To My 25-Year-Old Self

CHAPTER 12

Taking a step back, you’d view them like stars strewn in a dark sky; only that,
you couldn’t figure any constellation. You couldn’t comprehend how one dot
connects to the other, or will they ever somehow connect. That’s exactly the point
when we feel lost, when we don’t get why things happen the way they do.

Steve Jobs was truly timeless in his words, “You can’t connect the dots looking
forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that
the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

It’s not actually our job to understand why things happen the moment they
happen. We’ll never get an outright answer. It takes time before we finally recognize
the pattern of how one experience has led to another, and why an incident has to
happen at a very certain time.

We don’t need to overthink, as if life is to be examined and not to be experienced.
Our job is not to study life, point after point. Our job is to live.
And at this very age, that must be made clear.
Go for what gives you peace.
If it meant rallying on streets or just staying silent, it doesn’t matter. If it meant
expanding your circles or simply keeping your constants, it’s okay. If it meant chasing
bigger dreams or just freely letting go of unfulfilled desires, that’s totally fine. As long
as it gives you peace, no one can tell if you have made the right choice.
Finally, I’d drop here my favorite bible verse from Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know
the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm
you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
There’s no dot we can ever totally comprehend. Dots only form a figure if they
are connected. Only then can they make sense.
Hence, let’s trust the sky, the darkness, and the dots. Some time, somehow, they’ll
eventually make sense.

Explore than expect

Tomorrow is never certain. The future is obscure. However expansive it is, we
can only speculate and manage our senses. But to predict it? No. That’s the strange
part about tomorrow. You’ll not even be sure if it ever comes.

With the various things that happen repeatedly in our past and in our present,
we somehow form a view of our future. We analyze patterns, we relate causes and
effects, we calculate possibilities. That’s what we call ‘forecasting’. It’s the process of
making predictions based on data and most commonly by analysis of trends- just
like weather forecasts.

In life, we do that a lot. We usually judge our future by the narratives we had in
the past and the efforts we make in the present.

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CHAPTER 12

And most often, when our predictions fail, we get easily frustrated. Why?
Because we’ve always been too attached to outcomes. We’re too particular about
endpoints, about success indicators, about results- that we actually forget to
recognize possibilities, potential shifts, and serendipities.

That’s what makes forecast different from foresight.
Foresight does not predict the future; rather, it discovers possibilities the future
holds. It is never limited to a single prospect. It explores beyond.
You might have heard about several think tanks that specialize in strategic
foresight. These are expert futurists that explore a wide range of probable future.
It begins with probing for early disruptive changes called ‘weak signals’, and
explores how these can evolve to unexpected challenges and opportunities.
Now of all times, it’s but apt to embrace foresight.
It’s when you unload things that hold you back, when you entrust things you don’t
have any control over, and when you just simply receive the abundance of destiny.
What makes foresight go further than forecasting is that it includes aspects
of networking and preparation. It leaves no stones unturned, as it prepares for
whatever it is to come.
It explores more than it expects.
Recall. What was the biggest question or reason why you decided to turn the
pages of this book? Has it ever been answered?
Maybe yes. Maybe no.
But while you tread this note word by word, I only hope you have traveled deep
within and explored far beyond.
Tomorrow may still be the same. Expect that. But go get your life! Your mindset
has changed you.
That mindset powered through these words.
And these, I wished to say… TO MY 25-YEAR-OLD SELF.

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I am unloved, unworthy, and unmoving
Never will I say that

I am a work in progress
Because the truth is

I have no chance to rise above my mistakes
And that

What matters most
Is

What is pleasing to others
I’m wrong to admit that
Life is ours to live as we please

The people
The chances
-The strength
I’m losing these
While I’m growing
It’s never true that
I am made for a reason and
Deep within, I know that
I regret my every single decision
Never again will I say
I am proud of being me
In most cases, we don’t understand why things happen and why we
feel a certain way. But these are not supposed to be understood.
Embrace it. Only time can tell. For when dots don’t align, you can
only connect them backwards. Just like the poem you’ve read on the
initial pages of this book (which I intentionally placed here again), It
will only make sense if you read it from bottom to top.
Now do it.

Embrace the wisdom in looking back.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

On the get-go, I myself struggle through this whole concept of
quarter-life crisis. It seems proper to get that out up front. So, I
acknowledge all those who, without their knowing, have been
directly or indirectly helping me rise above this circumstance.
To my default support system, my family (Papa Zaldy, Mama Fe,
Loreen, Mayette, Dane, and Yana), I wouldn’t trade being stuck under
the same roof with you from birth till present. You’ve witnessed my
everyday unsteady moods which others might have never seen. But
thanks for bearing with me despite and in spite of all these.
Special thanks to my constants (you know who you are)- at work and
orgs, online devotion, clique est. since kinder, SSEAYP sibs, my two
other moms, extended family members, and the one who still runs in
my subconscious especially when I’m yearning for. I love the genuine
affection that doesn’t need to be posted. Although certainly, if it
wasn’t in the group chat, it never happened.
I am indebted to all friends and strangers, who I’ve rubbed elbows
with, for patiently entertaining my immediate musings, frustrations,
and longing. You’ve surely soaked up a large portion of my angst and
feels. Sorry and thank you.
To my book writing coach, Jonas; to my writing mentors and critics; to
mom Belen of Golden Press, thank you all for making this debut work
possible. You have always been instrumental.
Above all, to the maker and the author of life, thank you. Baruch atah
Adonai, eloheynu, melech ha’olam. [Blessed are you, O Lord our God,
King of the universe.] Bless me, the unworthy author, that only you
speak through every word in this work. Amen.

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SPECIAL THANKS:

KISLAP KAMARA PRODUCTIONS
for the promotional videos.

Ana Theresa Aleta Valles for the photos used in the book.
Jonas Dupo of Write Your Legacy Course
John 14:14 Book Publishing Company

Email: [email protected]
Phone number: 0953-352-0025
Golden Press Tuguegarao City

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Dr. John Kit Masigan is a full-time elementary and high
school teacher who also serves as a lecturer in the
college, masters and doctoral programs. Teacher Kit
as he is fondly called, knew since childhood that he
has in his heart a spot for children. He worked his way to
be a Licensed Professional Teacher and pursued graduate
studies, earning his PhD degree in Rhetoric and Linguistics
at the age of 24. In his simple desire to contribute to nation
building, he founded the project “TuGREENarao for a
Greener Tuguegarao” which is an environmental awareness
campaign that is crafted to strengthen familial participation
through an interactive brochure-style activity fun sheet
containing eco-comics and children games.

If you wish to connect to Dr. John Kit Masigan, you can contact him through:
https://www.facebook.com/johnkit.masigan/
@jkmasigan
 [email protected]

After having been named as one of the Ten Outstanding
Students of the Philippines in 2014, he had the chance
to study in University of Montana, United States of
America through the YSEALI Academic Fellowship
in 2017. Moreover, he served as a Philippine Youth
Ambassador to Japan and ASEAN countries through the
46th SSEAYP and JENESYS Program.
He is also a freelance events host, a motivational speaker,
and an author. His inspirational talks revolve around campus
and community leadership, personality development, skills
training (public speaking and written communication),
personal branding, and career development.

YOUR STORY

ISN’T OVER YET

AAUBOTUTHTOHER Soliloquy, internal narrative, self-
questioning—call it by any name. This book
John Kit is an educator, motivational
speaker, and an advocate. As a may be anyone’s inner voice. That in
Philippine Youth Ambassador to silence, it can speak loudly about how we
ASEAN, Japan, and the USA, he has founded see ourselves, the world, and everything
projects empowering communities through
functional and environmental education. in between.
He does events hosting on the sides and As these words are greatly influenced
loves traveling, binge-watching, and mostly, by the subconscious mind, it reveals our
daydreaming. He is a millennial author who thoughts, beliefs, questions, and ideas
aims to inspire people, one page at a time. which we never have spent much time
thinking about. At some point, you might
resonate with certain experiences of the
author that will make you think he feels

exactly the way you feel.
To My 25-Year-Old Self is a product
of musings where readers may identify
themselves with, not only for those in the
quarter-life stage but also for those who
experience crises of any form at any age.
It does not promise answers. It embraces
the unknown. And when one journeys with

it, wisdom begins.