You don't have to be alone

You don't have to be alone. 
When the world seems to turn it's back on you and everybody is pushing you down. I'll be here.
You don't have to be alone.
No matter how deep you fall or how dark is that place where you are. I'll get there.
You don't have to be alone.
There's no distance I can't shorten, nor time that can break us apart. I'll be there.
You don't have to be alone, though I know it's how you feel.
You don't have to be alone and I'll tell you until it's real.
You don't have to be alone 'cause I will always be here.
You don't want to be alone so just please let me get near. 

IMAGINE...

IMAGINE...

Life could become what you want it to be.

THINK...

How everything would be so different.

FEEL...

The confort it would bring to your broken heart.

DREAM...

About how great it would all be.

REALIZE...

That part of what makes a wish so desirable is the fact that it's not real!

About time - Introducing A Glimpse of Happiness

Not sure if I’m excited, nervous or terrified... but it appears that it’s becoming real. After all the delays and long lasting hesitations I finally managed to set a release date for my first book. A Glimpse of Happiness (Um Vislumbre de Felicidade, in portuguese) is set to debut and be available to the public on the 19^th of May.

More details will become available with time, but for now, I just wanted to give you a glimpse of it (pun intended):

It should look something like this

   - It will have both an English and a Portuguese version, and will be available in paper and digital format.

   - The prices should start at €3.99 for the digital version and €14.99 for the paper version.
  

   -  All profits will revert to Operation: Let’s Build a House
   

   - For pre orders please leave a comment below, twit me or inbox me and I’ll be in touch.

Does it hurt to know?

When we met no-one could have guessed

That in the quirkiness of our minds

We would build a friendship so hard to find

But somehow we made our way

And unconsciously defied the odds

Finding in eachother someone who got our thoughts

Then you snapped out of the blue

And that was the day

It all started to go the wrong way

And when you look back

Does it hurt you to know

That we didn’t have to let go?

I could see us falling apart

I fought the best I could

But it ended on your terms, like I knew it would

I tried to show you, you were wrong

But what is the use in what I say?

Nothing could convince you to stay

I couldn’t stand your indifference

So finally I just decided I had had enough

But who could tell it would be so tough?

And when you look back

Does it hurt you to know

That we didn’t have to let go?

Through the pain I built myself up

The tears I fought to refrain

And strived to got up on my feet again

In the end I had to move on

And our story try to forget

So don’t you come now saying that you regret

And when you look back

Does it hurt you to know

That we didn’t had to let go?

Feeling Special & Being Special

Note:

Hi lovelies :)

This is the piece that won me 2nd place at my first ever contest writting. It's a bit long but I hope you enjoy it!

Being special is not about being perfect; it’s about making a difference in someone’s life. A special person is someone who makes you smile through the worst, the first one you call when your world starts to collapse, and the first you think of when you hear good news. To be special is not something you can attempt, it’s something that comes naturally, without even trying. It’s something you reach by being noble, honest, and true to yourself.

Some people are just special and they captivate others. They are genuine, pure, nice, and spontaneous. No, they’re not perfect, they have flaws, they make mistakes but there’s something about them. Something you’re not quite able to put your finger on or explain. It doesn’t matter anyway; some people just have the gift of being incredibly likeable. They don’t try to please everyone, but it just naturally happens. They don’t have to try to be funny or stand out because it will inevitably happen. Some people come into our lives unannounced and when you notice them it’s too late, they’ve already stolen your heart. These people have no clue how great they are and how much their friendship brings into your life. Some people are so unbelievably irresistible that they can get even the most skeptical person to stand by them no matter what. It’s like not matter how much they tried, that person could never do anything wrong to make you want to push them away. Sometimes there’s just that click and you know. You know that no matter what life brings or what may happen between the two of you, or even if for some reason you grow apart, it doesn’t matter because that person will always have a special place in your heart.

We can’t guess what makes someone special. There’s no definition for it, it’s not something you can describe or even understand. We all had that moment when we felt drawn to someone who rationally we never thought would appeal to us. It doesn’t matter for how long you’ve met them or how much you know about them. The different values and ideas don’t seem to matter because in the end for whatever reason you feel connected to that person. The fact that you cannot predict whom you’re going to meet and how you’re going to feel about someone is the beauty of life, that’s what makes everything interesting.

Underrating people tends to happen sometimes. The truth is everybody has something special in him or her; everybody is special in his or her own way for somebody. Yes, everyone is special, but there’s a big difference between being special and feeling special. Unfortunately some of the most amazing people never truly realize how special they are. Everyday I hear stories about incredible people who somehow never got a chance to feel special. People with incredible hearts, amazing values, and people that meant the world to so many others, for one reason or another never truly felt appreciated.

There’s a difference about feeling special and being special because the first one relates to the way you feel and the other to the way you truly are and what you represent to others. Feeling special is not so much about how great you are, but how you perceive yourself. It’s about the way you feel about yourself, about life.

Nobody feels special all the time. As human beings we’re unsatisfied by nature.  We always want more, we’re constantly craving for something else. What we have to learn is to enjoy the moments that we have. We have to bear in mind that these glimpses of happiness are the best we can get.

William Shakespeare said that, "Nothing is so common as the wish to be remarkable” and we can apply the same principle here. Whether we admit it or not we all want to feel special. Some of us may have a hard time believing that we are worth it, that we deserve it. People may pretend they don’t care because they’re afraid to get hurt or to be disappointed but deep inside I guarantee you the wish is there. To feel special is not a luxury or a whim it’s a need, actually it’s a right! To feel unique, to feel useful, to feel loved. No one should go through life without ever experiencing these feelings.

So how does it come? How can we reach that feeling? How can we get to that place?

Truth is there are no formulas or guidelines. We can think about it, write about it, or sing about it as much as we can, but we will never be able to find an answer. It’s not a science, it’s subjective; it’s about emotions and feelings, not theories or explanations.

As it’s related to what we feel and who we are, when we think about “being special” or “feeling special” we tend to put ourselves in the center of the question, to consider only the way other people act toward us. However, what I have realized is that the easiest and most rewarding way to feel special is by helping someone to feel special too. By focusing on someone else’s needs, by helping them get through their problems and understand how much we care, we can get there. More than to hear someone tell you how great you are or how much you mean to him or her sometimes all you need is to feel that you have a purpose. That you’re not useless or disposable, that there are things that only you can do. So maybe you’re not the best singer in the world, you’ll never be a best-seller writer or win a gold medal, but at some point you may be the only one who can mitigate someone’s pain.

To me, being special is not about the big moments, it’s about the small ones. It’s all on those little gestures, in the details that everybody else seems to be oblivious to. It’s all in that smile that reassures you everything will work out eventually, in that kiss that tells you to hold on just a little bit longer. It’s in that special hug that keeps you from breaking apart; it’s on that uncontrollable laugh that you share when all is gone.

To feel special has a lot to do with the way you relate to people and develop your relationships. No one will ever have the ability to make you feel good about yourself, to make you feel unique and amazing as the people who are around you. By being surrounded by special people you tend to learn from them. By getting a taste of how good it feels to be noticed, to be cared, you too will feel the urge to make that impact in someone’s life. When you stop doing it to pursue that title and you start doing it for the simple pleasure of watching someone smile is when you’ve actually found the right path. Those altruistic actions, that selfless attitude are what will make you special in the long run. Eventually it will become so natural that you won’t even notice it anymore, and to me that’s part of the charm. More often than not these people have no idea how great they are. It’s not because they’re faking humbleness, it’s because it’s something that comes so naturally to them that doesn’t seem like a big deal anymore.

We all want to feel special, but can we even identify what we need to feel it? It’s such a transversal subject. You can feel special because you’re the best in class, because you’re a team’s leader, because you’re the prettiest, or the smartest, or simply the most recognized.  Then there are the other, not so logic or clear reasons. Like when you feel special when, your usually quiet and calm best friend snaps at you for no reason, because it only means that she trusts you enough to know that you’ll never leave her side. When you get pulled out of your graduation party to console a broken hearted friend, because apparently no one could do it as well as you. When having to get up in the middle of the night to guarantee there’re no monsters under the bed doesn’t hurt half as much because you know no one else could give them that peace of mind. To feel special you don’t have to feel that you’re the best; most times you just need to feel that you matter.

Despite how special someone is we all have insecurities and fears. We all have those days when we just want to runaway and hide. Days when it’s hard to keep it together, days when you doubt if someone really cares, and if anyone would miss you if you were gone. Days when you seem unable to get it right and you hate every trace of you. It’s uncannily though, how twisted things are. How the features you hate about yourself can be the ones that make you special to the eyes of someone else. To feel special you have to have someone who makes you feel good and likes who you are. Someone who not only knows, but praises those little peculiarities you always wished you could change about yourself. You feel special when you know that people believe and rely on you.  You feel special when you understand that there must be something good in you if they keep coming back. You’ll feel special once you understand that you can’t take criticism too seriously, that it’s impossible to please everyone, that’s it’s okay to make mistakes, and that failing won’t take away your value.

People around you play a crucial role in how you turn out, what you become, and how you see yourself. Your family, your friends, your lovers, all of them have their own share of credit when it comes to making you feel special. The truth of the matter is that no matter how much they love you, or how much they care you’ll never be able to feel special until you accept yourself. You can have all the support in the world, but you won’t feel special unless you understand that you deserve it and allow yourself to feel it, because ultimately the power to feel special relies in your hands.

Friends

Even without trusting people that much or being that sociable, I have had my fair share of friendships. Most of them were amazing and all certainly worth it, because in one way or another they all taught me something.

With some people the connection is obvious, you have the same interests, same values, same tastes, with others however, you’re so different from eachother that no matter how hard you try to break down the reason you’ll never be able to explain why you get along so well.

Over the years I’ve learnt that there are no equal relationships, not with lovers nor with friends. I understood that I can’t compare what I feel for two different people or have the same expectations regarding all my friends. I know now that some of them will always end up losing touch or postponing our meetings when they claim to miss us some much, and I don’t take it personally anymore, because I’ve learnt to accept that it doesn’t mean they’re not being honest when they say they care, it’s just who they are.

There was a period in my life I was terrified with the idea of not being with my friends everyday, because in my mind, no matter what promises would be made we would end up apart. If I had had a choice, I would have never changed the circumstances, but gladly sometimes life forces us out of our comfort zone only to teach us to have more faith in the relations we build. I would be lying if I said things didn’t change, but with those people the friendship remained, and even though we all grew in so many ways, we haven’t grown apart and are pretty sure now that we won’t.

The next lesson wasn’t that easy to cope with, and it happen when I realized that, not only special bonds don’t last forever, sometimes they end abruptly. It’s one thing to lose someone because the friendship slowly faded away, but it’s a bit tougher when you have to let go of something that you truly appreciated and used to make your day. To try to avoid the pain, I think it’s normal that you go through a denial stage, when you try to be oblivious to it, where you try to convince yourself that it wasn’t that special or that you didn’t care about that person that much. Eventually though, I found that it was much healthier to admit to myself that I had to let go, not punishing myself or the other person for what could have been done differently, but being happy because even though it was over I did get a chance to experience those moments.  

I also used to think that a true friend had to be someone I had known for years and that had to be in my live constantly, but now I know that there are people in your life that somehow just touch your heart and no matter how long you’ve met, what the future holds or how long you’re apart you’ll always have a special feeling for. Those special people that for some reason you just click with, that tend to get you without too many words and that very easily steal a place in your heart. The same ones that you may not speak with for months but that with just one text message can bring back all the joy.

There aren’t too equal friendships, but they all bring something into our lives. Hopefully most of them will bring you happiness, trust, laughs and love but even if they make your heart ache and your mind doubt, try to focus on the good part. If you had relationship with someone, you must have shared good moments, so don’t feel miserable about it, or not happy, just embrace it and move on, and remember, there’s nothing like the feeling of sharing a loud laugh, an intimate look or a tight hug with a friend. 

It all starts today

It’s time to do something for yourself

It is time to take ownership of your life

And stop making excuses not to change.

Enough of postponing what can be done today,

Enough with procrastination and self-pity,

Only you have the power to change yourself.

No more of these senseless dreams,

No more of hopping things to change,

It’s time to get active and do it different.

No-one is saying it will be easy,

No-one is saying you won’t doubt or fear.

But if, for once, you’ll believe, you’ll do it.

You’re stronger than you think

Braver than you see yourself

And you’ll make it there, I know!

Dreams and Fairytales

I wish I could tell you how much of a difference you make in my life,
And how it brightens my day to see you come my way.

I wish you would know how your cuddles lift me up when I’ down,
And how I long to have your presence by my side.

I wish I could share with you every single moment of my life,
And be just half as special to you as you are to me.

I wish you would understand that no-one else gets me like you do,
And that I love knowing you’ll help me get through.

I wish I could show you what it means to have someone to trust,
And that will follow me wherever I lead.

I wish I could thank you for taking the pain away every time I get torn,
And be strong enough to help me overcome.

I wish I could always carry that warm fuzzy feeling of your hugs,
And the safety network that is your love.

I wish I could find a way to make myself forget this fantasy,
So I don’t have to hurt with everything I’m missing.

Just because

Just because I don't say anything, that doesn't mean I don't notice everything.

Just because I don't force them on you, it doesn't mean that I don't have opinions.

Just because I don't fight or yell, it doesn't mean I don't care.

Just because I don't run, that doesn't mean I'm not scared.

Just because you don't see my tears, it doesn't mean I don't cry everyday.

Just because I can't allow myself to think of it, that doesn't mean I don't miss you.

Just because I don't show it, that doesn't mean it doesn't get to me.

Just because I don't shout it out loud, it doesn't mean I don't treasure you.

I love this game

Such a good feeling when you get to do something you’ve always loved but haven’t had the opportunity to do in a while!

I know distance it's said to tear people apart and make you forget things you like, but somethings just don’t change. The true passions in your life can’t be erased neither by distance nor obstacles. They may be put aside for periods of time but when you have a chance to do them again it all comes back to you in a flash. You’ll be drawn to it like you had never left.

It’s easy to overlook the little joys in life, to take for granted what you have. It’s even easier to try to forget how much you love something that you can’t do anymore in order to cope with it, but no matter how much you lie to yourself, once you’re confronted with it you won’t be able to deny how happy you are to have it back. It’s only when you get to play it again that you realize how much you’ve missed it. It’s addictive, it’s inexplicable the feeling of pure pleasure that can come along with something as simple. There’s nothing that compares to the feeling of having that basketball in your hands again, to take a shot and hear that “swish”…

And yes, you meet amazing people, and being a part of a team is one of the best experiences you can have, but even if you take all of that away and just focus on the game itself you will still be able to feel the magic, and you’ll know it when you notice that just by entering the court you already have a smile on your face.

I love this game, because when it’s good it’s great but what makes it special is that even when it’s bad it’s still good!