2012 had been the toughest year for me. For 366 days, I've been through a hard-hitting roller coaster ride. It was a year that I've been to the highest of highs and lowest of lows.
Here are some lessons I've learned from last year:
1. Lies hurt, truth hurts worse. Some people say that don't ask what you don't want to know. I'm not sure if my curiosity is my friend or foe, but my constant quest for certainty had only led to ambiguity and produced more questions than answers. The quest led me to answers to what and where and when, but only made worse directed to more why's. It hurts to be lied to in the face. The truth may have been a rotten dead man, you just don't have to dig it up again.
2. Self-love. It's been a cliche. Love yourself before others, that's what they say. It's not easy. There's no meter to measure love. There's no warning sign that will alert you to stop loving someone. But it's not that difficult to give time, to value, and to put ourselves above others. It's not selfishness, it's allowing no one to abuse and manipulate us.
3. Everyone deserves a second chance. But never a third chance. People could mess up. Even though forgiving doesn't always mean forgetting, we're giving ourselves the favor if we choose to forgive. It helps us go on, it frees us from keeping grudges against people who have caused us pain.
4. Let people hate you. We really can't please everybody. People are such haters, but that doesn't mean we have to hate them back. Allow them to bash you in social media, let them indulge in putting themselves to shame by showing off their ugly character. Ignore them, paying too much attention to their hate makes them stronger. They're attention seekers, so let them sulk in their own spilled milk.
5. Others opinions don't have to dictate us who we are. They can talk their talk, but they can't walk our walk. They have never lived a minute of our lives so they can't tell us who we are. As some advice tells us, live in such a way that if someone tells something against you, no one will believe them.
6. Friends do only good things. If people are making you do bad things: lie, fornicate, steal, cheat then stay away from bad company. They are not friends.
And since I don't really wanna sound like an expert, I'm gonna say goodbye to 2012's bad vibes and give lots of kisses and hugs to a wonderful new year: 2013! It's gonna be a fresh start. New pages to fill, new adventures to take, new lessons to learn, new places to go, new people to meet, new food to taste.
