Miah Learns to Write

Photo by CDC on Unsplash As a follow-up to my previous article titled " 7 Reasons Why Children Should Listen to Their Parents ", I have decided to write about certain scenarios when the command for children to obey may be overridden. I'm not advocating for children rebelling against their parents because that's a clear violation of the command, but it's very easy to abuse authority when you simply quote the Bible without studying the proper context and thinking it through logically. Again, I believe that children should obey their parents, but I would like to talk about the exceptions and other possible scenarios when children don't have to obey their parents. Please do not misunderstand. The reason why I wanted to write this article was because it has come to my attention that there are cases when it might be confusing for children on what to do. This is also to remind parents that, just as much as the LORD has given a command for children, He also gave a cor...

Photo by Moon Bhuyan on Unsplash Being vulnerable takes a lot of courage. We fear being judged, or being hurt when we take off all the embellishments in our life, and everything is laid bare. We fear that once we remove all of the pretense we show other people in order for them to like us, or at the very least, to not be offended, nothing will be left but an empty shell. It's a difficult thing, to open ourselves to others. But life as humans living in a society, we find won't be as fulfilling if it were to be lived in solitary confinement, not in the legal sense of the term, but in a metaphorical sense. If we live secluded from the world, like a hermit, I don't think we'll be able to enjoy life as it was meant to be lived. Because humans seek companionship. We seek community and connections with others. That's just how we were designed. No matter how much we try to hide or bury the feeling of loneliness or longing, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we'd muc...

I have been asked this question far too many times than I could count. Almost as much as a woman in her 30s being asked by friends and family, "Why aren't you married yet?". Or, a newlywed couple during the first couple of years in their marriage being asked, "When are you going to have kids?", particularly by aging parents who have become impatient, and are wondering when they will get to have a few bundles of joy bouncing on their lap. To be honest, I have been trying to come up with the best way to articulate my position without causing any misunderstandings. My usual response used to be "I'm not yet ready" or "I haven't found anyone yet". But that doesn't exactly encapsulate everything that's going through my head when it comes to this matter. You see, I have thought about romance, relationships, marriage, and other related subjects for over 10 years now. And the answers to those questions are rarely straightforward. So, I...

Photo by Raj Eiamworakul on Unsplash Since I have never been in a relationship before, I don’t really know anything about breakups but based on observations and stories by others, they give me an idea that it’s usually depressing. Not all breakups are though, some people part ways on good terms. I would like to explore the idea in this article and it will be focused mainly on romantic relationships. However, I think separation in general is similar and probably only differs on the intensity of the bond between the people involved. On this note, I would also like to write an article about separation anxiety later. I am going to try to empathize with people who have been on both sides of a breakup, that is, those who initiated the breakup and those who received the breakup for lack of a better term. First, those who broke up the relationship. I understand that there are various reasons that somebody would have to break up with the person they were in a relationship. Some of them are...

Photo by Nicholas Gercken on Unsplash I don’t get why people who are together would avoid putting labels on their relationship. What is so abhorrent with defining the relationship that you have with that person? I think it makes things a lot clearer for both parties to know where they are at and how they are going to move forward from that point. However, let’s take the other side for a moment. Why would I not want to be called somebody’s boyfriend or some other label that would define what kind of relationship I have with that person? Perhaps, the main reason would be the uncertainty or rather, the mindset of “I don’t really want to mess with the good thing that we have going so it would be best to stay where we are right now”. But sooner or later, it will come up while casually talking and you would be forced to face the music. Right then, both of you need to make a decision and that would set the stage for what’s going to happen next. People may see it as a big commitment and...

Photo by Joshua Ness on Unsplash That is the question. From my perspective, dating is when two people go out together with the intention of getting to know each other, seeing whether they are fit for each other, and developing their feelings more by spending time with each other. Wikipedia defines it as “a stage of romantic relationships in humans whereby two people meet socially with the aim of each assessing the other's suitability as a prospective partner in an intimate relationship or marriage... [it] refers to two people exploring whether they are romantically or sexually compatible by participating in dates with the other.” As a 21-year-old single guy who has no dating experience and has never been in a romantic relationship, I am wary of dating because it’s foreign to me. It’s not that I’m scared of getting myself out there, meeting people then opening myself up to them with the possibility of getting hurt. Rather I just don’t want to jump the gun so that I can experi...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

All children have gone through the phase where they feel that their parents cannot understand what they are going through and they feel as though they are being held captive because their parents do not give them the freedom that they long for. So there are a few responses that children do when their parents discipline them such as throwing a fit, rebelling against their parents by doing all sorts of misdemeanor, or ignoring them and shutting them out. I will be focusing on the latter for this post. We have all seen it in the movies and some may have experienced it in real life. Throwing a fit or doing different forms of rebellion may be mild compared to completely blocking off one's parents from his/her life. Some people may disagree because they had a wonderful childhood and their parents knew exactly what to do during those moments of friction between them but not all parents know how to handle situations with their children especially if they have opposing desires or when th...

I just finished reading a love story today. It reminded me what my English literature professor told us about stories. She said that there has only ever been two subjects that stories talk about: love and loss. Of course, that's probably an oversimplification but then after careful consideration, I do think that behind the story of the thing we call "life" from which almost every other story is set upon, that adage contains truth in it. There are a few questions that I would like to address, more to myself than anyone, as a form of catharsis I guess. The first question is: Will you bear to risk loving someone even though you know for a fact that you will get hurt, you will feel broken, and you will be reminded of those moments when you felt so alive because you were with that person, all the while knowing that you will never be able to hold that person again? Are you willing to love someone even though it will probably cause the most intense pain you would ever feel...