remember 9.11.

"I know for certain that we never lose the people we love, even to death. They continue to participate in every act, thought and decision we make. Their love leaves an indelible imprint in our memories. We find comfort in knowing that our lives have been enriched by having shared their love." -- Leo Buscaglia

14 years ago, today, 9/11 happened. I was still in Japan. I remember distinctively still. It was like a scene from a movie. I couldn't believe that it was happening for real. I didn't comprehend any of it. Since I've moved here, I met people who lost their family to this tragedy. They were still hurt. They were cooping, but still their hearts were in pain. I can't imagine how it was like to be in their shoes. Right after I moved to United States, I visited NY. A few years after from 9.11. The city was standing back up, in the process of rebuilding the city. And now, 14 years later. Some kids don't even know what happened. They only know it as an information. But NY stood up. And I am here. 

Here's the famous quote from Rocky Balboa ..

"It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

What do you know about getting back up? We see it in the movies and books all the time. The comeback stories, an underdog becoming a hero, a loser becoming a champion.... What do you know about this? Have you fallen before? Have you expected the defeat and the lost? Nobody's life is perfect. We all have experienced at least some type of disappointments, haven't we? What did you do? First, you just want to blame everything on everything expect yourself. Your circumstances, people around you, the politics, where you were born, what year you were born.... whatever you can think of. You get mad, cry, punch pillows... and you might have stayed in the phase for a long time. Because it wasn't your fault, right? Because you were born under the wrong star, or whatever. You might have even blamed on God. "Why? If you don't want me to succeed, why do you put this feelings and dreams in me?! Are you playing with my feeling? Are you laughing at me?" You told everyone, "you don't know my story". 

Then what did you do? Did someone slap you in the face? Did you have an epiphany? Something happened, didn't it? or you got tired of feeling that way? You are allowed to let yourself wallow and experience the feeling of defeat. As a matter of fact, you should. If you suffocate that feeling, you are going to explode eventually. We are allowed and are suppose to experience feelings no matter what that may be. In order for you to truly move on from there, you have to let yourself feel that what you're feeling. If you are angry at the situation, get mad. If you are sad, cry. If you are frustrated, punch a pillow. let yourself experience it. It takes time to process that feeling. Then, you have to stand up. It doesn't have to be overnight, or in few days. You can take your time. But when the moment comes, and you KNOW when that is, you just gotta stand up. Stand up for yourself. Stand up for what matters to you. For your dream. For your family. For what you believe in. And for YOURSELF. You might have lost your loved one. You might have lost your dream. You might have lost your faith. You might have even lost yourself. But you are still alive. You are still here. That means something. That means that there's something you still have to do. The only way to find out is to give it a shot. Take it day by day, step by step. Get back up. If you fall, do it again. As long as you are alive, you still have something to do, you are still worth living, you are worth it. At least, that's what I try to tell myself whenever I feel like that anyways. I have hard time listening to that as well. So, let's try it together. one step at a time. at least you are not alone. 

love, hope, faith