Coffee
Waking up to the smell of brewed coffee is probably one of the best things about life that coffee lovers enjoy. Are you one of the millions of people who loves taking a sip of their morning coffee, enjoying the aromatic smell and can't last a day without this addictive drink?
One close friend of mine loves drinking coffee so much that she can consume not just one or two cups of coffee each day, but five! She drinks a cup in the morning, during snacks and in between meals. And in the evening, after eating her dinner, she would have one last cup of coffee. I asked her why she would still consume a lot of coffee, although she is acidic, she simply told me that it makes her feel better.
Coffee has long been being consumed by people around the world. But how did people started using coffee and drinking it as a brewed drink? I was curious about this for quite some time now and since I'm bored, I decided to make research about my question and share the answer here so the information that I will provide is not coming from me directly but a product of my research.
A legend says that it started when a young shepherd from Ethiopia have noticed how the leaves of a certain evergreen tree can make goats and sheep remain awake after eating it. After this observation, he nibbled on the leaves as well as the berries and found out how amazing the exhilarating effect is. Coffee was born after words about it spread. People tried to brew the leaves and berries of that plant and made it into a drink - that's when coffee was born.
Later on, some Arabic travelers and merchants tool those plants from Ethiopia when they went home and those plants coped with the new surrounding. This is where the plant's scientific name was derived, Coffea Arabica. The Arabs guarded the secret about the stimulating drink, and it continued for about 200 years but later on, the secret has been known to others and at the end of the 17th century, it is said that the Dutch people are cultivating the plant as well.
Before becoming a widely known drink, coffee was originally served as food that can be chewed and in a solid form, later on it was served as wine, was used as medicine and lastly became known as a stimulating drink. Up until now, some people still considers its medicinal benefit, experts says that it can be used to treat heart diseases, migraine, dropsy and chronic asthma. However, excessive intake of this can also result to heartburn and nervousness.
There are different types of coffee drinks. Refer to the chart above.
**Coffee Tree and Coffee Berries**
Generally, a single coffee tree can produce or bear a fruit once it is already three years old, and it continues to produce yearly and lasts from 25 up to 50 years.
The young coffee berry looks like a small green olive but when it becomes mature, it turns to red and later on a dark red with a glossy and smooth surface. A coffee grower must make sure to pick the coffee berries at the most perfect time because if it is picked when not yet fully ripe, it lacks flavor and if not picked on time, it can also fall and becomes spoiled.
After picking the berries, it is then stored in a sack then either dried under the heat of the sun or on a machine drier. When dried under the sun, it may take 3-10 days for the berries to dry completely. Once fully dried, and can already be broken using the hands, the husks is removed through a machine.
The Uses of Coffee
The attractive and distinct flavor of coffee delights the palate of many coffee lovers and coffee comes in various forms. Many people only drink it hot, some prefer the black ones, or black with a mixture of milk, sugar and creamer. A glass of sweet coffee with a ring of lemon can also be a refreshing beverage. During hot summers, a delicious coffee-flavored ice cream can delight the palate and is very popular. Coffee is not just used as an ice cream flavoring, some delicious treats such as cakes, cupcakes and bread also contains this ingredient.
A famous environmentalist vlogger also featured coffee as a fertilizer for plants. I watched it about a week ago where he showed a video of him brewing coffee and instead of throwing away the coffee grounds, he used it as a fertilizer. This is supported by some studies. Moreover, coffee can also serve as a good disinfectant and a good insulation for floors, roofs and walls. Some paints and soaps also contains glycerin - a product that is obtained from coffee oil.
The coffee beans indeed has a lot of uses and there's a lot mpre aside from mentioned in this article. But it is still more popular as a beverage enjoyed by millions.
It's Been A Long Time
It's been quite some time since I last wrote an article here. More than a month ago, to be specific. It's not that I don't want to write anymore. I just need some time to meditate and reflect.
One month ago I was depressed, I feel rejected, I lost the will to do the things I love doing. I even stopped writing. I was just lost in my thoughts everyday. There are even instances where I just want to kill myself although I know that it is not right to have such thoughts.
So I decided to disconnect. Disconnect from the internet world and from people. I didn't use any form of media for the past month. I didn't talk to people. I was just at my small apartment, waking up-eat-lost in my thoughts-sleep-repeat. That's my life cycle for the past month. Surprisingly, it didn't even bore me. I had lots of time to think and meditate. I thought about my strengths and weaknesses and how I can get by through utilizing my strengths.
I also have some time to do indoor gardening and that's what helped me to discard the negative thoughts.
I'm happy that after some time of resting, I'm now back to my old self. I got my phone and laptop again from a nearby locker where I had it kept so as to avoid being tempted to use it and connect to the internet. I started to apply to some jobs online since I almost use up ny small savings and I'm happy to say that recently I'm receiving more good news. A well known company recently contacted me about my application and they want me to come in for the final interview next week. The scope of job is far from what I studied in college but I'm happy that it is something that I love doing since middle school.
I've moved on from my previous heartbreak when the previous job I applied for made me really disppointed. Now, I've been receiving more good news for the past two weeks and I'm really happy about it.
I'm trying to think more positive things now and hoping for more positive things to come.
I'm back to writing and I hope I'll still get the support I once have when I was just starting my blogging career in this platform. -@thepandagirl 🐼
Expectations Gone Wrong
Have you ever expected something, got your hopes too high and in the end, the result is not what you've expected to be? The feeling sucks right?
There's something I'm been expecting for nearly a year. It has something to do with a job I applied for, I've waited for almost a year to hear about it, and I'm expecting that by next year, I'll finally have it because I'm confident with my stats, I'm confident with my performance and I know that I've aced the interview, and the tasks that I've performed during my application. My stats from college is something I'm proud about which I'm sure, will be an edge during my application. But I guess I've been overly confident in myself that I forgot and disregarded other factors that might affect my application.
I was too confident and expected too much that when I got the news about it, I thought that it's the worst news I've ever heard of. My knees went jelly after hearing about it and I don't know how to accept it. I'm not sure what went wrong though.
In my more than 20 years of living, I've never had any regrets when it comes to decission making, I never had any moment when I regretted the choices I've made. But today, I've had my first ever regret. The first time to regret that I chose to sacrifice my high paying job just to follow my dream. I chose to be unemployed for quite some time just to follow my dream, but I guess trying to follow my dreams is just an idealistic idea. I should've lived in reality and carefully thought about it before making the decision. But there is no chance for me to be overly sad about it, I'll feel bad about it but it won't even help to bring back the time I lost, the time I sacrificed just to follow that dream.
I want to blame myself for expecting too much from myself, for being too confident, for trusting my skills too much. I should've kept in mind that in life, there is always a room for failure. Failure is part of life, and that's something I disregarded. I was too confident with my past experiences. All throughout my life, I never failed in doing something, I always gave my best whenever I do something, I always try to make sure that I'll always win no matter what, but this time my expectations went wrong and I don't know how to deal with it.
Maybe, I try one more time for the last time. I'm afraid of doing it again as I might get the same result but who knows? Maybe I'll get it this time. And if the result is still the same, then it's a sign for me to find a new dream 💔. - @thepandagirl 🐼
Not a Pushover
It's been days already but this distressing feeling can't seem to get off me. I've been thinking a lot how I'll say the right words towards the people I badly want to tell it to. I've been doing my best so far just to be able to extend help to some of my friends who will be having a special occasion coming up. But what they did, and who knows they might still do it in the next days makes me feel awful and dissapointed. I can't help but to view them negatively.
Most of my friends are in a serious relationship and some are even getting married. I'm still young and not in the slightest, insterested in getting in a complicated situation of getting in a relationship (I may just be overeacting, but relationships seem complicated to me), but people around me are pressuring me to be like them, to imitate them.
There's this one friend who trying to set me up to his friend who is almost my fathers age! I was not bothered by it at first because I thought that he was just kidding, but it happened over and over again and now I'm certain that he is indeed trying to set me up with that old man. I feel really mad and it's been bothering me for days now. I hate just to even think about it. I may be over reacting right now, but I feel like they don't even respect me. Now I'm starting to doubt our friendship. I don't want to be friends with them anymore!
Some people think that all single people will take very opportunity to find a mate. Some, though they may be doing it out of concern, are trying to be an unsolicited matchmakers and sets up their friends or anyone they know whenever there is an opportunity. But it's not a good idea nor a good move. Some may be okay with the idea but most of the time, it feels very awkward and embarassing. Just like what I'm feeling right now. I used to respect the old man because he's a really nice person. And he seemed like an older brother to me, but never in my wildest dream have I ever imagined that these people will think about setting me up with them. I feel like they are treating me like a pushover, considering the fact that I have a really high standard when it comes to guys and dating. I'm firm with my decision that if it's not even close to 50% of my standards, I'd rather die alone and single without experiencing the joys of being in a relationship.
Some may say that age doesn't matter, but it matters to me! I can't tolerate a 25 years difference. I don't know if I can still show respect to them if they try one more time to set me up to just anyone out there when I'm trying my best to enjoy the joys of being single.
If you have friends who's trying to stay single please consider these words:
*Not all singles are desperate to find a mate.*
*Instead of teasing someone for being single and telling them that they'll be out of the calendar soon, or that they are getting older without anyone to lean on, commend them for choosing to stay single.*
*Don't make things awkward for them by setting them up with anyone.*
*Respect their choices and their decisions.*
*Happiness is not determined by being single or in a relationship. Either of this two can make people happy depending on a person's view of things.*
It's been so long since I wrote an article here, and yet here I am spewing these nonsensical words. Pardon me but I just want to vent my anger and this is the only way I can think of. I'm also hoping that someone might understand and say comforting words somehow.
Writing what I'm feeling is the best way to say what I really want to say without any disruption. Without anyone saying that they disagree with me. These are my own thoughts and if you don't agree, please go ahead and find other articles that makes sense! - @thepandagirl🐼
Woaaah. I'm unable to post any article for the past week but I'm surprised that TheRandomRewarder still gave tips to my articles 🤩
I'm Losing Interest
Have you ever felt losing interest in things that you previously love doing? That's what I've been feeling recently. I can't perform at my best and I'm always lazy to do things I previously love doing.
I'm not sure whether this is just a part of adulting or I'm just sick of doing things over and over again. This is also the reason why I'm no longer as active as I was in this platform previously.
I'm not depressed but I'm always sulking these past few days. I want adventure to clear my mind, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, I'm bound to just stay at home, sadly. It's been days since I don't feel like doing anything aside from staying in my room and reading the books that was given to me as a graduation gift. I still have five of them being untouched and I'm really looking forward to finish reading all of them but I always end up sleeping whenever I'm in front of a book these days.
I'm too lazy and sometimes I feel like burying myself in the ground and just live as a potato lol. So I did some research yesterday and found out that I'm actually suffering from anhedonia.
Are you familiar with this word? Or this may be the first time you heard (or read) about this. Perhaps you encountered it before but you just overlooked and ignored it.
According to a book I previously read, anhedonia is the scientific name for the sudden lose of interest in things you previously love doing. You lose the urge to do something that you have fun doing in the past.
Are you familiar with this word? Or maybe it's your first time hearing or reading this. You may have encountered this before but you just ignored it? What exactly is Anhedonia? According to a dictionary it is the sudden lack of interest in the things you wanted to do before. You just lose the urge to do something while in the past it was your fun every time you do it.
As we age and reaches adulthood, we can have change in our preferences, we can even have a change of heart in the things we love doing. It is part of the human nature to look out for something new, especially those who loves adventure and exploring new things. But it is different from anhedonia.
According to some studies, anhedonia is a sign of Major Depressive Disorder or MDD. But losing interest in the things you enjoy doing doesn't mean you're sick or psychologically sick. Sometimes it happens because we may have been abusing ourselves by working too hard. Perhaps we have a problem or a burden that we can't talk to or open up to anyone.
So if you feel that you are slowly losing the desire to do things, pause first and think. Try something new, anything that can relax you. If you have a problem and you can't tell others about it, you can write it down. One of the things I have learned when I have a problem is to write down my feelings, no one can give me advices or even understand what I'm going through, but what matters is that I'm able to express any negative thoughts through writing.
And the most important thing to keep in mind is the power of prayer. Maybe others will think that it is only for people who are 'holy', religious and godly. But prayer is a big help, especially when you know that someone is listening to you and can help you along the way. I have tried it many times. When I am reluctant to tell others about my thoughts and prayers, in prayer I cling.
I tell God about my innermost thoughts and feelings and after that I feel like a big weight is taken off my chest because I know and I'm assured that someone listened to what I said and I know he will help me, maybe in the most unexpected way.
If you are one of those who also experience anhedonia I hope that we could all overcome this negative feeling. I'm trying to do all the things I've mentioned in this article, it worked in the past, and I really hope that it would help me this time as well. - @thepandagirl 🐼
One notification today says:
" 🎉 More than 500 views! Your articles have reached a total of 503 views!"
Yay! This makes me so happy because I'm just a week old in this community and I hot these numbers already. Thank you so much everyone for supporting my works. I really appreciate it.
Forgiving
I grew up in a family where the word '*sorry*' weights a lot. I grew up not saying sorry for the mistakes I did, I never heard my parents say sorry to each other whenever they had a misunderstanding. And I was never thought how to say sorry!
I didn't grow up in an environment that is healthy for a child. I grew up hearing screaming and insults. I was insulted, I was bullied, and I was hurt physically and mentally. Growing up with all the negativities made it so hard for me to learn how to forgive. Though I have a better relationship with my parents now, there is still a lingering sadness and hatred it my heart. I just can't seem to forget all the troubles I went through because I was their child. It's so hard to forgive them. I'm an adult and I shouldn't dwell in the past and forget all the offenses people made against me.
This is what I thought and firmly believed several years back. But through the years, I was able to let go of bitterness and negative feelings. Somehow, I did forgive them. It was hard but I managed to do it.
Why? Because I learned that a life filled with resentment, anger and bitterness is not good for my health. And neither it makes me happy. I'm not happy and my heart aches every time I think of how unloved I am as a child.
I chose to forgive and forget. Studies shows that people who doesn't forgive are inclined to...
Become easily depressed.
Become easily anxious and offended even with simple mistakes.
Become lonely and isolate themselves thus resulting to having sour relationship with others.
Become too focused on resenting others and find it hard to be happy.
Have a higher risk of getting some diseases such as high blood pressure, pain disorder, heart disease and headache.
Forgiveness
**Forgiveness** is the act of pardoning someone who offends you, letting go of resentment or anger, and removing any thoughts of revenge towards someone. Forgiveness does not mean that we condone a wrong doing or serious mistake or even pretending that it didn't happen at all. But it means, a well thought personal choice that shows we want to have peace with someone, and to build and maintain a good relationship with them.
When we forgive, we show that we have a wide understanding. We understand and admit that we all are imperfect and thus can make mistakes whether it is through spoken words or deeds. Forgiveness shows love. It is the perfect facet of love.
Here are the positive effects of forgiveness:
Having a healthier relationship with our loved ones.
Acquiring the feelings of empathy, compassion and understanding.
It can improve our mental and physical health.
Less worries, less anxiety, less hostility
Yes, based on my own personal experience, forgiveness is indeed hard. It,'s easy to tell someone to be more forgiving, but it is hard to do it once you are in the situation.
Tips on how to forgive:
**Understand what it involves to forgive.** Like what is already previously mentioned, forgiving doesn't mean we forget about what happened. Forgiving means letting go of the offense.
**Know that not forgiving has consequences**. Like what is mentioned earlier, forgiving is not good for our health. It has risks and that may result to worse problems like falling into depression.
**Know that forgiving has benefits**. When we forgive, we foster love instead of resentment and anguish.
**Be realistic**. Keep in mind that we are all imperfect and are inclined to do something wrong or make a mistake. If the mistake done is so simple, why not just forgive? Don't focus on the flaws of others and keep in mind that we can also make mistakes.
**Initiate an apology**. It is hard to ask for apology specially of you know that you are bot the one at fault, but sometimes being the firsts to say sorry will move the other person to feel sorry too and once that happens, you will be moved to forgive him/her.
It is really hard to forgive at times, but when we practice being more forgiving no matter how hard it is, we will be happier. That's what I'm trying to do and I hope you do as well. - @thepandagirl 🐼
All About The Panda
I decided to write this article because since the day I joined this community, several users have been asking me where I'm located.
I'm a Panda for crying out loud, so where do think pandas live? Hehe, just kidding. Anyways, today I'm going to share with you all an information about my specie — the pandas.
We pandas looks like a bear, and we can also stand erect like the bears, but do you know that we are actually not a bear? Our face is white, and our eyes are set in two black patches slanted at a peculiar angle which gives us a soulful look. Aside from this, we also have a black nose which can also remind you of a sad clown. We have two ears which are black and round which completes our face that looks so fascinating to people.
Okay enough with the role-playing mode, let me be serious and tell you something about this fascinating and adorable animal which is the inspiration of my username - the giant Panda.
Their scientific name is **Ailuropoda melanoleuca**, widely known as *giant panda* or simply a *panda bear,* are private animals which lives a solitary life in the high mountains of eastern Tibet and South central China. This is what I like most about the panda, I can relate to it who wants to live in solitude. They love the freedom of living alone, sleeping during the day and looking for food at night. In fact, they don't live together as a family and prefer to be alone. The male and female pandas only live together for a short span of time, normally a period of one month, during the mating period. And when the mating time is over and it is near for the mama panda to give birth, she finds a hollow tree where she's going to nurse the baby panda (cub) - alone. Oh, how I love to be a panda so that I can live in solitude too without anyone bothering me, even my family! Pandas consider their babies as holy and can't even be touched by others, mommies will even burst into rage when others are looking at the babies. How protective right?
Aaaw look at that mommy panda playing with her cub! How sweet, I wish my mum's as sweet as her 😪. `Source: Pinterest`
What They Eat
During winter season, pandas goes down the mountainside where they can find abundant food. But during summertime, they even climbed the mountain which is 9000 feet high because it is usually where they can find the abundance of the Chinacane bamboo. They have enormous appetite wherein a single giant panda spends up to 14 hours each day to devour up to 38 kilograms of food. They prefer to eat bamboo shoots and leaves and the tender stems which are low in fibrins but rich in nutrition.
Look at this one having a feast! 🤤`Source: blogs.unimelb.edu.au`
They prefer to eat bamboos, but they can also eat wild fruits, mice, insects and grasses, especially the wild pandas.
After they eat, they usually dig a hole right beside a stream to have its after-dinner drink, just like what humans do after eating!
Here's a short story about a disastrous year for this soulful animals.
*As already mentioned, pandas love eating the Chinacane bamboo as their regular diet, but after several decades, these bamboos suddenly die off en masse back in 1975, so many pandas in the Baoshui area died of hunger. Tibetans have reported this matter so some rescue teams were sent out to search for starving pandas. They rescued the pandas and fed them with a mixture of rice and sweet potatoes. There are even teams who were sent to look for remaining bamboo shoots to feed the pandas. There are old and weak pandas which are given Chinese medicinal herbs to help them recover. They were nursed day and night. Thankfully, after working hard for about two months, all the pandas have recovered.*
How They Sleep
I think pandas really look cute and adorable when they are sleeping. Aside from spending long hours of the day to eat and devour food, pandas also loves to sleep (just like me lol). They usually sleep up to 4 hours in between their meals. They have different sleeping positions which includes lying on their stomach, lying flat on their backs or rolling themselves up into balls while they have their paws stretched.
A cute sleeping baby panda. If I'm this cute when sleeping I won't ever want to wake up 😂. `Source:Pinterest`
Their Attitude
Pandas also have a docile temperament, and they seldom attack people and other animals. They even try to evade some animals they come across some. They are very nice creatures which has a good relationship with the Tibetan peasants back in the 1980s.
*These peasant live in Baishui River Nature Preserve have pandas as their neighbors. They call the pandas as 'white bears' and sometimes, these creatures pays them a visit. Sometimes pandas lurk in their cornfields to get a snack and sometimes, they even sneak into the peasant's cottage. But these peasants merely shoo them away. They even smile and welcomes the panda bear for dinner. These peasants are also known to care for the lost baby pandas and feeds them tender bamboo shoots until the babies can take care of themselves.*
These adorable creatures are decreasing in numbers recently and most of them are being taken care of in zoos and caring center. Hoping for their number to increase so that they could be left in wild again — their natural habitat where they can live freely. - @thepandagirl 🐼
12:51
https://youtu.be/yUG3rZDj9i0
Scrolling through my cellphone for the 20th time today
Reding that text you sent me again
Though I memorized it anyway
I lost count. I'm not even sure how many times I opened our chat to read our conversations. I'm contemplating whether to delete everything, including my feelings or keep it this way and continue hurting.
Honestly speaking, when we started talking to each other I already reminded myself not to get too attached because first, we only know each other virtually and also you are too far and I thought that it is impossible to build a friendship with a person who's living at the far end of the earth.
But then we had those long conversations. I've come to know more about you, the things that we had in common made me feel like you are a special person and what made me attached to you is you being a spiritual-minded person. Through the way you speak you showed that you really love God and it made me admire you more. And I think that's what made us feel that there's a connection between us.
And to tell you that you are the first friend in the opposite gender that I feel comfortable of telling even my innermost feelings. I don't know why I feel so comfortable telling you the things which I can't even tell someone I'm close with in person. Maybe because I feel that you will understand me (Well, I'm not sure if you do). You know that it's the first time that I had a close male friend that I can confide to, though it is just a virtual friendship and I feel very sad thinking that I'll end up losing a dear friend like you.
Remember that day when I asked you if you'll leave in the end? It's because at the very beginning I already feared that I'll lose you when I become too attached, I learned my lesson in the past.
My dear friend, since this may be the last time that I'm going to write to you, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for never getting tired of listening to my stories which are mostly about my problems in life. Thank you for being a good friend to me. With you, I found an older brother which I feel very comfortable with.
It was an afternoon in December
When it reminded you of the day
When we bumped into each other
But you didn't say hi 'cause I looked away
Before, not a minute will pass, and we will talk nonstop once we see each other online. But what happened? I can't even say hi to you as I'm afraid you'll just ignore me in the end.
And maybe that was the biggest mistake of my life
And maybe I haven't moved on since that night
Maybe it was a mistake talking to you in the first place. But what can I do? I can't even consider that as a mistake because when you came, I was happy. I'm happy because I finally found a friend from the opposite gender who can understand me, and can relate to me without including any special feelings. I was glad I found a genuine friend who's after a real and genuine friendship. I'm happy that you aren't like the other guys out there who are okay at first but not after a long time, will show their ultimate motive. I'm glad you aren't like them.
'Cause it's 12:51 and I thought my feelings were gone
But I'm lying on my bed thinking of you again
And the moon shines so bright but I gotta dry these tears tonight
Cause you're moving on and I'm not that strong to hold on any longer
You told me you're going to pay a visit. We had plans to hike, camp and visit the beautiful landscapes and sceneries I showed you. But I don't think we can still do that. Or maybe we can. Only time can tell. But right this moment, I'm hurting because in the past, I'm still awake at this moment, and we'll talk about random things. You'll sing songs for me, suggest great songs I could listen to, give good movies recommendation and plan to watch it together once things gets to normal. It's 12:51 but here I am still wide awake and instead of talking to you, I could only think about you. It's been quite some time but I still think about you. I'm sure this isn't love I'm feeling because it is impossible to fall in love with a person you don't see in real.
I'm looking at the full moon and can't stop myself from thinking about you. We both love the moon. We both love it because we feel like it is the only thing that connects us together. That even though we are far from each other, the fact that we both see the same moon each night feels like we are just a few kilometers apart.
But what happened my dear friend? Di you get tired of listening to my stories? Do you not want to friends with me anymore?
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh...
And I saw you with her
Didn't think you'd find another
And my world just seemed to crash
Shouldn't have thought that this would last
Today I logged on to my Instagram after quite some time. And there I saw you happily having a date with a beautiful lady. Perhaps she's the reason why you cut ties with me? Well I would understand that, but you should've told me. I am your friend and I will be the first person that will surely be happy for you to find the love of your life. Well, to be honest I will be quite disappointed because that will mean less time for me. I'm just a friend and surely not your priority.
Now I'm thinking, maybe I'm always the problem. I should have a better check on myself because you are already the third friend I lost. Like I told you, my two girl best friends left me and I'm still thinking hard what's the matter with me. And now you're the third. I shouldn't have kept my hopes high. Now I learned my lesson. I will never allow myself again to become too attached with people because people are bound to break their promises, people are bound to change. No matter how much I treasure people, in the end they'll leave me.
As the sky outside gets brighter
And my eyes begin to tire
I'm slowly drowning in memories of him
And I know it shouldn't matter
As my heart begins to shatter
I'm left to wonder
Just how it should have been, yeah
Now I'm just left with the memories. But I'll make sure to remember only the good memories. I'm still happy that somehow, a friend like you came into my life, and that is something I will treasure for the rest of my life. I wish you happiness my dear friend. - Your dear pandagirl 🐼
Same Ground
https://youtu.be/VDVgKtQVWHY
My love
It's been a long time since I cried
And left you out of the blue.
Actually, it's been exactly a year since I cried when YOU left me out of the blue. I miss you so much that it hurts to even think about you. I didn't know this before and never have expected that I'd feel this extreme emotion of badly missing someone but can't do something about it. The only thing I can do as of the moment is to write about my feelings and hope that it'll somehow ease the loneliness.
It's hard
Leaving you that way
When I never wanted to
I think it's worse when you're the one left behind without any explanation at all, trying to look for clues why you did it. Do you even regret what you did? Coz I honestly have a lot of regrets right now. They say that you'll only realize the value of a person when they're already gone. And I think that's really true. Now I regret about taking you and your efforts for granted. Your efforts to make me happy and to cheer me up when I'm feeling down, I took all of those for granted and I'm really sorry about that.
Self-denial is a game
A stranger I never woulda want until
There was you
I denied myself of getting to know the guys who were trying to get into my life. I blocked all of them from entering my life and build thick walls they can't penetrate. But then there was you.
You unexpectedly came during the hardest time of my life, you insisted on staying by my side even if I shooed you and told you to go away. You destroyed the thick walls and walked halfway to my shielded heart.
'Cause I have learned that love is beyond
What human can imagine
More it clears the more I gotta let you go
Love is really beyond what we can ever imagine. I told myself not to fall in love yet because I still have a lot of things I need to achieve alone. I have these so-called intergalactic standards, no one could reach. But when you came, those standards were forgotten. I admit I was shaken by your sweet gestures and words of love. My poor heart started to be swayed. We started to travel and explore the world of being in love and I admit it was euphoric. But I have to step on the brakes when you suddenly told me you love me and that you are willing to prove your love for me through proper courtship. I was scared when you told me that. I'm not ready for a relationship, so I told you to wait. I know it was a selfish act. But you told me you are willing to wait till I'm ready even if it takes several years. We agreed.
'Cause what I don't understand
Is why I'm feeling so bad now
When I know it was my idea
I could've just denied the truth and lied
But why am I the only one standing stranded
On the same ground?
I know it was my fault. I should blame myself for not giving you the chance to prove your love for me. I should blame myself for not giving us the chance to be happy. I understand that you might have felt tired of our situation and I understand why you left. But why do I feel so bad about it? Why am I still waiting for you? It's been a year and I should move on. But why can't I do it?
It hurts so much when you left without a word. I was left drowned in my own feelings, hurting, and yet I can't tell anyone about it. I don't want my friends to have a bad impression about you and I don't want them to judge you.
My love, it's been a long time since I cried
And left you out of the blue
It's hard, leaving you that way
When I never wanted to
Self-denial is a game
A stranger I never woulda want until
There was you
I wouldn't have stopped you if you told me you were leaving. I would understand that you no longer want to continue the friendship that we had. I would try my best to understand. But what can I do? You left so sudden.
But hey! I don't regret meeting you. I don't regret spending so much time with you, sacrificing my sleep just to talk to you. I don't regret letting you come into my life. Because when you came, I was so happy. You brought a spice into my bland and boring life. You inspired me to go on with life even if I want to give up.
After that first date, I decided to level up our relationship.I decided to give us the chance to be happier. Because you're a good man, it's amazing to know that you are a family-oriented and God-fearing man. I saw how much you love your sister and how much you respected your mother. It's so good to know about your willingness to make some sacrifices for your family. You didn't reach the standards I've set but the qualities you possess is already enough to capture and melt my cold heart.
'Cause I have learned that love is a word
Gets thrown a little bit too much
The best excuse to fill this infinite abyss
I'll never ever have to pray
I'm so thankful and happy that I met you, that you've made a significant contribution for me to change my strict perspective on some things. You helped me to become a better version of myself.
If all else fails
Would you be there to love me?
When all else fails
Would you be brave, to see right through me?
I still think of you everyday though I'm trying so hard not to. It's ironic how I told you to wait for me when I'm ready, yet I'm the one waiting today. It's been a year and it seems impossible for you to come back, but I'm still waiting for you. I'll wait for you till the time that you could tell my face that you can no longer fulfill the promise. When that time comes, I'll pray so hard for you to have a happy ending with the right girl God will give you. But for now, I'll be here standing stranded on the same ground, waiting... - @thepandagirl 🐼
`For those who may read this, forgive me for being so sentimental. I just want to vent my emotions last night and came up with this.`
Oh my! My article "Beauty That Matters" is now on the homepage and it says 'boosted'. 😱 I'm amazed that there are a lot of nice people here who likes what I wrote ❤️
Striving for A Healthier and Happier Life
***Health***..
Not all people pays attention to their health. To be honest, when I was younger, I never cared about my health, I eat anything I want, I don't exercise, I stay up all night watching movies and dramas, so I always some sleep. But as I grow older, I realized how important it is to live a healthy life. I'm just in my early 20s but I already feel a lot of pain in my body from time to time. My mom told me that it is the result of being reckless with my health and body when I was younger. So I decided that I have to start paying attention to my health and lifestyle.
Now I came to realize that health and happiness also comes hand in hand. Good health means happiness. Why? Who would be happy when their sick? Instead of happiness, we would always feel worried and anxiety will attack us if there is something wrong with our body.
The Basics To Be More Healthy
**Exercise**. When I was younger, I always associate exercise with trying to be more slim or losing weight, cutting the amount of foods I eat or not even eating at all and going to the gym. But I was wrong. Exercising doesn't always mean trying to lose weight, we don't need to go to the gym nor starve ourselves.
Exercising should be done on a regular basis, and we simply do the stretching, arm lifts, aerobics or Zumba. Walking up and down the stairs for several minutes can be a form of exercise too. Household chores such as cleaning and gardening are great ways to burn those excess body fats and calories. I admit that it is not easy to condition the body to exercise regularly, but when we try to be more disciplined and do it even if we don't feel like exercising, soon we won't be sluggish anymore to exercise.
**Proper nutrition**. Our body needs to have the right nutrients for our body organs to function well. We should always look out for the foods we eat and eat oily foods in moderation. To live a healthier life, avoid excessive eating of oily foods and those coming from fast foods.
Conventional foods contain pesticides, chemicals and hormones that go directly to our system. So try to add more vegetables in every meal. It is inevitable to eat an unhealthy food, but if we try to add a slice of fruit and a few vegetables on our meals, it can help us gain the nutrients we need that we don't normally get from junk foods.
**More water**. Drinking more water is basic right?
But it was very challenging for me before, we are taught that it is necessary to drink at 8-10 glasses of water every day but I probably drink 3-5 glasses only each day. But I was trying to discipline myself and now I can even consume almost two liters of water which is good because it helps to remove toxins out of my body.
**Rest is a must**. We all need to take break from all the stress caused by our day-to-day activities. Having enough sleep each day will help us to be more vigorous and be free from stress and anxiety. We can think clearly and perform our tasks better if we have enough sleep. Don't force yourself to do everything all at one, rest if you must to avoid burnout.
**Eliminate stress and depression**. This may be a hard thing to do because each day we all face some stressful situations, and we don't have control on that, it may even be overwhelming at times. But we can always control the way we react to stressors. Positivity is the key. Try to focus more on the positive and brighter side of things than on the problem or situation that causes us to be stressed out.
These are just a few of the things that will help us to live a healthier and happier life. We don't know how we're going to live in this world, but we have the control over our body, being more physically fit will help us to be more healthy. Strive for a healthier life, be happier and live longer! - @thepandagirl 🐼
`All photos credits to unsplash.`
It's a goodnight now from this side of the world. I'm really happy that I joined here today. There's a lot of fun and interesting topics I've read and commented on.
I'm also overwhelmed to receive a warm welcome from several users and I'm so happy that before the day ends for here, I already gained 10 genuine supporters from this platform. To those 10 people who subscribed me today, thank you so much whoever you are 💛
Beauty that Matters
I'm a nature lover and I specifically like taking photographs of lovely flowers. Their assorted and vibrant colors always brings a smile to my face and I can't help myself from capturing photos to keep a remembrance for myself.
But while hanging on the garden today, I saw this withered flowers which I would usually ignore when taking photographs. It looks gorgeous even though it is already dried and withered. Looking at this dried flower makes me think about how humans are.
People tend to look and admire beautiful things only. In today's world, a lot of people are too focused in the outer appearance and beauty of a person. Yes, being young and beautiful is a positive aspect of life, but should we only focus on our outer appearance? Like these flowers, people will also grow old, their beauty will wither and the once vibrant and beautiful physical appearance will no longer be visible. So it is vital that we focus on our inner beauty. In accordance to a bible passage that says we should focus on 'the secret person of the heart', we should try to improve our inner beauty instead because that's what matters the most. Even if we grow old, wither and die, we will surely still be remembered and loved because of our good personality and being.
The society tends to give so much importance to outer appearance. I once heard a story about two women who both applied for the same position in a specific company. The other one is smart and have all the qualifications needed for the job, but the problem is: she's not pretty. While the other applicant is a gorgeous lady who looks like a model and possess a heart shaped angelic face, but the problem is, she not that smart. She can't even answer some questions properly and the numbers on her transcript is nothing compared to the first applicant. But guess who got the job? If you guessed that it's the second applicant, the pretty one, then you are absolutely right! That's the reality in the world today. Success seems to depend on how a person looks.
And to achieve the good looks and sexy body that people will admire, some women starve themselves to death thinking that being thin will make them prettier. Focusing on beauty and outer appearance is not only limited to women. A lot of men are also obsessed to get the perfect body that women will surely adore. They spend long hours in the gym to achieve that six packs abs that everyone will drool over.
**But are these really worth it? Let's see.**
A popular saying goes like this: 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. This is really true because being beautiful involves more than being slim or chubby, having pimples or none, being short or tall or being black or white. Whatever your looks may be, someone will surely appreciate you and will say you're beautiful in their own perspective. Indeed, every one of us is beautiful in our own ways.
Do you know that focusing too much on your physical appearance has some negative impacts?
Consider the following points:
• **We can be a puppet of the media and advertising industry**. Media and advertisements makes it look like we can only be beautiful if be buy and use specific products that they advertise. They usually make the advertisements very attractive to convince people to spend lots of money for a certain beauty product and some even spends millions just to make themselves look beautiful or handsome.
• **Striving to achieve the ideal image that others will adore doesn't always guarantee ideal results**. Consider the example of one Filipino celebrity. Several years ago, he was bullied by millions of netizens because they said that he looks 'terribly ugly'. Some famous doctors offered to give him surgery to enhance his looks, and he agreed. Months later after the surgery, he surprised the netizens again with his new look. He looks like a heartthrob now, and he got the looks that others will envy. Did the netizens like him for his physical change? Well, other liked his new looks but still, he was bullied by a lot of people and this time, not because of his physical appearance but because he is too proud and full of himself. So this shows how important it is to have a beautiful personality along with our physical beauty.
• **Being obsessed with our outer appearance will lead to acquiring eating disorders and later on makes us unhealthy and sick**. Some women who try so hard to get the perfect body usually ends up suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.
*These are only few of the negative impacts of being too focused on our outer beauty.*
What's the beauty that matters the most? https://read.cash/@peppanda/whats-the-beauty-that-matters-the-most-f7e843f2#what039s-the-beauty-that-matters-the-most
As I already mentioned earlier, the beauty that matters the most is our inner beauty. We may not escape the deteriorating effect of sickness and getting older, but inner beauty is long-lasting and will even lead to a happier and contented life.Inner beauty can also attract people. Some are more drawn to a simple looking lady who is kind, loving and possesses other good qualities than a lady who knows nothing except from keeping herself pretty. People will love us more because of our good personality. But, does this mean that we should not take care of ourselves and our physical appearance? Of course not! Of course, we can still try to make ourselves beautiful to be more confident and satisfied of our looks. But we should have a balanced view when in comes to appearance. So let us all strive to be beautiful inside and out. - @thepandagirl 🐼
I'm A Newbie
Hello everyone! Hello read.cash people.
Its me @thepandagirl and I literally signed up on this platform not more than an hour ago.This is the username that I prefer to use in this platform because I love pandas and I think that their cuteness is simply irresistible!
I found out about read.cash on some social media pages and was interested in joining since one of my most favorite pasttimes is writing and reading. I love writing my thoughts whenever I'm in the mood. I don't really like talking to other people about my problems, my fears and anything that is associated with my innermost thoughts and feelings. I prefer writing it down because when I write, no one could judge me. I can freely tell what's really on my mind without being afraid of any criticism.
I also love to read books, novels and whatever reading aide you could think of. When I was a kid, I preferred reading magazines and books over playing with kids around my age. Books are my bestfriends. I feel like when I read, I can go to different places and when I read, I can become whoever I want to be. When I became a teen, I became hooked with novel books. Among my favorite series are: The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer, The Chronicles of Narnia Series and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I've read a lot of books and there's a long list aside from what I already mentioned. If there is really heaven, I can say that being with books is heaven. I love the smell of new books and I love being in the library a lot.
You could say that I'm quite a weirdo because whenever I go to the mall, I don't really go for strolls and shopping. I prefer being on the bookstore instead and spend long hours reading interesting books and interesting subjects. Being in the bookstore really fascinates me and one of my biggest dream is to have a big library of my own and make it as my safe haven.
Forgive me for this long blabbering but I really hope that you are reading this.
Though I am not that friendly in real life, I want to make friends in this platform amd I really hope someone could help and guide me in my exploration here.
Thank you so much for reading this article about myself and I hope that you all will support me! - thepandagirl 🐼
@thepandagirl
