Two decades, a thousand plus memories.

As I say goodbye to my teen days and enter my new decade, I wonder how different will it be from the last 20 years. I wonder what new experiences will change my life, or how many people will come and go; how many will stay, and how many will leave. I wonder what plans will I be able to carry on and how many will I have to change or leave behind. Do I really need to keep growing up?

I reflect on my latest years, and how many changes I have gone through, many for the better. There are so many lessons that would probably take me a long essay to reflect on, like -- for example -- to love everybody unconditionally, to forgive those who have wronged me, to tell those I appreciate how much I do.

To still look at this world, no matter how broken it may be, with the vision and curiosity of a child. To let myself be amazed with everything that surrounds me no matter how much I may know about it. To be responsible yet give myself time to be lazy. To listen to the same song over and over again but also to find new music to heal my soul with. To lose myself in the alternate universes of my favorite shows and movies but to also realize that our reality needs me, centered and ready to fight. That change isn't always bad.

See? I mentioned some lessons that I consider important, right now, but there are so many others. So many that I can't think of at the moment.

I wish for myself happiness, health, the ability to love and forgive and time to dedicate to both the people and the things I love. I wish I am able to learn many more things, that I am always able to write, read, listen to my favorite songs and to watch my favorite shows. I wish I get to smile as much, or even more, than I did for the first two decades of my life.

Happy birthday to me. May many birthdays come by for me to celebrate with those I love most.