Struggling with Low Self-Worth? Picture This.
As someone who has struggled with feelings of low self-worth for most of my life, I wanted to share an analogy with you that utterly transformed the way I understood the notion of one’s “value” as a human being. I hope this video helps you remember your dignity and to love yourself a little more—especially ...
Exciting news: I’m Starting a YouTube Channel!
Soooo... after literally 4 years of sitting on this idea without daring to act on it, I've finally decided to start a YouTube channel. I am absolutely PETRIFIED, but I'm also excited to experiment with different forms media to share my insights. The channel will focus mostly on personal development, with anecdotes from my personal ...
A Small New Year’s Reminder
As the new year approaches, we can't help but look back at the past year and consider how far we've come and where we're heading next. For many of us, 2020 has felt like being in quicksand: as much as we've tried to wriggle ourselves free, we can't help but feel somewhat stuck. Many of ...
20/20 Vision: A Year of Awareness
At the start of 2020, people used the hashtag #2020vision to describe how they would pursue their new year's resolutions with razor sharp focus. That, of course, was drastically put on hold, as we progressed through the very year that would derail everyone's plans. My experience was similar: rather than pursuing my goals with absolute ...
Pandemic Christmas: A Silent Night
Today is officially the first day of Advent and the countdown to Christmas, which means it's a brand new year on the Church's liturgical calendar. At times like this, I can't help but reflect on how the past year has been. They say the word "Israel" means to wrestle with God. Well, if I were ...
The Myth of Needing to “Have Everything Together” Before Being Worthy of Love
I used to think I had to have everything together before being ready for a relationship—like I had to be completely healed from all my past traumas, to have resolved all my existential crises, and to know exactly who I was and what I was doing with my life in order to be worthy of ...
Learning to Tell the Truth, Even If It Hurts
Early childhood experiences led me to believe that my real opinions and feelings didn't matter. I learned that the quickest way to gain approval was through compliance and agreeableness, and that I was responsible for regulating people's emotions for them, even if it meant abandoning myself. Whatever would cause less friction, keep the peace, or ...
Nostalgia: Reverence for the Moments that Shape Our Lives
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Dr. Seuss It's crazy how smallest things can trigger a sense of nostalgia. Like the smell of cigarette smoke, reminding you of the first time you moved out of home to live in that dingy apartment that you adored, ...
My Grandmother’s Memoir: Finding Meaning for the Past, Present, and Future
I never really knew my grandmother. But that all changed when I discovered she had begun writing her own memoir. It turned out that nine notebooks that made up my grandmother's memoir had been sent to my mom in Canada from the Philippines several years ago. They were handwritten in English and Tagalog, collecting dust ...
7 Things to “Stock Up” on During a Pandemic (Hint: They Aren’t Sold in Grocery Stores)
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that's sweeping across the globe, here are seven things we could all stock up on that wouldn't tip humanity towards the brink of extinction or cause unnecessary chaos (unlike that toilet paper fiasco). Good news: they are absolutely free, they are not susceptible to shortages (no hoarding needed ...
