Doubt Everything You Know

I recently rewatched the movie "How to Train Your Dragon." Yes, the first one, since they announced a third movie in the making. While I was watching though, one line from Hiccup struck me. He said about the dragons: "Everything we know about you guys, is wrong." This struck me because what if all or some of the things that we have been taught about is wrong? I know that it used to be wrong for women to work and for men to take care of the children, but now there are families with house husbands. I know that it used to be wrong for people of color or a different race to be recognized, but now multi-culturalism exists. Personally when I was little, I was taught that you should be content if you have a good job and a good family, that rich people are miserable and bad people. I've read about biographies of some rich people and discovered that they are the happiest and kindest people I know of. So I urge you to open your mind and doubt everything you know by:

1. Researching about a topic or a person thoroughly before judging.
2. Try to hear and understand people you disagree with and how they think.
3. Try something out before disliking it.

You never know, you might discover something that might change your perspective.

Image source: kotaku.com

Suicide is Never the Answer to Your Problems

The recent suicides of celebrities like Avicii, Kate Spade, and Anthony Bourdain are very tragic. They made me realize something: just because you're rich, successful and famous, doesn't mean you're going to be happy. Also, mental health is a very important matter as much as physical health.

I have to share this. When I was 17, I was diagnosed with a mental illness. I thought that my life was over and I would live the rest of my life with this hardship. I decided that I would kill myself. I climbed on the 5th floor fire escape at my college building and I wanted to jump, but I was too afraid of doing it. With the help of professional psychiatrists, along with my friends and family, I was able to overcome my depression and recover from my mental illness. It's scary to think about what would have happened if I did jump and tried to kill myself.

My life has gotten a lot better, I experienced things in life I would never have expected. I achieved some of my goals and dreams, and also have new ones I am working towards on. I have a family that loves me and have awesome friends. I am truly blessed and I am sure I would still receive blessings and new things in life that I would be grateful for in the future.

If ever you're reading this and considering killing yourself, I want you to ask yourself: will it solve all my problems? I've heard of a quote that says "suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem." It's true and I believe that suicide is never the answer. I want you to do these things:

1. Get help from a professional immediately
2. If that's not possible, talk to some trusted loved ones and friends
3. Write down at least one thing in you're life that you're thankful for. If there is at least one thing, you'll realize that life is worth it.

Always remember that whatever hardships, trials or problems you're going through, it's always temporary and it will pass. Also, none of us are suffering alone, everyone suffers. Go talk to someone today, you never know if he or she might be able to help and make you realize that life is worth living.

Image source: http://lefunny.net/quote-of-the-day-quote-about-suicide/

The Past is in the Past

If ever the time machine was invented, I would be the first person to volunteer to try it, just so I could go back to the past and change everything. I would go back to when was 11 or 12 and do 99% of what I did from then on differently. Funny, I thought I was the only one who thought of this, but it turns out that all of us have thought of going back to the past at least a few times. I realized that when I talked to my friend at church. He said: "God only provides you with the ending of your story, everything in between is up to you." Wise words from a wise man. There are also lessons I learned in the past few years about the past:

1. It's over and there's nothing you can do to take it back.
2. You can only learn from the mistakes and regrets you made in the past.
3. You can use it as a reference to avoid doing the same in the future.
4. The present and the future are infinitely more important than the past.

It took me a lot of time to learn these lessons. I still forget them from time to time, but I need to remind myself of them whenever I get sad about it. I'm still waiting for the time machine to be invented, but until then, I'm going to live in the now and create a better future.

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