Miah Learns to Write

From: Thought Catalog Continued from Missed Chances Him: My heart sank, those words fell like drops of rain They rang through my ears, echoing, echoing What did she mean by that? Moved on? How? I spent many years out in the world Trying to get better so I can be the one Who would be deserving of her affection When I left her, I had nothing to my name All I had was the shirt on my back I had nothing to give her but my heart But my love would not have been enough Sweet words, a gentle touch, side by side We would have died with nothing I wanted to give her the best things in life Enough, at least, to sustain us especially When the times comes to start a family So I climbed and clawed and conquered every mountain My desire to be with her fueled my spirit And the next time I see her again, I can be the one Now I can give her the life that she deserved But she rejected it. I was so baffled and torn All those years I spent apart from her Moments that I coul...

What differentiates the rich from the poor? The answer: financial freedom. Rich people can buy and do whatever they want but most rich people, particularly, successful entrepreneurs and businessmen, don't really spend a lot on things that they don't need. So that begs the question, "Why do we buy things we don't need? Why do we have a tendency to splurge on things that have little value in terms of generating wealth?" Let us try to explore the psychology behind human wants and desires. Then we can understand how that manifests in the way we behave. Needs vs. Wants Human beings need a few basic things to live and survive. One cannot live without food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep, and exercise. These things help us in the normal functioning of our bodies. More than these, we also need to develop and foster relationships. Love and acceptance from others fulfill our social needs. Work humanizes us because it gives us the capacity to pursue our desires. The f...

Photo by  Emile Séguin  on  Unsplash Why do emotional attachments have such a profound effect on the human psyche? Where does it draw its strength and power from such that when one is gripped by the emotions that have been amplified by bonds, ties, or attachments to experiences or people, one could be left paralyzed by it, unable to move on from that specific moment, as if the weight of that moment accumulated and had suddenly been difficult to carry? I don't know why we feel helpless in times of grief, pain, sorrow while it would be the complete opposite when we experience happiness, joy, laughter. Love and loss, that's one thing my mind goes back to. Love, or the emotions associated with mutual recognition, solidarity, friendship can definitely bring such elation but when that is taken away, loss takes over, a time of mourning. The mind should be able to rein in the heart. Logic should be able to trump out sentiment. Reason should overwhelm nostalgia. But that...

Photo by Alex Blăjan on Unsplash His POV: I have traveled far and wide looking for her She was the light that shines in the morning Now, my days would be bright once again When I had nothing, she was my everything Now, I have everything but I feel lacking My heart longs to be by her side, beating next to her Serendipity, that's what brought me to her I had lost hope of ever finding her again Until I caught a glimpse of something peculiar I blinked my eyes, I wasn't mistaken, it was her I tried to come up to her but I didn't know what to say I panicked, I turned around and walked the other way My heart was pounding, leaping in my chest I decided to wait for the right moment to meet her And finally spend the rest of my life with her Days passed and I stood on the corner of the street Same time each day, waiting to see her again But she didn't come, and I started doubting Did I really see her or was it just an illusion? Was my mind playing...

From: Open Cliparts-Vectors via Pixabay For people who know me, this may come off as a shocker. Most of the time, people would see me as a docile, reserved, or simply calm; at times, I would be cheerful and boisterous; while there are instances when I can be sharp and droll. Nobody would ever think me to be the type who would fly off the handle or go berserk. But there have been a handful of moments when I became slightly frustrated and eventually outright angry. Since then, I have not had any episodes of violent outbursts or fits of rage or even snapping at other people because I try to control myself and suppress my anger. Something I have realized, however, is that my suppression of the emotion of anger can become harmful because the emotion just gets bottled up inside and when it gets filled up, it needs to be released otherwise, I would implode or have a meltdown. My fear was that I could hurt someone in my anger which is why I suppressed it because I also knew the destr...

From: AP via Phil. Daily Inquirer Lately I have been thinking about the recent events in the Philippines and I came up with a bizarre theory about the war on drugs campaign by the administration which I hope would not be the case because I find it more appalling than the current situation. In my economics class, we talked about how a country grows and develops, as measured by the gross domestic product or national income, through the perspective of the Solow growth model (Neoclassical growth theory) and the endogenous growth model. Basically, these models presume that a country's capacity to save or invest, given a closed economy, determines how fast it would grow, and the saving rate is variable that affects growth. Other factors also influence the growth of the economy such as the population growth rate and rate of technological change or advancement. From our analysis, we can infer that a larger population would require a smaller allocation of resources for the economy and...

The picture above illustrates a well-known monument showing a towering edifice that aimed to reach the heavens, and probably an epitome of human ingenuity and collaboration. This is the Tower of Babel described in the Bible (Genesis 11) and the story goes that the people of those times were roaming around the earth and were commanded by God to scatter and fill the earth, which was simple enough but instead of doing that, they blatantly disregarded and disobeyed God by settling in one place and building this tower so that they may make a name for themselves. God seeing the intentions of the people, came down to see the work of their hands and He frustrated their plans by confusing their speech and thus, we now have thousands of languages that identify different people groups and cultures around the world. At first glance, it seems like a simple passage but there are questions that arise from the events that happened such as why did God want the people to scatter and conversely, why...

By: congerdesign at pixabay I have heard of the golden verse in the Bible since I was a kid (John 3:16) and I knew about Jesus Christ because my parents taught me about the Christian faith and always brought me to Sunday school so these truths were ingrained in me from my childhood but I only realized and understood what they all meant recently, about four years ago, and at that point, it all jumped out at me full of meaning and vigor, the Word of God, active, alive, and at work in me. And it has been the most joyful, exciting, fulfilling, and incredible experience I have ever had. For almost 2,000 years this same message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, has been transforming lives and turning the world upside down, and I would like to argue that the world has essentially not changed since the ancient times with respect to human nature and the inclinations of the human heart which is I believe the fundamental issue that is central to all dilemmas being faced in every aspect and in e...

I give you all I am For You gave me all of You You showered me with endless grace And now I give You endless praise You bore my sin and shame Took my guilt, took the blame And I received Your perfect righteousness Your great love overflows my heart You humbled Yourself, broken for me Died the death that I deserved That I may be made whole And live my life to the full You sacrificed Yourself to pay my debt To reconcile me to Yourself, I am eternally blessed You bowed Your head and took the crown of thorns That You may bestow on me the crown of life and righteousness There is no greater love than this, no greater honor Than to be called Your friend Let every breath and strength that I have All my inmost being, praise the Lord God Almighty I can but give my whole life to You For everything that I have, You have graciously given I bow my heart before You, O Lord I offer my life to You, I surrender my all to You No words would be eno...

A couple of months ago, some of my friends attempted to discover the pattern of my infatuations in order to develop a profile of the kind of people I am attracted to, much to my chagrin. But the idea that there is a certain innate set of characteristics that I find captivating intrigued me, moreover, the fact that there would only be one person who would "match" or complement you such that you somewhat metaphorically become "one complete person," supporting one's flaws with the strengths of the other and merging your experiences and personalities to live in harmony. However, at the time I didn't think much of it. Quite recently, in my management class, the concept of how our personalities shape the way we react and interact with people of similar or different dispositions unearthed my interest and reflections on the subject which sparked a connection, a sort of epiphany, one that I have not realized before, perhaps because I thought it seemed so intuiti...

From Grantland I have been mulling over my internal debate of whether the Philippines should actually sever its ties with the US or not especially since our President had mentioned it in one of his press conferences to which his statement was clarified by various members of his cabinet to simply refer to the political and economic independence from the US, and being a lawyer he is definitely savvy with the legal aspects of his role but often having a very pointed and impulsive rhetoric. However, being the head of the state, whatever he says becomes policy much like the new US President who is much criticized for the policies that he is advocating. Of course, the question is not as simple as I would like to think it to be because being a part of an increasingly global landscape, it would not fare well for us, no pun intended, to cut ties from the international community, however, asserting our identity, independence, and our sovereignty is much needed despite the difficulties of t...

I'd like to think that you traveled to the stars Like the little princes of our lives So that we can hear your laughter again Somewhere in the night Among the host of an infinite number of stars. Or maybe you're like the heart of the ocean Thrown into the abyss after years of searching And that you found company in the throng Of the ocean deep, lying on the seabed With all kinds of crustaceans and anemones Buried in the sand like a treasure waiting To be discovered only by those Whose determination outlasts their lifetime. I'd like to hope that by some slim chance Your life has not yet ended or that, If it had, it wasn't by one swift blow Rather, we hope that, if you are now gone, You did not go gentle into that solemn night With throes of unrelenting, die hard courage And a tenacious idealism and resolve To rid this world of its ills Until your final moment has struck. Come back to us even as ghosts of the past Visiting with memories that w...

Every night she flipped through photos Of smiling faces and joyous laughter She looked at them with a smile on her face With wrinkles growing on her forehead And a tear falling down her cheek. Her hands have grown creased Through years of rummaging in every nook and cranny, Her eyes blurred, tired of seeing strange faces But her spirit still confident in the vague chance That she might find what she was looking for. Every night she would put down the album Lie down on her bed and start to sob Unable to bring herself to sleep She would get out of bed and prostrate herself Before God to plead her case before Him. "Why must I suffer the torment of not knowing Of not being near the one I love? Why must I be distant from them and Why must they be stripped from me?" She has asked the same question Every night for twenty agonizing years. She would rather see a body or a hand Or even just a semblance of what she had lost Just so she can receive an absolu...

When I was young, I was taught to always listen to my parents if I wanted to live a good life and I believe that children being under the authority of their parents must obey their commands because they know what's best for them except for cases when parents are committing heinous acts of abuse, I believe that obedience to them would be essential for a fruitful and meaningful life. But there comes a point when children would grow and be ushered into independence. They would start developing their own personalities and the world becomes their oyster to explore and ask questions about to discover the mysteries that lie beneath the surface of those they see and experience. And this is a critical point in their lives because whatever character, values, beliefs, worldviews, and ideologies they settle into would more or less be permanent. These are the foundations with which people base their actions and decisions in life. They are impregnable and can rarely be changed which is why I ...