Thoughts for the New Year

The baby just closed his eyes while I’m breastfeeding him, so here it is: The blog post I’ve been meaning to write to welcome 2025. Not too late. Though my bathroom thoughts kept haunting me, longing to be put into words.

I’ll start with an idea from yesterday’s homily: Your presence is the best present. Fr. Rolly said that sometimes we hold off plans of visiting someone because we don’t have gifts to bring. We must realize that gifts are not just material ones, but can also be Time. He also said many parents buy their children lavish gifts in order to compensate for their absence. A child once told him “How I wish that my parents would be able to come home for Christmas.” Listening to this made me teary-eyed, remembering how my parents would frequently visit us in our apartment and bring food. Indeed, their presence is the best present, and it always comes even though it’s not Christmas. I am grateful!

Another realization for me is this: Not because it’s expensive means it’s the best. Sure, there are good brands worth investing in that come with a hefty price tag, but let’s use makeup as an example. I recently bought a moisturizer, blush, and lipstick worth 4,000 pesos but in the end, it didn’t deliver the results it promised (like being transfer-proof).

Listen more and always come from a place of curiosity. My previous jobs already taught me this - from being a writer/researcher, website support agent, trainer, college instructor, executive assistant, and ESL teacher. But 2024 really highlighted this when I shifted to real estate. More particularly, I’ve been more conscious of the closed-ended questions I often ask people. There is more to learn about them when we use open-ended questions and just let them tell their story.

Lastly, I hope to focus on hair and skin care over makeup this year. In 2024, I achieved my goal of reducing makeup products in my drawer. However, I’ve also purchased pricey ones from Mac, Nars, Estee Lauder, and Laura Mercier. As I’ve mentioned, results were not always satisfactory. Now maybe if I can achieve nice hair and maintain glowing skin, it’ll be okay not to wear makeup anymore or at least use very little.