"Bri Coffee, Beer?"

People always seem to under-appreciate the value of a good conversation. A meaningful conversation with someone over coffee or beer, could lead into something very constructive. It will open your mind to so many possibilities and realizations that you wouldn't have thought of yourself. 

See, my mind is pretty messed up, and there are so many things that I wanna say but I always seem to prevent myself from sharing it with people, mainly because I think it's not the right place, or the right time, and mostly because I just don't think people will care or should care. So I decide to shut up most of the time. This made me more of a listener than a talker. I prefer it anyway. I like listening to people's stories and personal experiences. I like that I am able to understand their perspective on something. They say experience is the best teacher. Although it didn't necessarily say whose. Whether it's your experience or someone else's, it could still teach you a hell of a lot. You don't really need to shoot yourself in the head with a gun to know it will kill you.

However, always being the listener could take a toll on you. It could be very exhausting. It is so overly selfless you tend to hate the person you're talking with. The worst part is it's not their fault at all. You allow yourself to be someone else's outlet for so many times that you feel resentment towards them and to yourself.

Knowing you changed that. You made it so easy for me to be genuine and honest all the time. It made me realize that I'm not alone in all the shits that I'm going through. I learned to speak my mind truthfully. You opened both your ears and your mind for what I have to say. And you were OKAY with it. You accepted my demons, with or without judgement. It didn't really matter, what's important is you never made me feel ashamed about it. And for that, breathing comes so easy. My train of thought never had to falter when I'm talking to you. My heart beats at a comfortable pace. I was able to look in your eyes without having to lie. It is an honest conversation.

I will forever be thankful that I didn't go home right after class, and instead I decided to pass my time seating on a bench with you by the dumpster. 

There are so many turning points in my life that I will surely remember, but that moment on that wooden bench, will remain as a check-point, a some sort of memento that I will forever look back on to.

That moment was a wake up call. In that very moment, I realized that life is so much bigger than what I imagined. You taught me how to dream. You did that. I always knew I'm gonna go places, literally and figuratively, but I never really understood what the first step is, and its importance. You've shaken my whole perspective about the future and shown me that dreams can be achieved. See, I'm realistic as fuck, I know you think you are too, but, honestly, haha you're not. And that's okay. Because unlike me, you are not afraid to dream big. You are not afraid to take the first step. You seem to push yourself to the limit without compromising your happiness. And I admire that about you. You made it look so easy even when it's fucking not. You inspired me to trust in myself and myself alone. That my capabilities are enough to become somebody. You lead by example. You may be a dreamer, but you never settled on being one for a long time.

Looking back on our talks, I realized the million conversations we had about our let-downs. There were SO MANY shitty things that have happened to the both of us and yet, we seem to shake them off with a cup of coffee. The long talks from 6 pm till midnight seems to be enough time to forget about our problems. Every time we say goodbye by the end of the night, I feel like my life has been refreshed or rebooted, it's a brand new start.

Now, It's been a year since we last grabbed a cup of coffee with a pack of cigarettes on our sides, or ordered a plate of sisig while insulting the band on the stage at Giligan's. One year. 

I guess we survived it, a life without our talks and our drinks. But it is not a life that I look forward to.

We're both doing everything thing we can to realize the dreams we had talked about on that wooden bench. Funny thing is, I didn't think for a second that we will get to this point. I didn't think our little dreams would actually come true. It's still so vivid how we laughed about how ridiculous we sounded back then. One puff at a time. 

But yeah, I guess dreams could come true. It just needs a little push. A cup of coffee or a bottle of beer. 

And someone who believes in you.