My First Birthday in Singapore | Jhara's 24th Revelry

My heart dwelt on happiness and excitement as I celebrated my 24th summer spent perfectly and technically, my first birthday in Singapore. It was a humble start and a humble celebration - nothing fancy, nothing so glamorous. But what made it special are the people who made my birthday too outstanding to handle. We laughed over plates of spaghetti, cups of coffee jelly and bite-sized spring rolls complimented with tea and orange cordial.

From the numerous greetings via call and messages over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to video calls done by my sibs from miles away, I had the most extravagant birthday I have never imagined. Months ago, I was only dreaming of going back to the Philippines to make my mum cry in awe because I surprised her. But on the 29th of April, I ended up to be the one being surprised because my mum gathered all my relatives to celebrate my 24th birthday at home in the Philippines. It was a total shock because my parents are never good at hiding surprises but my cousins pretty rocked it though! They all rocked it so good I cried and wanted to fly home in a nano.

All I ever wanted was a tarpaulin engrossed with a photo of me channeling my inner goddess however, God made sure I will have a total blast and knocked me off of my feet. It was truly awesome that, for a day, I am pretty special. I wasn't expecting of presents but (hmm) can I just say, I am astounded with what my good people had given me? And those were for keeps.

I don't mean to brag but I am fortunate to have good people who stayed and who keep on staying no matter how weird, ugly, feisty, moody, crazy my personality and my life as a whole is. I am grateful for these people for never giving up on me, for pushing me to my limits, for taking the time to greet me and be with me on my special day, for exerting an effort to sing a happy birthday song (which for me means a lot), for cooking my favourite empanada, spaghetti, buffalo wings and is it cray when I tell you that I blew my cake virtually? No, right? Because I did! I actually did.

I wasn't expecting a fireworks-and-flowers-and-booze kind of party but jeez! This is totally different. I am beyond blessed to have 24 consecutive nerve-wracking birthdays that never failed to add into my long term memory. Am I just too lucky or maybe a lot of people really love me to make time to indulge themselves into a normal day for them but a special one for me? But I always have the saying, "FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE."

If I could describe how am I and how will I behave on this year? It would be...TENACIOUS.EMPOWERED. RESILIENT. BRAVE. These words give a significant change on my perspective about people, events and life. Life, as I know it, is not rainbows and straight paths; it consists of narrow edges, bumpy roads and maze-like tracks, but whoever is brave enough to conquer life's highs and lows is the one I consider my LODI. Resilience, as defined in the  Merriam-Webster dictionary, is being strong or successful again after something bad happens. That my friends, is my mantra to be able to get up and face awkward moments.

Tenacity is one of my favourite words now because this word made me feel like a heroine on my own epic. The ability of not giving up despite flaws, despite heartaches and despite challenges. And you may ask me, why empowered? My answer is, why not? Why not redeem yourself? Why not become a woman of courage and why give up? I have come a loooooong way. Although it was not filled with excitement and thorough happiness, I came out strong. I came out empowered. And according to the quote I read, "A queen knows how to build her empire with the same stones that were thrown at her." And this is the year of rebuilding, reconnecting and empowering other divas who are strong enough to construct the perfect castle for femmes who are made to standout.

Always,

Jhara

xoxo

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