Blog by Jedde

Dear Pa, Every time we eat at the dining table together with Mama and Aj, I always look forward to you telling your story of how you got to this point in your life. You would often look back at the past and not forget your roots - in fact, you are proud of it. When you share with us your past struggles, like how you survived by juggling several part-time jobs, how little you ate then just to save money and how uncertain you were in your life in the past - it inspires me so much to see you where you are now. You have taught us how to be grateful with God's blessings small or big and to never give up even when life gets tough. Thank you for inspiring us to keep going & fighting. Thank you for teaching us to be patient and resilient. Thank you for being the foundation of our family and never ceasing to provide for us even though your body feels tired sometimes. Most importantly, thank you for letting me have a boyfriend. Hahahaha! Soon, my sister's going to bring someone

Happiness is a choice. When you choose to have happy thoughts, you will attract more good things in life. This is what I learned after everything that has happened; that we can be happy, and we all have a choice. No one's life is perfect. Oftentimes, life starts from scratch. If it were a game, it would always begin at level one and if it were a tree, it would always begin with a single seed. This has always been the process of almost everything. My life is no exception to this rule of the universe; I too had to start with something and it never began with grandiosity. When I was younger, I always felt like I have been misplaced in this Earth. It's as if all the good things repelled away from me. I never understood why. I feared a lot of things and among the most horrifying is being concerned about how others think of me. I was scared of people's expectations on me. This has become my excess baggage for many years back. It felt like I imposed a burden on myself by

Once, there lived a boy with a hundred faces. Each day, he wakes up and puts on a new face. Some days, he chooses the happy face. Most days, he puts on the poker face. But his most favourite face is his real face. But the boy only puts on his real face once in a while and very seldom. Every time the boy changes his face, his real face gets a scar. And so he doesn't show it very much often. When he does, people get scared and tease him. So he tries his very best to hide his real face. The boy noticed that everyone likes his happy face and so he puts it on each time he goes out of the house. When people see his happy face, they also get happy. They play with him and appreciate him. One day, while playing with a group of children, one of the kids bullied, mocked and teased him. The kid happened to see the boy's real face once when he forgot to put on his mask. The other children believed the tale of the other boy and began laughing hysterically. The boy with a hundred faces

"It's okay to be scared. Being scared means you're about to do something really, really brave." Fear: A Foe or a Friend  Once you reach a point in time when you find yourself clutching your chest as if trying to steady your heart and you are faced with a decision that you know will forever change your life, then take a deep breath and reach for it.  Uncertainty is scary. Not knowing where you are or what's going to happen next sure is dreadful. But you know what's worse? It's not being able to move. See, fear is a paralysing thing. It magnifies worries, self-doubts and insecurities. It overshadows the light, the goal, and what could be. But being scared is alright and being scared is important. It's a reminder that you are alive. It's a sign that there's an impending change. Being scared is a signal for you to take action because you are on to something great. The moment you decide to let go, just break free and let lo