Blog
This is a collection of stories and daily musings.
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A frightening degree of corruption
Something shifted in me when I came of age. Probably because my interest in current affairs has grown, the blatant corruption in the Philippines now troubles me beyond belief in a way it never did before. Watching the Katakot-takot na Kurakot (Alarming Corruption) documentary series made greed and human evil all too real to me because they are my experienced Read more
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We are travelers here
I like being in the airport because all the people here have a place to go. Everyone is moving. Everyone is active. And even when we are waiting on uncomfortable benches, on cold floors, and in busy shops, we are waiting only for a season. We all wait with purpose—a departure time, a gate number, Read more
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Why trust works
The best leadership lesson I’ve learned? It starts with trust. When you trust that your team can deliver their responsibilities, they will learn to trust themselves to do what they can, and even more by demonstrating accountability and initiative. They’ll surprise you. They’ll surprise themselves. Micromanagement only stifles creativity because it calls for a rigid Read more
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Nobody wins: watching a war from afar
It’s easy to dabble in issues we see online just after seeing a small part of the whole. We were trained to be quick to respond to breaking news without stepping back and thinking deeply about the deeper whys. In 2023, while I was still glowing from being newlywed—married just four months—news broke out about Read more
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Stories in the ordinary
As someone who makes time to read books, at least six a year, I am always on the lookout for titles that I find relevant to whatever I am going through or what I want to become and improve at. So when a friend—who knows what kind of reader I am—recommends a title that’s not Read more
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Kindness as a tool
As a child looking up to adults, I recall how kindness was consistently taught within the family, at church, and even in school. Always be kind. It sounds simple, almost banal. But somewhere in my early thirties, I encountered people who shattered this simple worldview. They were charming, generous with compliments, always ready to listen. Read more
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My life in pieces
I started my year standing by the shore, with my weight shifting beneath me as the water dug deep between my soles while my toes curled onto the sand. Like the shifting sand beneath my feet, everything in my life felt unstable, uncertain. It was a slow work of making sense. While in the mess, Read more
jessa 