BEING SPECIAL IS ABOUT BEING YOURSELF

          I walk through the doors of my school everyday and watch hundreds of people pass by. I ride a car to go home from school and I see thousands of young people just like me walk down the streets and meet with their friends. I watch television at home and see millions of people appear in the news. I look at myself in the mirror and realize that I don't look like anybody that I came across with. Well, anybody would wonder how they are different from the people around them and ask themselves about what makes them so special. 

          I believe that each one of us is created by God to be special in our own way. From the moment we are old enough to realize the idea of individuality I think we all want to know what it is that makes us stand out among the rest of the people in the world.  And from that, we want to make sure that we remain distinct in one-way or another.  For some people it means becoming the best in their studies and being popular in school while others do not focus on what they can do but instead focus on what society wants them to do. In other words, they want to fit it with what's "in" today. 

          I believe that I am special because of my personality. I was the type of girl that hid her face, afraid to speak her mind and doesn't have enough trust in herself. I always compared myself to the people around me and because of that I felt inferior especially when it comes to my school grades. I wasn't really good at socializing too that's why when my classmates ask me about someone, I can't answer because I don't know who they were. I wasn't also good at following what's "in" in society today that's why I always felt left out. But then I thought to myself, "Why would I worry about being something I am not? Why am I comparing myself to them? They are who they are and I am who I am." This thoughts made me feel confident with my abilities and strove to do my best on the things that I can do. I discovered what hidden talents I have and I worked hard in order to improve myself on the things I'm not good at. I'm not really a smart person or what you would call a "genius" but through hard work and perseverance, I was able to cope up with people who are better than me and prove myself to be special just by being myself. Even I was shocked with the results and I am very happy to know that all the hardships I went through were actually worth it. 

          I have learned that we make ourselves special by what we do, how we live and the way in which we interact with the people around us.  We do not have to try very hard to be different because we are all born different, however many will fight their own uniqueness in order to fit in, to belong or be accepted.  But we should always remember that being special is more than how many people you can get to look at you or how many awards you will receive. It's about what you live for. Its about being yourself. It's about the heart you have and what you can achieve using your own abilities.Being the best is great because it makes you number one but being special is greater because YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE.

A DAUGHTER'S PRAYER FOR HER PARENTS

Dear God,

        I have known a lot of people in my life who have suffered the loss of their parents. Some of their parents died just recently and some can't even remember the precious last moments they shared with them because their parents died when they were still very young.Whenever I ask them about it, they always tell me that they regretted not spending enough time with them and not appreciating what they have done and sacrificed until it was too late. They say that if they were given the chance to talk to them again even for only a brief time, the first thing they would say is that they love them so much.

        I want to thank you God for blessing me with parents who are still alive up to this day. I can't imagine my life without them. Just the thought of losing them already brings me to tears. I know it is selfish of me to ask for them to have a longer life but for me, they deserve the best and they deserve more than what I can give to them. I love them more than anybody can ever imagine but I know that the love that my parents have for me is greater and is not measurable. 

         I want to thank you God for giving me the knowledge and wisdom of understanding how extraordinary my parents are. As I become older, I begin to understand the hardships and sacrifices that my parents have to go through. In order to provide the necessities of our family, they would work day and night. They would sacrifice their own sleep and their own food just to give them to me. Even though they are already tired, they would still continue to take care of me. They don't care about their health as much as they care for mine. Just a little fever would already make them worried. It makes me so happy because they care so much about my safety. They would give all they have without expecting anything in return. 

        I don't even know how to start thanking them for the love, care and patience they gave in raising me. I can't even imagine the pain and stress they went through when I was only a toddler. How about know when I'm already a teenager? Teenagers today have so many problems with their relationship with their parents because they want to experience freedom and be the ones who would decide what's best for their life. They don't see the meaning behind every opposition that a parent does to their decision and instead they get mad and ignore them. But sometimes it is the parents who can't understand their children. They would force their children to do what they want  because they think that it is for their own good but they don't realize that they are only actually giving pressure to their children causing them to be emotionally unstable. 

        I want to thank you God for blessing me with such kind and understanding parents and that you have me become their child. I'm very fortunate to have the two of them by my side as I face the obstacles of life while some people can't get along with their parents as well as we do. When we are asked to write about our problems with our family in school, I can't write anything because I never had any problem with my family. In fact, I never had a dull moment in my life because my mom and dad are always there to support me and make me smile. Whenever I have problems, they would hear me out and give me the perfect advice in order to solve them. When I need to make an important decision, they won't decide for me but instead let me choose my own destiny. No matter what decision I make, they would be there to guide me and love me for who I am. They also accept the things that I can and cannot do and they always give me the will to never give up.

          I know my parents deserve a lot but I don't know how, dear God, except to ask you to bless them as richly as you can and to help me live up to the example they have set. I would like to ask you to give them a peaceful and happy life as the years come by. I know I still don't have the ability to repay for all the things they have done for me because I'm still young but I will do my best to show them that I appreciate everything that they have done and that I love them very much. Thank you again God for all the blessings and please continue to guide us and take care of us in the rest of the journey we call life. 

A Loving Daughter

          

         

HAVING REGRETS IS AN AMAZINGLY AWFUL EXPERIENCE

        Everyone has had to deal with some type of regret in their lives. It is impossible to go all the way through life without making a wrong decision or saying something you wish you hadn't said. Sometimes our regrets are so big that we would resort to finding ways to change the past. Still, these mistakes make up who we are and how we've come to be ourselves. These things remind us that we are human, not perfect, like anybody else. 

        The past few years have been a very challenging experience for me. A lot of events had taken place and these have sent me down a road I should never have gone down. I never really had a serious life changing experience and the regrets I have are mostly about my test answers. But when I became older, I realized that the biggest and worst regret I had in life is not for the wrong things that I did but for the millions of right things I did for the wrong people. 

          I am not a very sociable person and because of that, I always have a lot of trouble in making friends. Fortunately, I became friends with a few people who I can share my thoughts and feelings with. Time passed like a blink of an eye and I felt like I was the luckiest person in the universe. My friends turned from few to many. I was really happy about that and I trusted them more than I trust myself. That was my mistake. I was so busy prioritizing them that I didn't realize that they didn't consider me as their friend. I was only the laughing stock of the group and all the secrets that I told them were used against me. My appearance, my clothes, they were all just jokes to them. Sometimes I even apologize to even though I didn't do anything wrong to them. I never felt so sad and disappointed my whole life. 

        After that, I decided to stand up for myself and made myself stronger. I did some things that I can  do to resolve and even avoid some regrets that I had. I convinced myself that living with regrets is like driving a car in reverse. When I make a decision, I promised myself that I would let it go and not question myself. I told myself that I will always accept the outcome no matter what the consequences are. I try to figure out what I did wrong but I won't dwell on it too long. And the most important thing of all, I promised myself that I would have more confidence on what I can do. Even if I think it was the wrong decision, I would do my best to make it work and move on. 

         I've been walked on, used, and regretted a lot of times but it is in those moments that I've learned a lot and discovered who I am. I learned who I can trust and can’t, I learned the true meaning of friendship, I learned how to tell when people are false and when they are sincere, and the most important lesson that I learned is how to appreciate the truly great people in my life as they arrive. Don't let yourself get caught up in the past because if you don't, you will never be able to face your future without fear.