25. I've been on this earth for 25 years already. wow. haha.
i'd like to take the time to be grateful for all the people, experiences, ideas and things that have given my existence enough sense and meaning for me to last the duration of 25 years. in between the hustle and bustle of everyday life, i might not have the luxury to ask the BIG questions but hey, sometimes life hits you with those nauseating curve balls that make you have to stop and ask them.
and so...
ahem, ahem.
my mother, whose endurance and selflessness in raising her four kids alone since 1998 will forever eclipse whatever i will accomplish in my life. i've never said i love you in the way and frequency that i ought to if i am to be taken seriously. but i hope you know that i do. i also hope that i become more of the daughter that you deserve.
my sister. now, where do i start? you were, are, will be my bestest friend in the whole widest world! there was a time when i thought i didn't anyone else because we would always be together. i still believe we will always be together. but i think we're at the point in our lives were we need someone else to wipe the drool from our mouths when we're puking and to physically restrain us when we're going to do something stupid. i love you and i will be here for you.
my brothers. you are my primary test subjects of the male species, which i have observed over the years. you both have taught me that we have our different ways and different paces in growing up, and that to survive habitat-sharing, we must respect these differences. (but girls really do mature earlier than boys do. couldn't resist, sorry.) i love and hate you both dearly.
writing. you inspire authenticity in me that perhaps no human being could ever could. you give me clarity that no other form of communication can. you allow me the use of a tool to structure my reality and moderate my self-denial tendencies (HAHA). you also caused me many a headache and pain of brain-hemorrhage proportions that i'm pretty sure will cost me my retirement years. i will forever be thankful to you for being the grasa to my rust-ridden anchor to reality.
running. you make me march to the beat of my own internal drum, however awkward and unpopular the rhythm may be. there may be some days that i don't like you. but there will always be days that you are the only one to save me from myself.
football. you and my playfulness are best friends. and although my playfulness don't always show itself, you always have the uncanny ability to tease it out. thank you for that. life will label me dumb if it were not for your insistence that i am just a little dull. haha.
companions. you are a crazy bunch and our diversity is entertaining and are the real-life avenues for learning. thank you for being crazy enough to tolerate my existence (as i am to tolerate yours.)
sunrise. Ohhh, you are the cosmic jolt of energy to my bones and of hope to my perennially dusky temperament. don't die on me just yet, please.
sun-dried blankets. the sense of home/belongingness neatly packed in an object. if only you were presentable enough to carry around. (and no, i don't thumbsuck.)
contrasts. of shades. of tastes. of locations. of altitudes. of meanings. of feelings between 'shitty' and 'rip-roaring happy'. of everything under the sun and above the stratosphere. if i were immune to your contours, death would be a more merciful option.
who/what else? this list is long as it is. even grammy awardees don't get an hour. haha.
but just,.... well thanks, life. for kicking me in the butt (through likeable and unlikeable people, tv shows, net articles, road signs, anonymous scribblings) when i need to wake up to ideas that have been staring in my face.
