Write your philosophy in life.

Express your ideas as completely

and clearly as you can. Think deeply and beyond

superficialities and refuse to be satisfied with the first idea that

you have. Guide questions:

1. What do you most value in life? Why?

Life is like a puzzle. It is fun yet tricky, challenging, and frustrating. When everything fits doesn’t
together perfectly, it can be difficult to determine where each piece belongs. It becomes simpler to
figure out which puzzle piece goes where while you attempt to unravel it. In a puzzle, every puzzle
piece is crucial. As a result, you place a high value on the countless puzzle pieces, no matter how
small or large they are. However, little did you know that in a puzzle, the one that you should give
importance to the most is your faith. Faith, whether in spiritual beings or yourself. The belief that
you will finish the puzzle no matter what it takes. Just like in life, there are many things that I value.
But, if I had to choose one thing I value above all else, it would be my faith. I cherish my faith for five
reasons. It reduces my negative feelings; gives me optimism; assures my salvation; helps me
discover my purpose in life, and gives me a sense of responsibility.

Putting every piece of my life together can occasionally feel overwhelming. This feeling gives
me stress, anxiety, and fear. Every time that happens, I remember my faith, not only in God but in
myself also. Faith gives me the calmness and affirmation that every rough moment is just a phase. I
attach significant value to my faith as it embraces and gives me a driving force whenever there are
adversities in my puzzle-like life. Both in puzzle games and real life, I am more likely to place pieces
in the incorrect empty areas. At the moment, it feels and appears like the best decision, but it is not.
It always leaves me frustrated. I value my faith because it is the thing that gives me positivity in life
whenever I feel lost and do not have the proper decisions. Moreover, it gives me the optimism and
motivation to continue and thrive when I am on the verge of giving up. In comparison to life, in a
puzzle game, there is always something or someone that helps us throughout the game. In my life, I
value my faith in God. This faith assures me that there is an almighty being— ready to guide me in
putting the correct pieces in my life. My faith guarantees me that in the end, other than myself,
there is someone that will save me, especially if the puzzle is in disarray. In a puzzle game, an
unexplainable force sheds light on why we put all these puzzle pieces together. We can leave it
behind, but we do not. What is the purpose of this puzzle? What is my purpose in life? These are the
questions I always ask, and the thing that answers these questions is my faith. My faith allows me to
discover my life's purpose. It opens my eye to what are the things that I can and should do. Due to
this reason, I value faith because it assists me in completely knowing and understanding myself. In
line with my faith helping me discover my purpose, it gives me a sense of responsibility— to fulfill
my given purpose and do the virtuous actions I am obliged to do.

I will probably make some mistakes throughout my journey, but my faith will surely help me
overcome the challenges in this puzzle-like life. For this reason, the most precious thing in my life is
faith. With my true faith, I know I will find all pieces, even the missing ones, and place them where
they belong.

2. What gives your life meaning?

Life is beautiful. It certainly is. It is exquisite as it has a meaning. However, what makes my life
meaningful? It is the people in my life, my life’s purpose, learnings, and experiences. Every day, I have
something to look forward to because of the things that give meaning to my life. First, the people
around me offer every color of the rainbow to my life. Without them, I know that my life is pitch black,
like a void in space. Life is nothing without them. They give me reasons to attain the best version of
myself. They make me feel comfortable in this confusing world; therefore, I want them to be happy, but
not please them in the sense of satisfying them even if it wrecks me. I want to be part of their lives. I
want to take part in their memories. I want to share laughter with them. I want to console them when
they’re in their dark moments. The people around me, good or bad, provide meaning in my life. My
family, friends, and colleagues offer me kindness, love, company, comfort, necessities, and many good
things in this world that help me to garner positive energy, set appropriate goals, do just actions, and
turn my dreams into reality. On the other hand, the people I consider ‘bad’ give meaning to my life by
making me realize that every improper action needs to be fixed and corrected. They make me more
sensible and aware. Their criticisms mold me into a better version of myself. Second, my purpose in this
world gives meaning to my life. My purpose propels me to acquire the skills and experiences that I need
to fulfill them. My life's purpose assists me in focusing on the specific picture of life, especially the things
that are important to me, such as my family, friends, pets, and other things. My purpose in life helps me
to have a sense of direction and inspires me whenever I experience tribulations. It reminds me that I
shouldn't falter even in the most difficult moment of my life. Third, the lessons I learned made me think
that my life is worthy of a second chance and redemption. With all my mistakes in the past, I brought life
lessons along that led me to have a mature and considerate mindset. The memorable lessons I obtained
give more meaning to my life as they enabled me to take the more ideal and proper steps in life rather
than be hasty, especially in decision-making. Lastly, my life experiences taught me that life is significant
because it is fragile yet full of wonders. Life experiences gave meaning to my life by letting me keep my
feet on the ground. It allowed me to look back on the things that are crucial to the development of my
well-being. It made me humble, wise, and tenacious. Overall, my life has meaning because of the
essential things that I feel connected with and that aided me throughout my journey.

3. What is the purpose of your life?

In this large universe where many things are yet unknown, it is difficult to distinguish between
purposes. Because of how chaotic and confusing my life is, it is even harder to determine my life's
purpose. Eventually, I got a hint of the answers to the question, "What is the purpose of my life?" Due
to my participation in my community and its people, I knew the three purposes in life. One of my
purposes in life is to love. Yes, I know that it is cliché. But it is what I constantly realize whenever I am
with different people. Love is described in various ways. Love is all sorts of things. It makes us feel both
sane and crazy. It enables us to feel different emotions at the same time. However, what I know is that
love is powerful. It is something that everyone can receive but is hard to give. Giving and offering love is
something that I struggle with due to trust issues. However, after interacting with people with
disabilities last 2019, I learned a sole lesson that enlightened my entire life; love is a thing that connects
me to people, especially those in need. Loving the people in this world is challenging as it doesn't always
guarantee reciprocation, and others take advantage of it. But that's why I'm here. To love people in their
happiest and most vulnerable condition; to love people, even those who give me immense pain; to love
me. This purpose strengthens my empathy. Loving is a purpose that reaches the doors of heaven.
Another purpose of my life is to give and share. Even I’m not rich, I know that I can share what I have.
Giving and sharing can be anything. It can be sharing of goods, knowledge, experience, etc. “No one has
ever become poor from giving.” In my perspective, to give and share are the easiest purpose in life.
Why? Because it can be just anything, but it must come from the heart. Giving and sharing with pure
intention are my duty as a person. It helps not just other people, but myself as well. This certain purpose
aids me form a deeper connection with other people and myself. The last purpose of my life that I
recognize is to serve. I am a church servant ever since I was a child. There are many times that I’ve
become exhausted in serving at the church, but there’s always a faint voice in the back of my mind that
calls me to go back. At present, I am a member of Legion of Mary that serves the Lord through Mama
Mary. As a church servant, to serve God and the people is my purpose. It is my responsibility to spread
the word of God and inspire people to serve as well. Generally, the three purposes of my life are
associated with each other. It is interconnected because, without love, you can’t serve, give, and share.
Life is full of wonders; hence, my life might have other purposes that I’m not aware of. I’m open to other
purposes that I might eventually discover, and I will do my best to accomplish each of them.

4. What do you hope to achieve in your life?

In my twenty years of existence, some people look up to me and see me as a role model, specifically in
terms of academics. They said that I achieved many things. However, I don’t see myself that way. I feel
that I haven’t accomplished anything despite all the recognitions, awards, and medals that I received. As
a person who struggled and still struggling in her life, the substantial goals that I hope to achieve are
pure and simple. I aim to have serenity, genuine happiness, and stable life. As I grow older, responsibility
piles up every single day. It’s hard but it’s inevitable because that’s life. With all the events going on in
this world, it’s a challenge to catch up. It’s stressful. The surrounding is noisy, and my mind is full of
thoughts. Thus, serenity is what I need. I hope to achieve serenity because I can cope well when my
mind is at peace, and the surrounding is comfortable to deal with. Moreover, I also aspire to have
genuine happiness. Truth be told, I don’t know what is inside that genuine happiness. What I only know
is that I just want to feel contentment and comfort along with that happiness. The happiness that will
make me stop crying late at night. The happiness that will console me every time I feel down. That’s
what I hope to have. Furthermore, I seek to have a stable life. It’s what everybody wants, right? To have
physical, emotional, and financial stability. Of all the things that I want to achieve, this is the one that I
want to attain first because serenity and happiness will naturally come after this goal. Overall, I hope to
achieve the above-mentioned goals that I have in my life that will put my life together.