There were blank sheets of paper before me that one day. I took a pen and began writing. Days passed and I filled many sheets of papers with poems and illustrated stories. My Mom delighted in my new hobby and brought home scratch paper from work. I filled the papers with short stories, haikus, limericks. I felt free.

How did a 7-year-old find freedom in words? My parents regaled me with stories from their childhood, fairy tales and stories they made up themselves. By example, they taught me the beauty of reading and how it’s a fantastic playground for the imagination. Our household help shared stories of the provinces they came from. My younger sisters and I played a lot of pretend with our Barbie dolls. There were so many stories all around me. I wanted to create my own. I wrote about butterflies and fairies, little sisters, a guy eating the buttons of his shirt. I wrote and wrote and wrote. It felt good seeing my childlike daydreams come to life in words.

As I grew older, I came face to face with teenage angst. Ah, the teenage years provide such fodder for writing! Poems and stories had a mix of richer themes: the angry frustration of not being understood by anyone, the exhilaration of first love, the pain of having your heart broken the first time, the world-shattering betrayal of friends, the incomparable joy of sharing secrets with trusted ones… It was a rollercoaster of themes. I had turned to diaries at this point. Gone were the days of writing on my Mom’s scratch paper. There were secrets in my writing now, and to share them with my family was too embarrassing.

Why write? I write to release my thoughts, my emotions. I am much better at the written word than I am with the spoken one. When I speak, I stutter and stumble on my own words. But when I write, everything flows with more truth and beauty. I am in love with the written word.

If I don’t write in one day, I go nuts. Writing can come in the form of a blog entry, a little quip or a poem. I have to write. I have to let my thoughts out. I have to let the stories out. There may or may not be people who read them, but I have to write. It is my release. It is my therapy.

In writing, I have connected with others. In writing, I have come to help others. It is both a passion and a means to actualize my personal mission: to inspire and help others. Writing has helped me release so many bottled-up thoughts and emotions; perhaps I can help inspire others with some of the things I write.

I love to write. And for as long as there are words, my ode to writing will never end.

This post may contain spoilers.

FIND what motivates you and use it to your advantage! We are motivated by different things. To get fit, one could be motivated by the love for exercise, another by the desire to fit into those 24-inch jeans again. To get our own home, one could be motivated by a garden her kids can run around in, or the freedom from renting pitfalls.

In “Kung Fu Panda,” Po the Panda had difficulty learning kung fu. Quite a major setback when the enemy’s on the way. Eventually Master Shifu figures our how to use Po’s passion for food as a motivation to learn kung fu. Chopstick skills improved Po’s dexterity. Steamed buns could only be earned with the proper strategy. By putting together his hunger for food AND learning kung fu, he was able to master the art beautifully (and amusingly).

Admit to not knowing, and then strive to know. Before the foodie-kung fu puzzle was put together, Master Shifu was at a loss. How do you teach a big eternally-hungry lug to be the Dragon Warrior? Po challenged Shifu to answer, to which Shifu said, “I don’t know!”

Humility is a difficult trait to have. Not knowing may make us feel stupid and lacking. It is a matter of mindset however. Don’t be afraid to not know it all. It is better to find out the answers than to assume. Shifu’s humble admission and dedication to looking for the answer paid off in the end.

While we may work best alone, it helps to get along with others too. The Furious Five (Tigress, Monkey, Snake, Crane and Mantis) were already kung fu experts. While each one was strong, they worked well in fighting Tai Lung with their combined moves. Po, being the greenhorn, had trouble fitting in. By patiently building a friendship with them, his stay at the Palace became more comfortable and his training more focused.

There are a lot of things we feel we can do better on our own. Nothing wrong with that. Always remember though that there are people who can help us be more efficient, effective. And hey, it doesn’t hurt to laugh with someone in the middle of a busy day!

Take what is there and make the best out of it. Oogway kept repeating, “There are no accidents.” I still don’t buy this as much because it’s hard to believe everything is solely left to fate. But what I like about this thought is the attitude of being proactive. We could jail ourselves with thoughts of “should’ve been’s” and “what if’s,” but why waste time on that? Take what is present and do the best that you can with it.

I thoroughly enjoyed and loved “Kung Fu Panda.” It’s been a long time since an animated film has me laugh so much. It’s a great film for kids too. I think I’ll watch it again!

This is the quotable quote that I always recall when I need a little booster:

“You can decide to be two types of people. You can be ordinary or you can be extraordinary. The only difference between those two words is extra. If you do extra, you can be extraordinary. If you don’t want an extraordinary life, just stop doing extra.” — Steve Harvey

Ordinary vs extraordinary. That one word isn’t only a five-letter difference, but one that creates a huge impact when acted on.

How have you become extraordinary today?

Why, we would silently wail, why do we have to do this so early in the morning? My exercise grunts were just met by stern glares from the teachers. Perhaps if Elle Woods of “Legally Blonde” had been my classmate, I would have better appreciated that “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.”

As I aged though, I did learn the value of exercise. In the beginning, it was for vanity reasons. My metabolism was slowing down, and I had to stay fit to look fit. And then there was the health reason. I knew my sedentary lifestyle was taking a toll on my health, so I hit the gym. My friends would also exercise to tone their bodies, make new friends at fitness centers, lose weight. Valid motivations. But have you ever heard of anyone saying, “I exercise to be happy”?

Think about it. After a workout, you feel a certain high. I can describe it as a mix of relief (”Good thing I got my butt off the computer chair.”) and pride (”Good thing I got my butt off the computer chair!”). There’s that emotional boost, that spark of happiness brought about by a job well done and I guess, endorphins.

Perhaps that’s a good push to start exercising again. We know we’ll feel better after a workout. So why not use happiness as your end goal? When you see you’re ten pounds less, you’re happy. When your skin glows after a workout, you’re happy. When you’re able to run an extra lap, you’re happy. Happy, happy, happy.

Why not kick the morning off with some happy movements, and turn those exercise grunts into grins? Get that butt off your chair and move to be happy!

Nothing compares to having that conversation for real, though, catching those words as you see them pour out of your friend’s mouth. Nothing compares to seeing your friend’s eyes glisten as she talks about her wedding, or going for high fives in between talks with your buddy. Then there are the hugs and kisses, the handshakes and gestures. So much emotion can be conveyed without the use of words.

With face-to-face time, there’s also the fact that you both made time to meet. It shows how you value each other’s presence even more. Even with all the rushing and the work, sharing a cup of coffee with a friend is a welcome breather, a much-needed reconnecting with your loved ones, even yourself.

Think about it — how do we really know how someone is if we don’t see them? Words can say a lot and can mean anything. While words can express thoughts, they can also be used to mask emotions. Seeing someone right before your eyes can help do without those word masks. See for yourself, and believe.

True, we can’t be face-to-face with our loved ones all the time. But do make the effort and see the difference. Much can be said without words, and only being with your friend in the flesh can help you understand that.

Some folks are innately cheery. Like they were born smiling, with sunshine streaming out of their body. You can sense this about them. It’s not an energy that they get through pills or sports drinks. It’s a naturally peaceful and positive vibe.

There are also those who have learned from experience. Stress may have gotten to them and they realized that maybe they do need to take it easy. Perhaps there’s more to life than cramped schedules and being tired all the time. And so they change the way they see their everyday. They begin to find joy in small things, share more of their selves and slowly find their way to their own happy nest.

I am immensely thankful to both the innately positivity person, and the one who learns it along the way. These are the people I enjoy being with. They are the people who share my belief that positivity is not a denial of negativity, but of understanding it and doing something about it.

They can be random strangers, like the lad who gives up his seat on the train for an elder. They can be celebrities, like Oprah and her “Living the Best Life” magazine column. They can be teachers, like Randy Pausch and his last lecture. They can be family, like your mother and her sound advice. They can be friends, like the one who laughs with you and makes you feel the world isn’t so bad.

Think of three people who’ve made you see the sunshine in everyday. Write them a note and thank them. Let them know how their positivity has influenced you. Then, think of three people you’d want to bring sunshine to. Write them a note and give them a little picker-upper.

Positivity is essentially a pay-it-forward activity. It is meant to be shared. So go spread the happy love your way. It’ll come back full circle. You’ll also be doing your part in somehow bringing about a little world peace. Positivity for world peace. That doesn’t sound too bad at all.

Now go thank those three people and spread happiness to three more.

Sometimes I take this for granted. I think, know and feel that my truest of friends will be there for me no matter what. I understand that they’re immensely busy with their own lives, as I am with mine, so meet-ups get rarer. At the back of our minds, we all know that when we need each other, we’ll be there. No doubt about that.

But why wait for that time of need? Pick up your phone and give that friend a call. Make those “how are you’s” more frequent, even if it’s just over the phone, or a quick e-mail. A 5-minute chat or a 5-minute e-mail is a fast but thoughtful way to keep each other feeling extra cared for within this already special bond of yours.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” one quote says. But another also goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” While the truest of friendships takes less maintenance than others, it needs the most nurturing.

Your happy quotient for the day will of course be affected by the type of movie you see. It all depends on your personal taste too. My husband enjoys horror flicks. Even if they scare him sometimes, he finds humor in them. I, on the other hand, abhor them. I suppose it’s my hyperactive imagination. It’s the evening after that scary film I’m more worried about actually.

And so I gravitate towards lighthearted comedies, romance flicks, those with stories about the triumph of the human spirit. Throw in a bunch of chick flicks there too. They usually have happy endings anyway. If your day doesn’t seem to end very happily, then at least watch the happily ever after movie and hopefully it gets a little cathartic.

If it’s a movie theater I am in, I prefer sitting way back and smack center. The magic of the movies still has an effect on me — the dimming of the lights, the trailers, the crunch of popcorn… it’s thrilling! I’ve also seen some movies just by myself and it was one of the best ways to deal with a crazy day. Now if only cinema authorities would do something about those noisy viewers! And when I’m home, I just put on my pajamas, grab my junk food and get ready for a marathon. At least I escape into the world of film in my own home.

These movies, old and new, have uplifted my spirits — “Dan in Real Life,” “White Chicks,” “Love Actually,” “Before Sunrise,” “Before Sunset,” “Amelie,” “Sleepless in Seattle”… ah, so many!

What movies put you in your happy zone?

DESSERT is happy food, but it often is the most banned part of the meal. Isn’t desserts spelled “stressed” backwards after all? Truth is you can have dessert. Why fight a happy (if not THE happiest) part of your meal? Here are ten reasons why you should get dessert:

1. The more you resist, the more you’ll end up crashing into it. Go ahead and eat a small amout. Depriving yourself of that craving could build up your desire for it, and if not managed well, you might end up gorging on dessert. So why not give a small portion a go? And be a good girl or boy by keeping it in moderation.

2. You end the meal on a satisified note. After having a great or not-so-great main course, dessert can help wipe away all traces of that main meal (the “umay” factor) and make you feel more satisfied too.

3. The right choice of dessert can make for the right kind of mood. Chocolate and strawberries can be aphrodisiacs. Ice cream makes anyone happy and comforted. What do you plan to do after your meal?

4. Desserts make a meal more memorable. It’s the last impression you and your guests have of the meal. “The steak was terrible, but the banana split was awesome… I can see myself coming back to this restaurant again.” Desserts sure can make or break a dining experience. This is a shoutout to all those who manage restaurants too.

5. Not all desserts are bad. A lot of restaurants are helping their health-conscious customers enjoy their meals to the max by offering no-sugar, low-fat desserts. Fresh fruits, sorbets and sherbets also give you sweetness without the sinfulness. Do consider these if you choose to avoid the excessively creamy ones.

6. You don’t have dessert everyday. Or do you? Examine your eating habits and see how often you get dessert. If you hardly get dessert, perhaps you could get two to three forkfuls of that cheesecake. If you’re a dessert maniac, you can always opt to go lighter on your choice for the day.

7. If you know you are going to have dessert, chances are you’ll go light on your main courses. It’s all about the planning, baby. Forego second servings on that lechon. You could end up having an overall healthier meal experience too.

8. They make a meal more special, especially if you made them yourself. My Mom made fruit granitas once, and they made our typical fried chicken and rice lunch extra special. It was one of my favorite meals as a kid because my Mom hardly made desserts. It was an extra special day.

9. It’s a mini-celebration. Who doesn’t rejoice for dessert? Put in a little more happy in your meals with a good dessert. No matter how terrible your day can get, there’s always a reason to celebrate.

10. Fill it in! – What do you think is another reason why you should get dessert?