Are you still into plants after the hype? Well, hello again plantitos and plantitas! I am still a plantita cos that’s what my day job requires me and I am not complaining. Have you ever thought if you are being practical with your newly found habit? Being a plantita/tita is not a joke nowadays; I have seen people buying plants at an enormous amount! But how much is too much if we enjoy our plants? Here are the 5 signs I think you should look out to see if you are still a practical plantita/tita:

1. Acquiring new plants moderately. As an agriculturist, I have seen different plants from different places. Some of them grow easily others do not. Some you can easily get others are rare. If you have budget go and splurge and buy all the expensive plants. But you are not being practical if the plant you acquire out of impulse can be bought 10x cheaper.
2. Doing research before buying. You want that cute pot? New soil mix? Different rock cut? Wait! Have you done your research? Because you might buy something your plants do not want. Some media are not suitable to some plants. Pots without holes can cause waterlog condition to your plants. So before you check out your cart, do your research first.
3. Using whatever available resources you have. I know you want the best for your plant but as our basic science plants are independent creatures as they can make their own food. Plantitos/titas need only to provide the optimum condition the plants require. Look around you before you buy something. Do you want to pregerminate seeds but you do not have planting media? Try asking for a little amount of sand from a nearby construction site, that would work in pregerminating selected seeds.
4. Considering edible plants. Most plantitas/titos grow plants as decoration to beautify their place or make it more relaxing. It is also their way to release stress. But why not plant some edible plants so that you release your stress and expect some healthy food you can consume later on. Check out my previous posts on edible plants you can easily grow.
5. Happiness with your plants. Bottomline is that whether you spend more or less with your plants, you should find that you are happy with what you are doing. You should also see yourself not abandoning a single plant. If you see a plant of yours wither because you simply do not have time to look for them, maybe you are not being practical and consider giving them before the others die too.

I have been dating myself every valentine’s since the beginning of time. LOLjk. I recently watched Jollibee’s valentine special short film and reminded of the number of times I dated myself during valentine’s week. Here’s the link of that commercial/short film by Jollibee. Sorry for spoiling you. 😛

If you ended your relationship just before the love month (nice timing) or haven’t found the one you may consider dating yourself. When my friends heard that I consistently date myself they wonder how I do that because they feel like walking around or eating out alone are not something they’d want to do. But, to be honest, it is one of the things I look forward every month. Dating yourself is like dating someone but with this set up you get to know more about yourself. You will have time to evaluate and reevaluate your life – past mistakes, achievements, challenges and opportunities. Aside from that, you get to go to places and eat foods you want without using extra energy considering your date’s wants. So, whether it is your first or nth time celebrating the love month alone, I hope you will have a well-spent Valentine’s Day.

I used to be that shy type girl in class not because I was born this way but because the society told me to. My environment’s standard of beauty is having clear skin, pointy nose, on-fleek brows and almond eyes and because of that I thought I was not beautiful. Insecurities swallowed me whole back then and I thought I’d never gonna conquer the monster.

Growing up, people would say that beauty is subjective and I did not know that the day would come that I’d agree to that. Before going to how I redeemed my confidence back, let me share to you these words from Emily McDowell, “‘Finding yourself’ is not really how it works. You aren’t a ten-dollar bill in last winter’s coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under cultural conditioning, other people’s opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. ‘Finding yourself’ is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you.”. This quote may seem not appropriate as it looks like a quote for finding yourself but here’s the tea for those still in deep pit of self-doubt – gaining back your confidence is to find your true self first.

To be able to conquer your insecurities from society’s standard you have to go back to yourself before they got you. One of the things I did is to go out of that society I grew up – I traveled. My younger self knows that my first few travels were for leisure and pictures purposes. But, as I wander from one point to another, I was able to see life in a broader perspective. Travelling will allow us to learn and relearn things, to discover people living way differently but still function and not hate themselves. The challenges along the way will unleash potentials and skill you didn’t know you have.

Boracay may be beautiful to you but not to your friend. Mt. Pulag is worth the trek for others but to you it was a usual mountain climbing experience. Durian is probably comfort food to others but not to you. You see, travelling to a place far away from your home town is life changing. It is a subtle way of stabbing your insecurity monster and finally living out the life you’d always wanted. That experience made me see myself and others being equally beautiful in our own different ways. And if ever you are reading this thinking you are not beautiful enough for this world, you are wrong – rediscover yourself and find that you are more than enough to deserve all the best this life has to offer. *wink*

Have you ever had a goal in mind you really want to achieve but none went your way and end up getting frustrated because the universe seems to be not on your side? I guess we all have moments like that especially when we figured out after n years of living what we really want in life. Do not give up and be patient. Keep doing what your gut is telling you. Let me tell you a story about the love-hate relationship between a person I know and the universe and I hope this will inspire you to not give up on your bucket list.

This person was not born with a golden spoon in her mouth. But she had dreams you will think way too impossible given her family’s financial status. Nonetheless, she kept working hard. She had faith but just like the others, we sometimes get weak and ask if dreaming is just a waste of time. There was this time she told her self to just live in her simple comfort zone. However, her gut was telling her otherwise. She wanted to persevere amidst the things life had been throwing to her. There were a lot of times she considered giving up and wonder why this was not what the universe wanted for her.

And then one day, after years of waiting the universe conspired for her dreams to come true. It was scary because all her life she thought the universe hates her for being too ambitious and all of a sudden everything went smoothly towards what she wanted badly. Yes. She achieved what her mind conceived not a day after she had set her goals not even a year later but in time she did thru years of hardworking and praying.

Some people might get what they want in an instant others do not. We all have different timelines and the universe knows when is the best time. Never give up on your goals. Listen to your gut and keep working and praying. One day the universe will surprise you and conspire and when that time comes, go with it. You are limitless.