want. He is just a temptation. "Tumango ako. Hindi na nagprotesta pa,

People always ask me what I want out of life like it’s a simple question with a simple answer. It isn’t. Or at least it doesn’t feel like it is.Because I just want too many things that contradict each other. I want so much that my real answer would overwhelm them.I guess that I just want so badly to be happy.I want to smile to myself. I want to smile at myself. I want to be somebody that is worth loving. I want to love myself.I want to be a person who is calm. I don’t want to over-react to the irrelevant nuisances in life, and I never want to let them distract me. I want to be motivated and ambitious and accomplished.I want to be honest. But not in the way that’s mean or brutal or harsh. I just want to be genuine and real. But I also always want to be understanding and compassionate, and I never want to be judgmental.I want to be the person who is always laughing. I want to be the person with the laugh that makes you laugh. I want laughter to keep me alive.Pero grabe lang. Ang

Caring is not a crime. Getting attached easily is not a sign of a weakened heart.We should be proud of our vulnerability. After everything we have gone through, it would be easier for us to say screw love, screw forever, screw happily ever afters. But we have not done that. We are still wearing your heart on your sleeve. We are still taking risks for love.It takes strength to hand over a bruised heart. It takes strength to love again after being torn apart in the past. It takes strength to act clingy.If someone does not see the value in our clinginess, if someone is uncomfortable with how much attention we give them, you should march your heart in a different direction. Your soft heart is meant to be appreciated, not mocked.Never settle for someone who makes you feel weird about how much you care."Unang beses mo ba ito?" He asked in a low voice.Tumango ako. Nasa loob kami ngayon ng sinehan. Isang psychological-thriller ang pinili namin. Nakapagsine naman na ako pero kasama an