go beyond yourself. take an interest in someone else.

i've been obsessed with getting As for every single assignment and exam that has come my way this year.
so much so that i've cut down social time
and my free time is spent engaging with the world of books, devouring any novel available for me to peruse, mostly found on glen's shelf.

but this is not it.

life is about engaging
and i think more importantly, caring, empowering and nurturing.

i believe that every individual wants to be found, wants to be recognized, wants to know they have some worth somewhere.
and i believe that the world dictates us to showcase ourselves in different ways, exhibitionism on different levels, some that are quite developed in the art of subtlety, others blatant and sometimes seemingly crass

but whatever it is, i think it's high time to take an interest in someone else.

i'm not saying we should just sit around and chat, discuss the entirely mundane details of every single part of our life, but i am advocating to listen anyway, to what people have to say.

what i'm trying to say, in a very inarticulate, roundabout way is best summed up by these two phrases that have challenged and inspired me.

"we're told not to privilege one story above another. All stories must be told. Well, maybe that's true, maybe all stories are worth hearing, but not all stories are worth telling."-- jeanette winterson, lighthousekeeping

and

to seek to understand, instead of trying to be understood--prayer of st. francis



i have always been, i am... ... arrogance and pride, it's clouded my perception, i've severed ties only to realize that it was me who was losing out. i've jumped ships forgetting that some actions are irrevocable and the other i was dealing with was a person him/herself and i've burnt bridges
i've loved, i've laughed, i've shared, i gave. i walked with people for a while, only to travel off later on my own before meeting and welcoming a new group. sometimes i wonder if it was all just a selfish love.
give me time, i'm not good in dreaming and being bigger than my five feet frame of a self.
but i do want to hear your story and if possible, journey on that road until a fork in it divides us.
learn how to love