This September, We are Taking Control of our Lives

Dear Zoomers,

Can you believe we’re already nearing the end of the year? As a new month enters, it seems more and more unbelievable that the predicament we’re in is actually real. While the world out there has been crazy, our personal lives have been “on pause” for some time.

They have become so stagnant that it’s actually been hard to talk with people about real stuff. I miss interacting with actual human beings on a daily basis, and I miss going out without having to worry about my health. But I am starting to sound like a broken record because I’ve been saying these things since March!

Imagine how the whole Philippine population has been living through terrible hardships for almost half a year already because of higher people’s incompetence and greed. Just when you think things couldn’t be worse, they still continue to pull nasty tricks in front of our faces. Activists being killed, force-feeding manure to Aeta people, declaring a holiday to honor the country’s most notorious dictator… living in the Philippines has been a trying time.

How anyone still continues to defend these actions is beyond me.

I cannot blame anyone who has taken a social media break during this time. These things are overwhelming and can take a huge toll on one’s mental health.

When everything is falling apart, it’s easy to feel hopeless. Never in my life have I wished that I wasn’t a Filipino so many times. But once I sleep on it, I wake up with a more optimistic perspective that things are going to change.

Now why did I bring that up?

Because whether we like it or not, we have to adapt. We have to take control of what we can. If we don’t, we’re going to drown.

The fact of the matter is there are things beyond our reach. Take the pandemic as an example. You alone aren’t going to make the virus disappear (unless you’re a time-traveler with a vaccine from the future). But what you can do is wash your hands, reduce the times you go out of the house, observe social distancing, etc.

These things are within your control. This means that in some way, your sanity and well-being also lies in your hands.

It’s common sense: when a fire starts in your house, do you just wait in your room hoping that the firefighters come or do you get the hell out of there? Obviously, the latter choice will bring you more comfort than doing nothing and wishing that the world will just correct itself.

Being in control brings a sense of self-empowerment that will get you through this hellhole of a year.

And that’s what Zoomers Corner hopes to bring you this month! Aside from our usual content that hopes to entertain you, prepare yourselves for some advice and tips on how you can take control of the little things in your life.

When you’re young, it’s easy to think that all our choices depend on people older than us may it be our parents or teachers. But if you think this way, you are already underestimating what you can do.

With the articles we have in store for you, we hope that you’ll be able to see that you can make yourself happy even if the world is going down in flames.

You don’t have to feel powerless all the time.

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Featured Image: Julian Jagtenberg on Pexels