My very own version...

...of Eat, Pray, Love.

Most of us, if not all, feel at some point in our life that we want to be alone, we want to discover, rediscover our inner self, we want to search within our soul, we try to fill up that void space that rests deep in our hearts. If I will be given that precious chance without having to worry about leaving my work and not prioritizing my marriage and family momentarily, if I will be given the luxury of time and the bottomless resources to do so, this is how I will do it;

As opposed to Liz Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, I would probably need atleast 2 years to do the things that I need and want to do because the list is just too long, and in my reality, I can't do them because of lack of time, resources and my priority is not achieving for my "self" but achieving happiness in my marriage and family life. My journey to self-discovery, self-appreciation and self-fulfillment will focus on three main activities, Read, Learn, Travel. Well, this is not a very good title for a book, it's not catchy and it sounds boring, I have no intentions of using this as a title, I would definitely need to give a considerable amount of time to come up with something playful and reflective of the content. Read, Learn, Travel will be the 3 main sections of the book. Here's the synopsis.

Read:
Subtitle: I would love to read for the sole benefit of my mind.

As a child/student, I was not an avid reader, I just read academic books, no pocketbooks on the side, well, very seldom so I am not counting them. Reading was not a habit, unlike some of my friends/classmates who managed to excel in class and at the same time, they managed to read lots of non-academic books. I have read a few Nancy Drew books when I was in highschool, but would you believe that I read more of it when I was already a teacher, at 23! After class, I will go to the library, the books are for elementary and highschool students, so aside from borrowing books to prepare for my lessons, I will also borrow Nancy Drew books! That's when I realized that I have deprived myself of that teenage stage.

At work, since the use of the internet is very accessible, I have this habit of printing articles from emails or from websites and I bring them home and read them. I have piles of printed materials on my side table, most of the time I read them before I go to bed or during weekends. In my bag, there has to be atleast one article or one book so I can read it while standing up at the MRT or while waiting for a long queue. I am really a late bloomer, but thankfully, now, reading has become a habit, I guess, it's never too late.

I am both inspired with her reading 'habit" and her figure ;)

If I will be given this chance to do nothing but read, I would be the happiest person! I will read at home, I will set up a reading area, a place where all the books that I want to read will be neatly arranged in shelves, by author and by genre. That reading area has to have a glass door(my way to the terrace), a glass window and a very comfortable couch or lazy boy, the terrace should also have a comfortable couch, I will read there in the morning so I can still get a glimpse of morning sunlight. At some other times, I will read in a coffee shop for a different ambience, of course, the best reading experience, is while you are on the beach, under a shade. ;)

Here are some of the books that will definitely secure a space on my shelf in no particular order, written as it comes to mind:

Complete collection of:

1. Nancy Drew ;)
2. John Grisham - I have tried many times but have finished only one, the thinnest, Skipping Christmas ;)
3. Bo Sanchez - he's known to write humorous, inspirational and thin books, so I am proud to say that I have read around half of his 18 bestsellers ;)
4. Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series - I have read not even one, I have only watched the first movie and one of my to-dos is to watch the 2nd and 3rd this year ;)

5. Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series - this I am proud to say that I have read all 5 books, and I would like to have it in my shelf as part of my collection and something that I would like my daughter/s -to be to also read ;) just for fun and not to become shopaholics, there's another one coming out (Mini Shopaholic) and I'm sure to read it! Before I forget, I also finished reading "Remember Me"

6. J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series - zero with books, watched all the movies

7. Elizabeth Gilbert - I'm almost done with Eat, Pray, Love

8. Books on the life of Audrey Hepburn - I have one entitled "How to be Lovely" and have read it already, it is truly inspiring

9. Malcolm Gladwell - I was not able to finish "Blink" but a friend lent me his copy so I will be able to re-read and hopefully finish this time ;)

10. Paulo Coehlo - was able to read only The Alchemist
11. Mitch Albom - I loved "Tuesdays with Morrie", I finished "5 People you meet in Heaven"
12. Nina Garcia's fashion/style books
13. Lonely Planet - all countries - Yahoo!!! ;)
14. Luxe City Guides - all countries too! - Yehey!!!;)
15. Alexander McCall Smith - a dear friend, a certified book lover, mentioned this to me and I got interested, I love detective stories
16. Language books on Spanish, Italian and French ;)
17. Louis Vuitton Travel Guides - latest edition

...and the list for sure will be endless...

Learn:
Subtitle: I would love to learn for the benefit of my mind and hands.

Last Saturday, I attended the first of 10 Saturdays, 3-hour Spanish class, with mi amiga, Lianne. I am grateful that our profesor is not stiff, he is a matter-of-fact very lively, I have already learned a lot of basic Spanish phrases and I am looking forward to more fun sessions. We are around 25 students, coming from different fields, accounting, architecture, engineering, dentistry, education, law, technology, banking, etc. I am very passionate about learning this language so pls bear with me if you will see me "inject" a few Spanish words or phrases in my entries. I was also inspired by Liz Gilberts' love for Italian language, before I enrolled in Instituto, I have to admit that when I checked the language offers in UP Diliman, I was, aside from Spanish, looking for Italian program, but (un)fortunately, UP Diliman only offers programs for 3 European languages, Spanish, French and German(or Russian??). So next to Spanish, if given the time and resources, I would like to learn Italian because it is music to my ears (my bh and I tried very briefly to learn it at home by downloading audio lessons) and lastly, I would also like to learn French(because Paris is my dream :)), seriously because I find it very "challenging."

I took very basic French lessons some 2 years ago but didn't really learn a lot (except from Bon jour, Oui, Non, Merci beau coup) due to time constraint and I was also overwhelmed by how different the words are when spoken and when written, that's why I found it really challenging to learn.

Aside from learning a new language, I have also mentioned that I would love to learn how to cook on a professional level, given the resources, enrolling in a culinary school would be a dream-come-true. Learning how to cook/bake is not only for my self but most beneficially to my bh and soon-to-be kids. I love to imagine that weekends would be a great time to bond with my family by serving them healthy but equally sumptuous meals and I would also bake goodies for the kids. Seeing them enjoying the food will surely fill up not only my tummy but most especially my heart.

Another skill that I would like to learn and most probably be able to do is dress-making. I remember, I used to draw sketches of dresses, there was that short stage of me that I would like to become a designer. Aside from designing dresses, I would like to personally sew them, I will create this for my own usage and for my daughter/s'-to-be. It is very frustrating for me not to find a good dressmaker, this is one probable reason that I want to learn this so I can create for myself that will surely have a great fit and no one will have that very same dress.

taken by my bh, one of my favorites ;)

I also want to learn photography, my bh can probably teach me so all I need is to do is to buy the top-of-the-line digital camera ;) I am amazed by how a person expresses himself/herself through photography. I will not tire of looking at good photos, prenup photos, wedding photos, photos of babies and kids, photos of balloons, flowers, nature, everything, I like to take photos of almost anything that catches my attention. I look forward to that day that I will have a portfolio of my own which I and my bh can be proud of.

One last thing, I would study calligraphy. One frustration I have is my hand-writing, it's not that bad, but it's not also that good, especially the script. I adore very good handwriting, that's why I would like to learn calligraphy, I can also earn from this skill, I think.

Travel:
Subtitle: I would love to travel for the benefit of my mind, heart and soul.

Who wouldn't want to travel, especially on leisure? I believe, the easiest and the most effortless(but also still expensive) way to learn and experience the best out of life is to travel. From traveling, you get to learn different cultures, you get to meet many people and your perspective on life changes and becomes broader, deeper and more humane. You appreciate how great is our God, you become inspired and you value your life more whether you are faced with the luxury of the western world and the scarcity of the world's poorest. I would love to travel not only to the best places, but I would also want to see the other side of the coin. Seeing the best and seeing the worst will give you balance, it will give you just what your soul needs, it will make you realize that you are just a dot in this world and many other souls also deserve what your heart is longing for. Traveling is also an eye-opener for me, you see reality beyond your comfort zone and you become more appreciative of every blessing, every opportunity and every person that comes your way. I would love to travel and explore my very own country first, then visit nearby countries, then Europe, and after Europe, the rest of the remaining countries follow.

This is how I will spend my journey to self-discovery, self-appreciation and self-fulfillment: by enriching my mind, training my hands, filling my heart and nourishing my soul.

Now, I have a (very long) working title for my book. ;)