Tattoo eyeliner, rejection and people who never left

MANILA, Philippines - Every time I check my Facebook feed, I see friends offering shout-outs to other friends, family, the cab driver who got them to work lightning fast, and to the universe in general. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside knowing that we don’t need an official holiday for giving thanks to be grateful for all the blessings — even for the occasional lemon — thrown our way. Sometimes I see a post that says, “Thanks God for (insert happy incident)” and instantly kick into editing mode, but often, I am able to resist. Maybe they are talking directly to God. Anyway, how can anyone make fun of gratitude, grammatically correct or otherwise?

As a kid, I taught myself to only offer thanks in my prayers. I found that asking for things can be futile — I thought, how can someone so high up in the heavens possibly get my teacher to give me a 98 in my geometry exam? My often too-logical thought process told me that things like getting good grades, landing a kickass job, or fitting into a size six pair of jeans are best worked for — and then I can thank myself later for being solely responsible for my success. As I grew older I realized I was just a proud, silly kid who naively thought she could get anything she wanted if she worked really hard for it. In a completely non-cinematic moment of clarity, very much unlike Liz Gilbert’s kneeling-on-the-floor-and-talking-to-God episode, I realized I was never really alone in anything I had to do — family, friends, bosses and even frenemies were there, nudging me on, whether in flesh or in spirit. And for this, I am thankful.

I am also thankful for my accounting 101 professor, who gave me a much-needed reality check: “You weren’t built to do math,” she may as well have said. And then I am thankful to the flyer that landed on my spaghetti carbonara one day at school. It told me to find out if I was good enough for Guidon, our school paper. Finally, I am thankful for the irrational, inconvenient, gotta-have-them-all love I have for clothes and beauty products. If I weren’t built this way, I wouldn’t have the stamina to write about these things in the middle of the night, not complain, and even love every minute of it. (I am also grateful for concealer, liquid tattoo eyeliner and MAC lipstick in Plumful for helping me fake all the hours of sleep I didn’t get.)

I haven’t made my due rounds in the world of fashion and beauty, but the handful of designers, photographers, makeup artists, stylists, models and writers I’ve met have showed an inspiring amount of gratitude for being able to do what they do. It’s a beautiful, well-dressed world, and I’m grateful to the point of incredulity that I get to live in it.

What are you thankful for?

I’m so thankful for having stayed this long (almost 25 years) in fashion, to God for giving me a career that has given me so much opportunity to grow and to share, and molded me to become the person that I am today. - Randy Ortiz, designer

Aside from all the blessings and trials that God has given me, it’s the mobile phones and Internet that I am very thankful for. They have made our lives easier. Can you imagine life without them? — Puey Quiñones, designer

I’m thankful for the world of fashion and how it gave me both a reason to live and a way to make a living. — John Lozano, stylist

I am most grateful for the gift of faith, which serves as my rock, in good times and in bad. My husband too who is everything to me — a product of that faith that assured me of a friend who would show me true love. My children, who by their mere existence, turned my life inside out and taught me greater patience and selflessness. And my good health, which allows me to enjoy the company of those I hold dear and perform all the physical activities I love. — Tweetie de Leon-Gonzalez

Love, family and career. — Vania Romoff, designer

I’m really thankful that this year was packed more than it was last year. — John Pagaduan, makeup artist