jessa

Everyday Stories, Lived

Life

  • Committing to a path forward

    For a year now, I have been thrashing out ideas—imagined futures—once I arrive at the inevitable termination of my job contract. I feel like I’m suffocating from a lack of imagination. When did this happen? I remember the nights I spent outside the veranda, looking at the stars sprawled on the night sky, dreaming about Read more


    in

  • The cycle we can’t seem to break

    Tax after tax without tangible benefits is squeezing the life out of ordinary people like me. And like the people from 20 years ago, we still struggle to break free. Read more


    in

  • When money can’t fix what’s broken

    You can use money like a salve And slather it on the hurt But it will not cure anything Only bury the hurt deeper Money can never mend a broken soul. It might provide a temporary relief, but money only obscures deeper suffering. I have felt a pain so intense that nothing matters anymore because Read more


    in

  • Where to go next?

    For years, I have always asked myself where to go next because certain things in my life always have expiration dates. The time constraint always kept me on my toes, always reminding me that before the turn of the year, I should be able to have at least decided where to go next. The options Read more


    in

  • Gender expectations

    Why are men’s emotional crises viewed as responses to external pressure while women’s are attributed to inherent emotional weakness? I never really understood society’s expectations towards women until I experienced the pressure to conform to the idea that women should never express intense negative emotions to avoid being labeled as “hysterical,” “dramatic,” and “unstable.” Speaking Read more


    in

  • A leader without dreams and visions

    If a man cannot communicate his dreams and visions for this lifetime and the next generation (and the next), he probably has nothing to begin with. And that is a dangerous man to marry, especially when you are called to trust him with your life. And why would a man withhold a good thing such Read more


    in