i don't like it when my friends are under attacks by people they don't even know.

it just isn't smth that i wanna see my friends go thru... to see that depressed/angry/upset/hurt side when we're talking.. then to see them put up a happy front when facing the rest of the world. if i know that it's just people teasing them, i will even play along. but when they are really "under fire", i just can't take it lying down. perhaps it's just me that has this insatiable need to want to protect my friends.

you may say that i'm being biased 'cos these are my friends.. and that the world is entitled to have their opinions of anyone they wish. i don't disagree with that. but the world is not entitled to make another person feel smaller than he/she is when the world hasn't seen that side that makes that very same person someone special to me.

those people may just just take away that very essence of what makes that friend so special to me.. it could be the trust the person has in me to want to open up in ways that he/she never thought possible.. it could even just be the simple way the person always brightens up my day. and i don't want to lose that part of my dear friends..

third week of sch is only starting.. and i've had more than 2 such cases already.. where my friends open up to me. abt how tired they have been because of the struggles they have have with things that have been said to them or abt them. and i can't do anything but just sit and listen to them, while praying that my advice will help in some way. all i can do is hold them and assure them that everything will work out somehow. ok, in the case of my guy friends, all i can do is to assure them.. and i pray.. i just pray so hard that they don't fall. that if they do fall, i'll be there to catch them.

the situation is not as serious as it may seem. i just don't ever want my friends to have to go thru what i went thru in sec sch or even jc. i know what it's like to feel down and out and utterly consumed by depression. i know what it's like to be under fire for actions that make you uniquely yourself. i just want to protect them from taking that path of destruction that i took and veered off finally. just want to make sure that day will never come. which is why it's such a big and personal thing for me. that's why i'm just upset abt the passiveness of my actions 'cos i really can't think of ways to help them more.




but if my listening ear and reassuring hug is what i can give most to them, then my ears and arms are always open.

*****
In April, Maya Angelou was interviewed by Oprah on her 70+ birthday. Oprah asked her what she thought of growing older. And, there on television, she said it was "exciting." Regarding body changes, she said there were many, occurring every day...like her breasts. They seem to be in a race to see which will reach her waist, first. The audience laughed so hard they cried. She is such a simple and honest woman, with so much wisdom in her words!

Maya Angelou said this:"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow."

"I've learnt that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights."

"I've learnt that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life."

"I've learnt that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life'."

"I've learnt that life sometimes gives you a second chance."

"I've learnt that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back."

"I've learnt that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision." "I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one."

"I've learnt that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back."

"I've learnt that I still have a lot to learn."

"I've learnt that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."




and i'm sitting here, wondering how many lives i've made a positive impact in. then i pause to think.. it's not the number of lives i've touched.. but it's how i'll never forget how my friends made me feel.