Emotion. A powerful entity within you. Strong enough to bind you in a world you've always dreamed of. Whether its reality or fantasy, your emotions connect that to your whole being, making you feel that this world truly exists. It brings out the best in you but it also reveals the worst you could ever be. Your emotions define you.

Emotions play a great role in influencing our personality. Too much of it is bad. But a lack of it is terrible. No matter how hard we try to be perfect, it's a sad fact that humanity has its limitations. We're vulnerable to sudden changes and mood-shifting, depending on what could pull the trigger of our emotions. And yes, despite the flaws in that human within us, we should always strive to bring out the good and do what's good. For the best, we take further steps to become wiser and better. We endeavor to become more knowledgeable of ourselves, guarding our emotions, controlling our behavior towards everyone.

When I was younger, I always thought that when I become an adult, I will become wise. I always thought that upon reaching that certain age, things will be easier to handle. I always thought it would be that easy, until I got there. It was not easy at all.

It’s really hard growing up. You get to swim in a pool of things that could influence you. You are clouded with so many questions; so many thoughts that you wish a simple “yes” or “no” could answer. You are introduced to new ideas, new faces, and new places. You get experiences that heighten your emotions, often requiring you to guard your heart and mind well. If you let your emotions get over you, you’ll be in trouble.

When I got through my schooling, things have changed. I was welcomed into the real world and got the chance to feel what real work is. It’s hard but I’m still working. I have to. I’m building my own future so that I could help building up someone else’s. At times, real life is real stress. Stress from the job itself and the people in the job. Pressure, time, and a lot more are loaded into your baggage. A lot of times, you feel overloaded yet you can’t spend the entire day whining. You can’t just put the blame on someone even if the hitch is not yours to blame. You can’t go wild arguing with everyone even if they’re really getting into your nerves or they just got past the borderline of your patience. Same goes at home, and you’ll be surprised that sometimes it’s even worse. At times you just want to whack stuffs but you have you to pull yourself together. You have to be in-control of what you feel because getting the worst of your emotions sometimes lead to stupid actions and split-second decisions you wished you never did.

Even in relationships, emotions are essential. You can never make a phone call without having someone to pick-up from the other line. It takes two to make a conversation. It takes two to approve of a new connection. The way we react matters to the other party. Expressing the right emotions bridges us the other side. How we deal with it is how things are going to be. We should know how to respond to every action taken.

I’ve been through a lot lately. Never have I imagined that things will turn around at 21. I’ve mixed with so many emotions that twisted my life. I think I grew stronger. Yet, I admit that there were judgments I’ve done that I wish I never did. There were words I wish I’ve said and statements I wish I could renounce. There were times when I thought the feeling was so right and mutual until I found out it was just me. There were moments when I felt that it’s what they call love, but sadly, I found out that I just got heightened by the idea of feeling it. It was just infatuation and my emotions withered without a trace. There were people I brought a sweet smile to. There were people I wounded and the pain I brought left scars that not even time could erase. Emotions sometimes blind us of the truth because we are searching for something that will satisfy us. We are hoping of living a fairytale kind of life which is a 99% probability of existing in the books alone. If only I could turn back the hands of time, I’d do it. But I can’t. No one can. Whatever we’ve been though, whether it’s something that built us or broke us, life must go on. At the end of the day, we are left alone with the choice to take a stand and move forward.

In time, we mature and learn. And wisdom comes at a certain decision we commit ourselves to. It’s shifting through so many emotions, so many experiences we get tangled in. So many decisions that determine what we will later become. And it’s always a 100% guarantee that you’ll never get there unless you make mistakes. Mistakes that could be light or could be grave. Mistakes wherein we get the choice to move on or get stuck forever. The cycle goes on and truly, unless we learn from all these, we don’t gain wisdom. These errors we commit might be thought of as jinxes but in reality, they can be blessings-in-disguise for they make us stronger. It’s impossible for you to jump higher unless you learn from every fall you make. We learn how to deal with our feelings.  We learn how to react. And with every lesson learned and every right action addressed, gradually, we move towards wisdom. In wisdom, we become better individuals not for ourselves but for everyone. In life, we should grow stronger, so as our emotions.

Find a friend you could trust your heart with. Spend time talking it over. Do explain your point of view but don’t compromise the counseling. Always have an outlet of your negative emotions. It’s hard to control the bad but there’s always a better way to deal with things. Treat yourself with a sweet delicacy or hit the malls. Be up to something that will make you feel better instead of making your day worse, lurking in devious thoughts. Cry if you want to but wear a smile after. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Meditate. Pray if you believe. Think of what went wrong and how you’re going to solve it. Learn to pause for a moment and take a deep breath. If there’s nothing good that’s going to come out of your mouth, don’t talk at all. Silence comes in handy when you’re angry. In such a way, people get less of things they could hold against you.Why bother proving yourself too much? Why be troubled of explaining too much when you already have been judged? Explain yourself and if they refuse to listen, it’s their choice. And when the going gets really tough, smile and walk away!

Life is bittersweet and unpredictable, but we have plenty of chances to live it happily. All we need is a strong heart to say “yes” and a determined mind to say “no”, until we live our dreams. And remember, we are all in this together. Emotions, wisdom and this wild roller-coaster ride. What’s your say?