#FoundLetters: Isa Garcia's Book Launch

I met Isa Garcia when she asked to interview me back when we worked for Candy Magazine. I remember our initial meeting, but I really can't pinpoint when we became good friends. All I know is my life is truly (hashtag) blessed when she became a part of it.

February 22 is truly a milestone for Isa. She launched her first book, Found: Letters on Love, Life, and God. I remember her venting to us on the days we have cuddle parties in our home, frustrated because she can't seem to motivate herself to finish the book. Finally, she did it, and I couldn't be any more proud of her.

The event held at Commune (Makati) was very intimate, and Isa had me and Danah as some of the speakers speakers to read out letters we wrote to our younger selves. I recently published the one I wrote to my 16-year-old bulimic self here. The night was filled with insights, vulnerability, and authenticity. This is the type of gatherings that make my soul joyful and my heart full.






I high encourage you to get a copy of this book. It will breathe life to you when you're feeling lost. On the days you feel irrelevant in this big old world, Isa will be the one to remind you of your value, and why you and your story matters.

I opened this book for the very first time right this very moment, and I decided to leave it up to fate on what page I get to read first. And lo and behold, it is about dating. Impeccable timing. Kinda' freaky, to be honest. This is exactly what I need to read right now.

Let me share with you this wonderful letter as a little sneak peek of Isa's captivating words that will spark inspiration and encouragement to your soul.

To the girl who never stops dreaming of romance,

The person I want you to date exists and I want you to wait it out until you meet him. Because, in case you haven't met yet, you will. Waiting is for the brave—it means watching the years pass, noticing yourself growing older. It means sitting through wedding after wedding after wedding. Waiting means bottling that slow-rising fear. It means questioning your standards and running the risk of settling for second best.

I wish someone had told me the person I was meant to be with was a real, living, breathing person in some part of the world and waiting, too. I did not believe in romantic destiny, so I projected all my hopes onto the wrong people. Then I tried desperately to make these wrong people right. In the end, no one won and the aftermath was a combination of devastating grief, self-loathing, and crippling regret. I do not want that for you.

Wait.

The person I want you to date might be making morning coffee right now, or sleeping through a thunderstorm, or getting a degree in physics. Wait. I mean it. Anyone else will be a mere imitation of the real thing.

The person I want you to date believes in big things. This person has a passion and pursues it with a hunger than can set the world on fire. This person believes in setting goals and making them happen. Trust me, you won't regret being with someone who is madly in love with a purpose in life. When you meet this person—this unstoppable ball of good fury—I want you to have a vision of your own, a goal you can shape your life around. I want you to have a desire to change the world, whatever pocket of it you belong to. You can't be stagnant when the person you're with is active and dynamic. Life is a grand celebration of doing great things that matter and you (yes, you) play a huge part in it.

The person I want you to date has character. When you're young, all you're looking for is personality. Charm. Compatibility in music, book, and food preferences. These are all well and good, but character is what sustains a relationship when all of these things change. Personality is ever-evolving but character grows and amplifies with time. A person with character doesn't quit. A person with character graciously expends back-breaking, heart-wrenching love to someone who has not lived up to expectations. Character is that beautiful thing that gets molded over time and experience. Be someone with character and never settle for someone without it.

The person I want you to date will be into you. Really, really into you. There will be no need for pointless mind games, no room for even the slightest bit of emotional confusion. The person I want you to date will be crystal clear about his intentions towards you. He will not try to win you over with sweet nothings or romantic gestures. The love you are waiting for will be bigger than the superficial trappings of courtship. The person I want you to date will take the time to get to know you, see everything there is to love about you. That person will not run at the first sight of ugliness, but will love you through it.

But I also want you to know that the person I want you to date will fail you. Give that person grace to be human. Don't listen to those stupid quotes that tell you that the person who loves you will never make you cry. I want you to realistically approach this thing we call human relationship. Hurting one another is part of the messy dynamics of getting close to someone. But the person I want you to date is someone who knows how to resolve conflict. When things blow up in both your faces, that person will not hesitate to admit mistakes.

And when it comes to loving you, you will be sure. You will be so sure. You will be certain of their love for you, so certain you would bet on it. It will be the most painfully obvious thing in the world. You will come to question many, many things in life, but that love won't be one of them.

And you know what? That person will believe in you so much that you will never feel compelled to question yourself. You will put all your insecurities to rest because the person I want you to date will, more than anything, make you feel that you do matter. Always. And you know why? Because you do.

I'm sure it sounds like a long shot, but what if you dared to believe that the person I want you to date is real? Love is greater than cynicism and this is what I believe—yes, me, the last single girl in the world: While some people think this all sounds too good to be true, there is a God who is out to give us things that are too good to be false.

Believe. Don't settle with just "good enough." And in the meantime, become the person that the person you're looking for is looking for.

With love,
A girl who believes the best if yet to come