Saturday, January 29

before i turn a year older.

(first of a series..)

26, for me, is the most strategic age to start planning how the rest of your life will turn out to be. it is the middle ground between being retrospective of the things of your youth and being clairvoyant of the prospects of your future. being 26 means not being too young to start thinking about your life adventures thus far, while also not being too old that you are set out on your ways -- to the contrary, you can always have a healthy mix of both these worldviews, so you can adapt to the ways of world.

adapting, mind you, does not always imply compromising, but more often than not, it entails discarding all those rose-colored life perceptions that have broken you in the past.

in the end, what is important is that you have learned, and what matters is how your life goes on from now. these, through the years, have been my realizations about being 26, and about the absurdity that has become my life:

on jobs

by this time, it might already be apparent to you that the universe does not operate by your standards. corollary to this time-tested truth, you might have been the most brilliant university student who aced both math and english, excelled in c0-curricular activities, and was a campus figure that was well-loved by both your teachers and secret admirers (sometimes, even by both sexes, or even by teachers of both genders). but work is not an extension of your school reputation.

here, you get broken to the truth that in order to be mainstream, you oftentimes need to think less so you can earn more. even when you have that ultimate dream job etched in your mind and you imagine yourself to be doing what your heart prods you to do, the universe can be a bitch and it may slap you with a job that only requires you to use a quarter of your brain.

even when the most complicated math problems in college was the air that kept you alive in college, and your prose was the most beautiful in your literature class, you still need to go out and smell the stinking stench of office politics. yes, that is one facet of your job that the universe has especially prepared for you. so do not be surprised when all of a sudden, you find yourself at the pit, and you need to slither your way to the top -- because if you are brilliant, your sparkle will inevitably shine through.

if you are currently employed, ask yourself: do i still see myself doing this after 10, 15, or 20 years? if your heart's honest answer is yes, then slug it out with an impassioned heart and a tempered mind -- feel that this is what you will be doing for the rest of your life, but be consoled by your knowledge that not everything will go according to plan. be wise.

if, on the other hand, your heart softly tells you to abandon ship, resign from your job as soon as you can, before you get sucked up entirely by it. it takes daring and courage to own up to this, but you need to remember that your decision now will inevitably bleed to your conception of self 10 to 20 years from now. you owe it to your future self. if you are unhappy now, then this sadness is exponentially bound to multiply if you do not do anything about it.

these routines, after all, have an uncanny way of normalizing sadness, and mediocrity, through time, becomes ideal. leave while your faculties still have the power to distinguish one from the other. otherwise, your tragedy is in the offing.

on love

by this time, you are well aware that the fairy tale kind of love does not exist, or if it does, it does not last long. it might be possible for you to reminisce your first love or the trappings of love unrequited, but most probably too, you have been broken by the most painful heartache your heart has ever known. if you are lucky, you may have been meticulously reattached into one coherent whole after that; but if you're not, you may still be reeling from the brokenness of empty promises, farce substitutes to commitment, and i-love-yous that do not sustain.

even when you may have lost a little faith in your personal conception of love, as much as possible, do not be jaded and abandon it entirely. it is okay to lose faith in people, but never in love. if anything, you just need to temper your romantic exploits, and be extra cautious with who you choose to surrender your heart to. love, according to desiderata, is perennial as the grass -- therefore, pine for it, but do not be blinded by the intensity of your emotions once it engulfs you entirely. yes, you may think that what you feel is the real deal, but you also need to temper your emotions with these musings:

first, does it feel like a perfect match? at 26, it is important to look for someone who can keep up with both your endearments and eccentricities. as much as possible, look for someone who shares your heart's passions and basks in the same crimson sunsets that warm your heart. do not settle for anything else, because on the second question;

is your partner there because of the intertwining of emotions or is it because of something else? at 26, you cannot be faulted for looking for someone who can assure you of companionship, because to be completely truthful, sometimes, getting by life alone is scary. or scarier, than when you have someone to help you deal with it. but when this personal fear of being alone supersedes the innate passions that you have for each other, you need to disabuse yourself and let go. move on and let go, because at this crucial point in your life, you need to look for the real deal, and not settle for what is merely comfortable and familiar.

if you fret that the universe has deprived you of that beautiful soul who will make your days more magical than usual, you could not be any more mistaken. we all have our life adventures mapped out before us, and when your personal circumstance and cosmic destiny converges to make your epic love story happen, embrace it wholeheartedly - because even when relationships are complicated and your emotions may be volatile, you know that your heart can sift through romances that will inevitably wither.

your heart never lies to you, so when it speaks, listen to it intently.

(to be continued..)

22 comments:

Unknown said...

will wait for the continuatio, claudiopoipoi =]

Carlo said...

happy birthday clyde. lols

gillboard said...

26 is a good year. i was 26 when i flew to new zealand.

you'll have a good year too, i'm sure. :)

Peter said...

Advice to yourself? Happy birthday dear friend.

juanluis said...

masasabi ko lang, sadyang ginawa ang buhay na mahirap...kasi kung fun lang lahat, hindi xa fun.... :-) labyu pren!

Anonymous said...

hala happy bday na diay chong..

Carlo said...

clyde, you already. haha! kapatid, alam kong happy ka ngayon. and am happy for you din. thanks for posting this, it kind of helped (alam naman natin ang emote ko nowadays haha!)

i'll see you soon :)

Anonymous said...

Ba't ka nila ginigreet, e diba April ba birthday mo?

citybuoy said...

aga ng pabirthday a. you may be turning 27 but this post makes you seem like you're wiser by many years. :)

glentot said...

Righty before reading this, there's an old song playing in my head. Jaded by Aerosmith. I know it means "fucked up by life" but then for good measure, I searched its definition online. And then I read this post. I should not have bothered Googling the word, because I read it right here...

My heart speaks to me but I choose to ignore it. My brain is more trustworthy, at least it does not knowingly lead me to disaster...

Jepoy said...

nose bleed.

Happy Birthday!!!

The Gasoline Dude™ said...

NAKS! Pwede ka nang maging Self-Help / Inspirational Writer. Pwede ba sa Part 2 eh merong "On Money" saka "On Faith"?

Anonymous said...

HAPPY BDAY! (belated) hehehe


a few weeks ago, I was evaluated by my boss regarding my performace. He inserted some words of wisdom about life in General. he mentioned that age 25 and 26 are the crucial age. It's the time when you decide whether u wanna go up and down.

I was stunned by the preaching. hehehe

anyway, we all wish for a better life. Goodluck and Happy bday! :)

Nishi said...

i guess i have two more years to slack off then. lol.

this is an interesting take on this topic. i'm looking forward to the next parts.

claudiopoi said...

pipo: i will try to come up with that. sana lang hindi ako tamarin.. :|

carlo: salamat, my friend! date na kasi kayo! haha :D

gillboard: i really hope so too. ang dami ko pa namang gagawin for this year!

peter: yes, advice to myself. sana lang kaya kong ifollow through.

juanluis: salamat friend! you already! hehe.. salamat pud diay sa blog post. am so tats! :)

kikomaxxx: salamat bai! :)

carlo: ay, ngayon lang binasa! i already!

will: ay, oo. april pa. pero hamuna. para at least makapaghanda ako ng bongga before ng april! :)

claudiopoi said...

nyl, salamat naman sa kind words. oo, kailangan magmukhang mature. idol kaya kita! :)

glentot, mag eemo na naman ba tayo? haha.. i tried to make the love bit not so emo. pero chong, hindi pala kaya. haha. kampay! and see you in bacowload!

jepoy, hainaku. nakakahiya palang bumibisita ka sa blog ko! bilang 8000SD ang sinasahod mo! you already!

mr gas dude, salamat naman chong! uhm. pwede. nag iisip nga ako ng ganung mga topics din. pero din ko pa sure kung kelan ang next installment. basta! magaganap nalang yun! :)

mr chan! thanks for the kind words. pero actually, totoo eh. parang ganun din ang naging rationale ko for writing this. it's a very strategic age. kaya dapat we plan things well. we can't afford to mess up, knowing na we are all getting freaking old! :|

niels! being fucked up is normal nowadays, it seems. pero okay lang yan. kasi we can always will ourselves to become better people. diba?? kaya yan! :)

nishiboy, i followed your blog. i find your posts really interesting! :)

Salamat sa lahat ng mga nagcomment!

Nishi said...

haha. thanks and thanks.

Pen Ginez said...

gustong gusto ko naman talaga mga post mo..dang hahaba pero..:)

claudiopoi said...

renz, nabuhay ka!

Anonymous said...

love it. you just said everything that I have in mind. thank you for saying all these. I'm turning 26 soon! :D

Herbs D. said...

I beg to disagree about love.

claudiopoi said...

oh. which part? :)