2020

 2020 is about to end, and with it is the experience that has generally been described as a cacophony of events that rendered the year challenging, exhausting, and draining. However, there is a silver lining. I learned to love and care more for the people within my family and friendship circles. I came to a realization that life is fragile and moments are fleeting, so I need to seize every second to live fully and help other people to do the same. I practiced being more empathic and patient with the slow movement of time as I wait for lockdowns and quarantine measures to finally release me from the seemingly endless isolation from all the people and the activities that I cherish. Even the plans that were canceled and that seemed to be farfetched have slowly been revived now and might even be revisited as I move forward in anticipation of a new year sans insurmountable challenges that affect even my most positive mindset and outlook.

This year is, by far, the most difficult. I am alone in a city that I've not familiarized myself with since coming here. By alone, I mean, I have no immediate family members to share this social segregation with as I face threats to my health and personal wellbeing.

But in spite of the pandemic, flooding, and the subsequent difficulties that besieged the country, I witnessed the spirit of community and cooperation among the people. The Filipinos have always been known to exhibit this behavior every time there is a calamity. That is the reason that nothing and no one can break the spirit of a people that rise stronger from every tragedy. However, I hope that many of these calamities will be avoided with proper disaster prevention planning. With the current technology, there are various means to prevent the disastrous results of typhoons and earthquakes, and many other unexpected natural crises.