Remember my "How to be you po?" blog post? It was written in 2016. As I was checking my blog stats to update my media kit, I noticed that this post continues to gain traction. People read it even today. 

I read it again and, certainly, some things about me don't exist anymore. 

So I thought of reposting it and see how much I've changed over the years.

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How to be me nga ba?  Here are 39 ways:

To be me, you have to look younger than your age and act younger than you look.

I still look, dress, and act young at 39. Haha

Still not into whitening but I'm no longer hesitant to try IV glutathione for health purposes (especially how it's highly recommended for my autoimmunee disease). Also, I wear sunscreen and use umbrellas (even during hikes) because I'm arte like that now.

To be me, you shouldn't be afraid of spiders, snakes, horror movies, being alone, blood, needle, or 49 missed calls from your mom.

Still not.

But a sight of frog should scare you enough to leave you pale and rigid.

Only of toads now. I'd like to have a pacman frog, actually.

To be me, you should hoard notebooks and pens and (almost) never use them.

Still love notebooks and pens but I don't hoard them anymore. Most of the stationeries I've hoarded in the past have already been used.

To be me, you should be messy and disorganized in everything except your bookshelf.

Still the same.

And you should read a lot of books too.

Unfortunately, I don't devour books as much as I used to. However, I still read a lot online.

To be me requires a lot of neurons because you will be interested with a lot of things like Geography, Astronomy, and Anatomy.

Yep, still the same.

But you should hate Math.

This is immutable.

To be me, your wardrobe consists only of shirts, pants, and sneakers. You're no fashionista. Deal with it.

I have upgraded my wardrobe and I love strutting my own style now.

But you can slay a dress when the situation calls for it.

Still do.

To be me, you have to sneeze and burp loud enough for everyone across the room to hear.

Not anymore.

To be me, a boredom-strikes kind of selfie done once a month is not bad and should be enough. Take selfies only when you're on a date with Mother Nature.

I have different mindset now. Go ahead and take all the selfies you want. 

To be me, you should have a weird obsession for pandas, penguins, and potatoes.

I'm into marmots now.

To be me, you should not like dairy products such as milk and cheese. But you love yogurt and cream cheese just because they are sour.

I can now eat cheese without getting grossed out about it. Still not into it though.

To be me, you should have an obvious liking for bacon, green salads, nilagang okra with bagoong, tomato ketchups, sashimi, vinegar, and onions.

This never changed.

To be me, you should eat a lot. And never get fat.

My diet consists of low-carb and sugar-free foods.

To be me, you should love dogs and cats. And you also fancy exotic pets like a tarantula, a bearded dragon, a caracal or a serval - you should own at least one of these.

I'd still want an exotic pet. But right now, I already have a teen and two feral toddlers. I don’t want to add more responsibility to my plate.

To be me, you should always be active and play sports.

As much as I would love to, I now have old lady joints. Damn this autoimmune disease.

And be equally lazy to other things.

Still lazy.

To be me, you should always be late. Except on those 4:00 am assembly time of planned hikings and other outings.

I respect everyone's time now.

To be me, you roll your eyes on KPOP, Korean Dramas, Twilight, reality shows, and anything that makes the girls go gaga.

I listen to BINI! Haha

You shouldn't even be watching TV.

Does watching Bluey, Blue's Clues, and Puffin Rock count?

To be me, you should be the loser everyone thinks who has not tried Starbucks yet.

I recently bought a pack of roasted coffee beans from Starbucks.

And those beautiful Starbucks planners don't excite you because you're too spontaneous, planners simply don't work for you anymore.

Still spontaneous.

To be me means being a huge fan of Harry Potter. You should read all 7 books and watch all 8 movies a thousand times and still not outgrow it.

Still the same.

To be me, you should be able to quote the whole Mean Girls movie or else you can't sit with us.

This is still my comfort movie. Haha

To be me, you should know how to speak Bisaya, Ilocano, and Ilonggo other than Tagalog and English.

Still the same.

To be me, you should have a green and dirty mind. But you should not have a foul mouth. You do not cuss nor curse others.

Still proud I do not have a foul mouth. Ever heard me say puta/tang-ina? Nope. Even prouder that I might have influenced Jan with this. I never heard those words from him anymore.

To be me, you should do fine with 3-4 hours of sleep daily.

I'd love a full 8-hour sleep, but I'm a mother. Haha

To be me entails a lot of guts. You are a thrill-seeker and you get excited at the sight of a mountain's knife edge or a 50-foot cliff. And you do not hesitate.

Nope. I value my life now. Haha

To be me, you should have high tolerance for pain and higher tolerance for bullshit. You should not get mad easily and petty annoyances should not bother you.

Still the same.

To be me, you have to be confident. Which means...

You should not give a fuck about what people say especially when it comes to singing. You are tone-deaf but you will sing your heart out when you are given the floor on a videoke night. And you're not afraid to sing Backstreet Boys, Westlife, or any mushy boy band that people deem as corny and uncool.

This never changed.

To be me, you should have the quick wits to rebut any argument, counter offensive punchlines without being offensive, and contradict anything you think is stupid.

I choose my battles now. Most people are not worth my precious time for an argument.

To be me, you should not fantasize love stories as seen on movies or those plotted by Nicholas Sparks but you are a hopeless romantic.

I don't fantasize love stories. But I love keeping up with those kabit and hiwalayan stories of celebrities and random people on Facebook. Does that count?

To be me, you have to live simply but would love to take on any complicated challenge.

No longer a connoisseur of agony. If there's an easy and comfortable way to do it, then that would be it. Bakit ko pa papahirapan sarili ko?

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Sans the rheumatoid arthritis, I think I've changed for the better.