...to my 13 year old self...

It's May 7, 2009, days off from my 23rd birthday, and your 13th. I'll start off by saying the mistakes I made in the past (well, your future) made me who I am now, and I do not regret who I have become. However, being a kid, you might get a little shocked at some events in your life, and I'm just here to give you a heads up. I know you'll do fine, but in any event you'd like to change anything you'd learn upon reading this, then it's your choice.

First, keep your dad in check. He may not show it but he'd be dealing with a lot of stuff at around this time in your life. For your mom's sake and the whole family, just go to outings when he asks.

On a personal note, don't feel too bad upon leaving your friends behind in Lorenzo. You'll meet great new people in Don Bosco. Sure, you may miss out on having a girlfriend at an early age, but she's going for some tomboy anyway, so don't put too much effort.

In Don Bosco, you're going to meet a beautiful girl that's gonna make your jaw drop. It's not easy not to look, and not to fall, but believe me, you've got as much chance being with her as the Philippines experiencing a snowstorm. And no, it's not because you don't have a cellphone. She's just nice, and you're just funny, so 10 minutes on the phone doesn't mean crap even though the others only get a couple of minutes. Just be happy for her, and you don't need to lose contact, she's gonna be with a good friend you'd meet in college. Or yeah you could lose contact, because you may probably not stand her cousin for too long.

In your second year, you're gonna be close to that girl you've had a crush on since you were 8. Do not think she's interested in you. She might have been, but she's really not. She just needs companionship at the time that no one's there for her. She'll still be a good friend, just don't make a big deal out of it, because it would lead to unwanted uneasiness between the two of you.

Do not, under any circumstances, leave your phone lying around while playing basketball. Even if it is in the relatively secure premises of Don Bosco. In college, do not leave your phone in line with all the rest of the cellphones looking for signal. Additionally, do not keep your phone in the external pocket of your big bag when watching a live PBA game. And finally, do not keep your phone in your crappy pocket especially while you're drunk. Yes, you are going to be this careless to lose this many phones in a span of 9 years. And yes, you will have that many phones. And yes, you will not be stuck in that Alcatel Talk N' Text phone your whole life.

In your third year in high school, you are going to meet a girl who you're going to fall head over heels for. By this time, with all the testosterone flying around in campus, it's not hard to imagine you falling for someone so easily. But she's a flirt. Yes you're going to love her, but she's the epitome of "malandi". I'm not stopping you from loving her, I'm just telling you that telling your dad that you found "the one" and that you'd never love again is such bullshit.

Your band and newfound friends may be one of the highlights of your high school life. Cherish them, and don't let stupid arguments come between you.

Also, at around this time, you should put an effort into understanding flash and JAVA as much as you can. It could help you in the future.

Tell your cousin Kleng that she must know how to get to the parties she goes to before going there. At around this time, when debuts are happening in Kleng's life, she will be going to a lot of parties. In one them, they will get lost, and be mistaken for some kidnapping case by some dumbass policemen. This grave accident will lead to your Ninong's passing, and Uncle Jun's stepping stone toward being part of the government. Both of which will cause nothing good in the long run.

MiRC is going to be big. It's going to start with assignment passing, and eventually move on to interaction with other schools. Don't sulk too much and close yourself out on the girl you fell for, she's not putting as much effort as you are, so just enjoy life with your friends.

In your graduation ball, wait. And talk. You not being able to take your crush to their prom doesn't mean that your deal is off. She still honors that deal you two made and is going to reject all invitations to your grad ball that is not yours.

Boxing with your uncle isn't the best idea you're going to come up with.

Philosophy isn't that bad. You'd learn a lot about life. It's gonna suck looking for a job with "AB Philosophy" as your major, but I tell you, the best years of your life are going to be in college. You won't meet the same people and experience the same stuff had you chosen another path. This may be career suicide, but if you put an effort into learning and practicing stuff you should've learned in high school computers, you should be fine. Besides, if taking up Philosophy was such a big mistake, it's the best mistake you'd be making your whole life.

You're not Jughead Jones. People will be amazed at how you eat so much but gain so little, but believe me, if you stop working out, it's gonna be tough to lose the extra baggage you're gonna gain.

In your second year, you'd meet a skinny, funny, and child-like girl who's going to make you happy. She's from an all girl school, so it might be shocking for her to take your frank admissions of liking her. Don't feel too bad if she distances herself from you, it's your fault anyway. Just be there for her, and maybe she'll get to like you too.

You're going to learn to drive, but understand that while your feet do get too busy for you to even think of falling asleep on the wheel, you actually do feel too sleepy to drive at times. And one of the times you'd fall asleep is mainly because you thought you won't fall asleep, which would lead to a huge car crash where the car wouldn't be repaired anymore. Don't be too brash trying to do something you can't.

You're bound to win an election in school. I won't say when, but when you do, just focus and do the stuff you're supposed to do, the stuff you promised to do. And make sure everyone knew you were doing your job. It's gonna be hard, and maybe against your will, but you have to make everyone know. Respect of the few doesn't win you elections. It's gonna be a great feeling knowing you are respected, but that "great feeling" can't be written in your resume.

Do your thesis early. Don't let DoTA get in the way. Think that you MUST finish parts of your thesis in your third year, so that you won't have to change your topic next year.

Upon graduating, tell your dad that it's not the best idea to sell ice cream. Well, actually, it is. Just be there when your dad pushes for his proposal so that you can sell ice cream in the village. If you manage to do that, I'd probably be a businessman right now. It would sell like hotcakes in the village, but anywhere else, you're throwing your money away.

You're going to have a great phone. Don't let your drunk tantrums slam it to the ground.

Remember this lesson: you are a playoffs man. You can bet a lot during the playoffs, but never try to be too greedy and bet on elimination games as well. Maybe I'll write you again after I've researched the winning lottery combinations.

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Ten years isn't a lot of time to make such grave mistakes, but all these I gave you a heads-up on are the stuff you need to be prepared for so that you won't be sulking too much. You're too emotional to keep it all to yourself. Too much sulking made you lose so much time to enjoy other stuff.

And if you think being 159lbs isn't THAT bad, then you don't need to slow down on chowing down.

That's all. Good luck in your high school life!

--> From your turning-23-old self.
(And I got the idea of writing this to you because of a morning show on the radio. Giving credit to where it's due.)