I am not full of love; I only have a fistful.
But this, I am sure of: I am surrounded by love,
blissfully and abundantly.
Lucky if I am able to express it into poetry
but most times, it is ineffable.
© Samantha M. 2022
Hello there, wholesome reader!
Guess what? I just turned 25! Yay! It's the quarter life crisis, as they say, but I'd like to think about it as my quarter life bliss, instead.
I am beyond grateful to have reached this age. Despite the challenges and some unexpected turn of events, I have survived them all! I am also thankful for all the beautiful people around me who continuously give me the eyes to see the grandeur of life.
Today, let me spill my thoughts and some life realizations as I step into a new year in my life.
How is Life at the Age of 25
I know age is just a number and what's with being 25, anyway? Nothing, really! Maybe it's just my obsession with numbers that end with 5's and 0's that makes it a little more special.
If you were to ask my younger self How do you think will your life look like at 25?, she will probably say Successful! without even knowing her own definition of the word. Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure I have not disappointed her, so far. It's just that I have now clearly known what successful means to me and my values.
Defining success. Throughout my whole existence, I have learned that success is not just in the grandest achievements and accomplishments. In my academic years, I have been a consistent achiever, striving so hard to attain the highest honor. I'm not saying that success was not in it. Of course, it was one of my proudest moments in life. It's just that, before, what I considered success was the end result only, neglecting the little victories that became the building blocks of my achievements.
Now that I'm a little wiser, I have learned that success was in the little steps I took to reach wherever I am in life right now. Success involves looking back at your past self and seeing how much you have changed. Success never involves comparing what's yours and what do others have; that the only benchmark for you should be the past version of yourself. And of course, it is also important to identify and appreciate the people who helped you throughout the way.
On relationships. It's funny to look back how I used to dream of being stable in love at 25. Indeed, life does not go the way you plan it to be! I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. So while waiting for the one, I'm doing my best to tend myself first, nourish it with all the love and care I could give, and make sure that it inspires other people to do the same for themselves, too.
I may not have found the one yet, but it is beyond elating to have formed deep and special connections with the people I call friends. I believe that friends have the biggest influence in decision-making moments in life. It is very important for me to choose the people I surround myself with, maybe that's why I'll always have the courage to cut off those who no longer align with my values. At first, I found it very hard to let go of people but as I grew, I have learned to protect my peace by removing them from my life or , if the need arises, removing myself from theirs.
Taking care of my mental health. As part of taking care of myself, taking care of my mental health is on top of them all. I have discovered that taking care of your mental health creates a domino effect on the other parts of your wellbeing. If there's something that I have discovered very useful to me, it is meditation, but in the form of writing.
If you don't know me, I am the kind of person who finds it very difficult to open up to others, especially to those who I just met. Because of this, I have found comfort in expressing myself and my emotions through writing - putting it discreetly together in poems, while leaving the raw thoughts on a physical journal. But this was me before I met a few people.
During a dark phase in my life, I have found a few people who made their way to build my trust on them, breaking all the walls that I've built to guard my weakest points. I have learned that having a confidant can also be part of taking care of your mental health, that you don't have to go everything all by yourself. I am just blessed to have these beautiful people and will forever be grateful to have met them.
An Open Letter To Me, From Me
Just a little fact about me: I love writing letters so much that two years ago, I decided to compose my future self a letter, hid it on a separate blog page on my Tumblr account, and that I should only read it on my next birthday.
It's amusing to read something that I don't even remember writing! So, I made it a birthday tradition and, so far, it has been the most exciting thing to look forward to during my birthdays!
Here's an open letter that I wrote wayback 2021, intended for my birthday this year.
June 02, 2021
Dear 2022 self,
The moment you were writing this letter, you realized how much has changed about you; all the good things, the not-so-good, and the in-betweens. Although there are parts that have not evolved yet, they become remnants of all the younger versions of yourself.
Wherever and whoever you may be the moment you’re reading this letter, I want you to know that you were able to go through everything in life because you chose to go through them all. And I want to remind you today that you are still very capable of doing anything!
It’s amazing how much could change in a week, a month, a year and how we have the opportunity to shape what’s ahead of us. I hope the little decisions you’ve made had led you to what your heart truly desires.
I hope you’re seeing the world in a much better view, accepting things as they are and not as you would want them to be; finding peace in loving people simply because you do and not because you want the same kind of love in return.
I know life can be a little tricky sometimes, especially when the self-doubt visits you out of nowhere in the middle of the night. I hope you have learned to be gentler to yourself during these moments, to fill in the gaps of insecurities with love and acceptance.
I could say that you were much better this year compared to the past year and that you should keep on improving yourself, for you.
I can’t wait to hear the stories that are yet to unfold from this point onwards!
Love, your 2021 self.
As I have said earlier, age is really just a number. To all the 20-something out there, I hope you enjoy the process of figuring things out! I mean, maybe life is just about discovering new things every time, as everything is unique at every phase of everyone's life. What do you think? 😅
I'm closing this post with a quote I found online:
“25, what a time to be alive.”
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my spilled thoughts!
I'll take delight in writing for you again soon. See you around!
Love,
Sam ♡
Hello, in case you have not read my intro post, my name is Samantha. You may call me Sam for short. I am from Cebu, a beautiful island in the Philippines. I created this space in an attempt to put all the good things in one place, thus, my blog name 
If you wish to show appreciation; an upvote, comment, reblog and/or follow is the way! Thank you once again and see you around! ♡