Today; exactly 10 years after my family and I miraculously survived the traumatising earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale. I look back and I still remember vaguely the scenes of the day itself. How we ran down 11 floors, how the building was shaking and swaying so horribly. How all other buildings around mine collapsed. The sight of the rubble and the bodies below. How my Mommy almost gave up hope of us reaching shelter in time, how she was prepared to throw me down from the 4th floor in case she couldn't make it. The scars on my knee from my Mommy dragging me down the stairs like some suitcase. The sound of screams, the lift snapping and falling down 8 floors. The smell of broken concrete and dust. The few days we were practically homeless, passportless and shelterless. The realization that I'd survived an earthquake stung me deep, it was unbelievable. Even the 7-year-old child in me had lost faith. The relief we felt when we finally got on the ground floor. The tears Mommy cried, I just remember hugging her tight and her telling me she was sorry.

You know what? I survived an earthquake by myself. It was not a pleasant experience, in fact, it was horrible, and I had no one to share it with then. I can survive anything now, no matter how painful or hurtful it is.

I am so sleepy. I slept at 4:30am yesterday. Yup, stayed up the whole night studying for today's bio test. Biology is just awesome! The test was decent, so I have no regrets for getting only 2 hours of sleep. But I have been having regrets on other things. I've been wondering for the past few days, have I deviated from my very own principles? Am I what I want to be? What happened to forgive and forget?
Today, I got my answer. I'm still the same girl, I cannot stay upset or mad at someone for long, even if that certain someone hates me and said some stuff that hurt me a lot. I forgive, for hurtful comments, I forget everything else. I'm proud of myself and my character. Sure, my 'niceness' may be open to abuse, but it is also the kind of girl I want to be. You win some, you lose some. C'est la vie.

Now, my phone feels lighter with one contact missing, Facebook is no longer a website I'm afraid to visit, and my heart feels less burdened with worry. No reminders, and I don't really feel horrible. I've tried my best, and that's all that counts. I'm not the one who'll feel the regret anymore. Truly, forgive and forget people, it does wonders. :)

With Love,