Four years ago, I was picking up pieces of myself off the ground. Three years after that, I focused on rebooting my career. This past year, I focused on my new puppy and myself.

2014 was a pretty miserable year for me. I'm sure one would ever expect it. What people tend to forget is social media is just a giant online highlight reel. There’s a whole 'lotta life that happens in between posts, and for me, it was pretty shitty.

For the twelfth straight year, without fail, here is my annual survey of how I spent my year 2014.

Here are my "less obvious but still really important to me" guys:

Stan -- My closest friend from high school. We've come a long way since our awkwardly silent two-hour bus ride together for the sophomore retreat, hahah. You're one of the handful of guys that I can legit tell EVERYTHING to. Even though we're both struggling to figure out how to make it in "the real world," I know you got my back...and you know I got yours.

Chris P. -- We both want to make our marks on this world, and you constantly remind me to not settle for anything til we've done it. When I'm running low on inspiration, you always manage to inspire me.

Darwin G. -- My fuckin' awesome college roommate. We had everything in common, man. So many good times. We've completely lost touch since then but you taught me valuable skills that led me to where I am today. You helped me make something of myself and I'll be forever grateful.

Mr. Guillot -- My middle school english teacher...but you taught me SO MUCH MORE than just that -- You taught me to find my own voice; to shine my own inner light. You taught me you how to express my true self in writing. You taught me how to be ME.

Dr. McGeough -- We talked for no longer than 5 minutes but you changed my life forever. You gave me a chance when nobody else would...when even my own college advisors gave up on me. I had flunked out of school...but you got me back in, and I got nothing but A's and B's til I finally graduated.

Of course I have nothin' but love for Mom, Dad, my brothers, UDH, Webb, CPP, BTVfam, TGB and music fam. <3

Thank you, everyone, for all the birthday wishes! I feel so young turning 21 again for the 7th straight year! My phone would NOT stop buzzing all day cuz of all the @replies, facebook notifications, tumblr posts and text messages...birthdays like yesterday remind me how blessed I am.

• _melistar
• 9natran
• adrian
• adrieee
• ajiiizzzle
• akachrisTOPS
• akbdc
• alexjohn
• aline-m
• and0n
• andykim84
• anita-jose
• anthong
• ari
• arielmariee
• ashish patel
• auroraempire
• b0otayx3
• babytoes81
• bing87
• bm-photography
• bored44
• briceorbryce
• bkeeeezy
• cathy-nguyen
• cedricjoshua
• chaaaany
• charlenedang
• chrisanne
• christina-b
• christina-luna
• christinieweenie
• cindyboo
• confidential
• cookiemunstarr
• cristie suzukawa
• cristina-dg
• da1flipguy
• dad
• dailo
• dajark
• danielszetho
• danitokyo
• darweeenie
• david-choi
• dee-celera
• dessiegirl
• devinxrenee
• djblinks
• djmajik202
• DoctorRico
• donnaaa
• dreamingoutloud
• droidoid
• eddieparas
• eddymyla
• eelyajekim
• elisa
• erniesbudolab
• ey_mikz
• farsid3pin0y
• fizzi
• flipgal77
• francisrochino
• FTWSammie
• FUNK_CHINK
• gabeezy
• genix
• goldylox
• goshNicole
• gotkatzy
• h20ballz
• halfsensed
• hayleigh
• hayley watson
• hazeldb
• henry-s
• heyitsthatgirl
• heylisajue
• hollisterloser
• hollykins
• hsustyle
• huskyboydrew
• hypnoticasia
• iiamjelly
• iknowrenato
• imjenni
• ImVeryActive
• ira-dg
• itsCHELLAbaby
• itsjonsense
• itstoofragile
• j0anne
• jackielyn
• jacraig34
• janicexp
• janiise
• janne
• janNYC
• jaypwnsyou
• Jdiep08
• jenny-suk
• jer0meskee
• jgibs
• jimb0
• jimmychenpiano
• JJANGNAH
• joeescobar
• jonchaniscool
• jonjcp
• joseph-diaz
• josephvincent
• JSQUARED
• jtam7992603
• julianna_amerie
• juliannemariee
• kabannaboyroy
• kame88
• karolangcaco
• kat-blanco
• kathleen-santiago
• kaydeex3
• kevinbognot
• kim-o
• kirsten-p
• kishan
• konradthompson
• kris-cunanan
• krismark
• krystalderosas
• krystovalina
• kulayberde
• Kuya
• KuyaDeejay
• ladykitay
• lifeisfilm08
• lilbearpeachie
• linhmonster
• LionGali
• loval
• lpina
• marichris1
• marinakamel
• markque
• marlo_t
• marnz
• maykimagination
• meganfromTC
• meggggan
• melissa-v
• melvinsings
• micahmarie
• michael-tajon
• michellepark
• mirtheous
• misschanto
• mizzamanda
• mom
• mquerol
• mrfuijikicker
• msclumsiee
• mynameisroth
• nadsmustafa
• nannerzz
• natlielatunay
• neegahson
• neenerslambchop
• neil_84
• neosubz
• NeroRamos
• nessarica
• noa-martinsen
• not_june
• nykko_x3
• olee
• omgitsrobb
• ooobbyitsloveooo
• paka79
• patflynn
• peachesudh
• peteeee
• phatts
• philchao
• pinktea6
• r0ckingreen
• rachel-s
• racheljasmin
• raelynnerosales
• ram_ree
• randolph-permejo
• raineezy
• raycel98
• reggiesee
• reii
• renC
• rhezamae
• rina-dakanay
• rjay23
• rock-star
• ron_palustre
• rosemary bales
• rosmel-ramos
• rowdysaudi1
• rtran
• ryan-shin
• ryanhurley
• safaricat
• samchy
• scarlett
• scikotik
• scottyoshimoto
• sean-doyle
• shazadsk
• shireen-h
• shraddha
• sinxjae
• slackerSC
• slimbeats
• sogooey
• spideyudh
• stefansinging
• stephanie-chiang
• stephbaloy
• sun_tzu
• thatsajudy
• theapradioshow
• thisGIRLis_
• tiffany-o
• tl2eesa
• toekneekay
• tpm_music
• udh7
• uhmberr
• uhohitsari
• ulysses
• usarmymich
• vankho
• vinimack
• vjayyy
• vobot
• whattheda
• xxflipxpryd3xx
• youlikepoo
• zeephunk

Hopefully I got everyone in here that gave me a shoutout (over 240!?!). Love you all! <33

-Mel

I find that I'm constantly saying that to myself these days, especially when I'm hesitant on meeting someone new, pursuing an opportunity, or simply taking a chance.

Looking back on the last 10 years, I owe some of the greatest blessings in my life to this motto.

Like the time I got kicked out of my dorm room so my roommate could have sex, which forced me into making a seemingly trivial -- but really life-changing -- decision:

"Should I eat by myself in the lobby or meet the guys next door and eat with them?"

"Fuck it, why not?"

And then my life changed forever...

And ever...

I don't expect you guys to read all of this...but I hope you take the time to answer this survey yourselves just to reflect on the past year. If you do this, answer truthfully and with meaningful answers that you can look back on several years from now; it's amazing to look back on how you've grown.

This is my 7th straight year of doing this, and it's an absolute TRIP looking back and my old posts. Anyways, here it is.

Read More

Holy crap! Thank you guys so much for all the birthday wishes. My facebook, twitter and cell phone were going crazy the whole freakin' day!

Not gonna lie, I've had some miserable birthdays in the past...so I've learned to appreciate the simplest birthdays of facebook/myspace comments, twitters, text messages and just being around people that I love. Yesterday was all about that and I loved it.

A few days ago, I was thinking of doing something like, "for every person that wishes me happy birthday, I'll do a body roll for one second." Damn, if I actually did that, it'd be a video of me doing body rolls for over 2.5 minute!! :laugh: Maybe next year. Maybe.

Anyways, lotsa love to the people that wished me happy birthday (in chronological order):

• Wush
• Michael
• Hazel
• Melissa G
• Michelle T
• Hammy
• Kris Mark
• Joanne
• Paolo L
• Mom & Dad
• Sheena
• Ernie
• Sierra
• Phatts
• Tracie
• Tops
• Chany
• Roth
• BM-Mike
• Loval
• Loris
• RJ
• Raelynne
• Crissy
• Mquerol
• Nessa
• Naythen
• Jackielyn
• Jae -- omg pole dancing video??! :rofl:
• Nikki
• Kina Grannis -- :biggrin:
• Drew -- loved the body roll video :bangin:
• Roy
• Van
• Marlo
• Confi
• Cristina Blake
• Tillmann
• Stefan
• Hollykinns
• Slimbeats
• Courtney
• Nicole P
• Japstaboi
• DesoMatt
• Fred
• Nam
• Stephanie C
• Michelle
• Meliss
• Dru
• Jimbo
• Amanda H
• Ulysses
• Jon G
• Tam
• Abel
• Dee
• Rochi
• Julie
• Lorraine
• Kulay Mike -- awww yehhh :hehe:
• Adriee
• Melissa V
• Ashley
• Angel
• Justine
• Renabette
• Sara
• Renato
• Mike E
• Vicki
• Pete
• Erin
• Amy T
• Samir
• Paolo
• Ariana
• Jasper
• Justin H
• Kim T
• April
• Nadin
• Rachel
• Pat
• Jason C
• Deland
• Ernie
• Phil
• Kishan
• Richard J
• Mary
• Dae
• Noa
• Wing
• James
• Chris P
• Dimples
• Preston
• Jennie
• Allie
• Erleen
• Chain
• Erin
• Lisa J
• JR
• Joanne
• Ashley S
• Norm
• NJ
• Stephanie R
• Elisa
• Bobby Lee, I mean, Cathy Nguyen -- :chill:
• Thomas Yu
• Gayle
• Devin
• Jon Chan
• Katzy -- <3 video mail
• Alex John -- all the way from Chicago?!! :noway:
• Jec -- zomg, awesome drawing skillz!! :coold:
• Josh S
• Darwin
• Daniel
• Chris P
• Brianne
• Goldy
• Nirav
• AJ -- thanks for dedicating a song to me with Cathy. :cheers:
• Janice
• Jessica M
• Kathleen B
• random people at AJ's show that apparently recognized me from blogtv (whoa!?!)
• Ronan
• Bryan Keith
• Angel
• Rex
• Amy
• Megan
• Ray
• Mark M
• Kim
• Tiff
• Dana
• Heather
• Stan
• Adoboy
• Laila
• Sara T
• Elwood
• Khaing
• Ron P
• Audrey P
• Cynthia

And on a random note...

This Ralph Emerson quote popped into my head yesterday. I've posted this before but I just love this quote so much I wanted to share it with you guys again:

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

To laugh often and much.
To win the respect of intelligent people,
and the affection of children.
To earn the appreciation of honest critics,
and endure the betrayal of false friends.
To appreciate beauty.
To find the best in others.
To leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition.
To know even one life has breathed easier,
because you have lived.
That is to have succeeded.

Love you guys. <3

Chris Pinyo: mel, you need to stop looking for perfection...cuz you're not gonna find it. no one's perfect. nothing's perfect. everything has flaws...but its these flaws that you have to deal with to make it work. I'll never forget that.

This was at the Boat one late spring night...me, Chris and Augustus. We started out talking about sex, you know, like how guys typically do...but then somehow we eventually got to talking about love & relationships...and it was one of the most deep conversations I've ever had.

I remember him telling me how much he hates his ex-girlfriend now...

Chris: i hate her so much...she put me through so much pain...
Mel: ...if you could go back in time, would you do it again?
Chris: yeah...even though it hurts now, I did love her at one point...and we did have some great times.

Whoa. I never heard anyone say something like that before...probably because I was too scared to intrude on someone's love life like that.

But still...after pondering about it for the rest of the night, I realized this whole talk is more than just about relationships...it's about LIFE.

Think about it...life is full of flaws. Nothing in this world is perfect. NOTHING. Its funny, you hear Ms. Universe pagaent contestants wishing for bullshit like world peace...:rolleyes:

And this idea of imperfection applies to people too...think about it...what if everyone in this world was perfect? We'd all be Gods. And if everyone was perfect, what would seperate one guy from the next? What would make people UNIQUE??? If we were all perfect, we'd all be the same.

Our flaws are what make us HUMAN.

What would the world be like without Erol acting like a dumbass? What would the world be like without Sherwin's brash male chauvanist humor? What would the world be like without Drunken Josh making a fool of himself when he's drunk?

It'd be BORING AS FUCK.

So, after realizing all of this...realizing how imperfection is just a part of life...I realized that not only should I be thankful for all the blessings in my life...but I should be thankful for all of the flaws that make me the man that I am today.