SERENDIPITY
By Joanne Marie Combong – Pijuan

Of passions and happy discoveries

 Passion. I love to say this word out loud and take pleasure in how the richness of its meaning literally makes my mouth water. This word has all the ingredients of life in it – everything that makes life exciting, overwhelming, frightening, fulfilling and worth living. It makes me think of every single thing that makes me giddy and happy; things that I relish and love; moments that I treasure and savor; and experiences that inspire and fuel me.

I was contemplating the other day of what I would name this column. My husband and I came up with all sorts of names, from the twisted, the mushy, the idiotic, the lame-brained – you name it we thought of it. We never agreed on any of the names of course, probably because we're just two different people. He's a sci-fi, L5R, computer fanatic while I'm an emotional, eccentric, “ ukay ” shopping addict with a penchant for “Sex and the City” and John Irving. How could something like “Star Trek” be in the same breath as Carrie Bradshaw and a vintage Prada bag? And so , to avoid any untoward psychotic episode (which usually happens when I don't get my way), he told me to name it myself. And so I came up with “Serendipity”.

According to my trusty thesaurus, “serendipity” means “(n) the art of making happy discoveries, or finding the unexpectedly pleasant, by chance or sagacity”. Simply put, it means making happy discoveries by accident. Aside from its fortuitous meaning and how it effectively conveys the vibe I want for my column, the word also reminds me of a lot of things: one of the few movies that made me laugh and cry at the same time (with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale ); that restaurant named “Serendipity 3” (which they also featured in the movie) along 60th Street in Midtown Manhattan where they serve the best “ frrrozen hot chocolate” among other things; and my recent trip to New York City where I was able to rediscover, rejuvenate, and reinvent myself.

I've always loved using the word “serendipity” maybe because of its quirkiness and the fact that almost all of the most memorable things and events in my life have all been serendipitous by nature. My discovery of one of my greatest passions – writing (aha, now you understand why the first paragraph blabbered about that other word “passion” – I wrote that for a reason you know, aside from giving this article dramatic flair of course…) was an unexpected, spontaneous happenstance. It just so happened that instead of playing with dolls when I was 9 , I played with words and wrote poetry after accidentally discovering my grandmother's poems and essays. And, I became even more convinced that I really wanted to write when, instead of growing breasts when I was 11, I grew a stronger love for the written word instead after religiously logging on to my first “diary” brought about by my serendipitous discovery of how fascinating and strange boys were (they still are, believe me).

Most, if not all of my life's passions have somehow been “introduced” to me by serendipity. And so , for the next few months expect me to write about serendipitous events in my life as well as all the other things that I or you may be passionate about. I'll talk about fashion, beauty, family, events, parties, shows, art, music, food, books, places, trips, hobbies, work, love, friendships, relationships, “Aha! moments ” and anything and everything that make life what it is – one helluva journey that's always evolving and always unfolding. Be with me in my succeeding articles and commentaries as I keep the fires of passion burning and hopefully , inspire you to discover yours. As what I always say, life is short; let serendipity find our greatest passions!