2ND_Quarter_Week 4_Reflection

 1. What is the song all about? Give support to your answers by citing specific lines/lyrics from the song.

                The song highlights the importance of loving one’s self first before loving other people. The priority of taking care of yourself before other people is not selfish but self-love.

                The line: “Aanhin ko ang paghahanap ng magmamahal kung sa sarili ko ay 'di pa masaya” means that your happiness shouldn’t rely on other people because once they’re gone, you’ll end up with nothing. Meanwhile the line: “Mabuti nang mag-isa nang makilala ko muna ang sarili” supports the idea that loving yourself takes time and is something that shouldn’t be rushed. Once you love yourself, then it will be easier to love others.

                Lastly, Yeng has stated: “Paano ko magmamahal kung 'di ko kayang mahalin ako” which means that a person cannot fully love someone until they learn to love themselves. In loving yourself, you will have a more positive and compassionate outlook in life. When you understand your own self, you will have the ability to understand and empathize with other people better. Realizing that only you can complete yourself is necessary so that you won’t have to find other people to take love from. With this, you will have an abundant supply of love, enough to share for other people to have.

2. Share your insights, realizations and learnings on the discussion forum after reflecting on this song.

                Loving one’s self is a very hard thing to do but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s impossible. It is something that is definitely worth the time and commitment.

As humans, we strive to find fulfillment and happiness in life to complete the missing pieces in our hearts. The only problem is that we keep on seeking these things in other people without realizing that only our “selves” can fill in the missing gap. Rather than finding someone to complete you, you have to realize that only you can complete yourself. In doing so, the risk of dependency is nullified.

I will admit that I have hated myself for the longest time. As a neglected child, I always thought that my abandonment was something that I deserved. My parents didn’t love me, so why should I? I had always thrown myself into a vicious cycle of self-loathing and self-depreciation. It was until recently that I discovered that my happiness should not rely on other people. They do not owe me anything. Only I owe myself the love that I am due.

For now, I still do not fully love myself, and honestly, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to. Still, I am trying my best to understand the concept of self-love. Knowing that having self-love is not being selfish really helps me ease into this practice much easier. Sadly, the years of resentment have put a lot of stress in my mind, so some intrusive thoughts slip in from time to time. I try to manage, but sometimes it’s just so hard to love myself. At this point, only time will tell.