Life begins the same way every game of UNO does: with a hand no one chooses.

Life is not fair in the way people want fairness to be. Some of us begin with bright colors neatly arranged, as if fortune itself shuffled carefully in their favor. Others stare at mismatched cards they do not know how to use. A few are handed wild cards too early — opportunities, wealth, talent and influence. While others spend years drawing from the pile, hoping for something that finally fits.

And yet, despite the unfairness of the shuffle, the game still moves forward.

That is the strange thing about life: no one is judged by the hand they were given, but by the way they decide to play it.

The world often convinces people that life is about who has the strongest cards. Society praises the wealthy hand, envies the lucky draw, and pities those forced to survive with little. The world often convinces people that life is about who has the strongest cards. Society praises them. But a powerful hand means nothing in the hands of someone reckless. Even the best cards can disappear quickly when played without wisdom.

But every card carries risk.

In UNO, a Reverse can suddenly turn the direction of the game. A Draw Four can make another player suffer for a choice they did not make. A Skip can silence someone’s momentum without warning. Life behaves the same way. One decision can change the course of years. One moment of pride can cost a friendship. One act of kindness can return decades later in a form no one expected.

Still, the game continues.

That is perhaps the strangest part of being alive. Even after heartbreak, mornings still arrive. The sun still climbs over tired cities. People still laugh in cafeterias and jeepneys and crowded sidewalks while someone else silently mourns beside them. Life does not pause for grief, no matter how badly we need it to.

But UNO is not only a game of punishment. Sometimes grace appears unexpectedly.

A Wild Card enters your hand.

A stranger becomes family. A lost person discovers purpose. A tired soul hears the exact words needed to survive another day. There are moments when life suddenly offers color where none existed before. And though luck plays its role, people often become wild cards for one another. A single act of kindness can redirect someone standing at the edge of surrender.

Karma is not revenge. It is reflection. The table eventually mirrors the player.

That is why karma feels so present in this strange game of living. Every card we place eventually circles back around the table. The cruelty we hand others often returns wearing a different face. So does compassion. The encouragement we give someone today may echo back years later when we are the ones desperate for mercy. Nothing truly disappears once played. Life remembers.

Some of us spend too much time trying to win quickly. They throw away relationships for ambition, honesty for convenience, kindness for temporary advantage. They believe victory means being the first to empty their hands. But life is longer and more complicated than a race to the finish. What good is winning if you destroy everyone beside you in the process?

Perhaps the real lesson of UNO is learning what to keep and what to release.

Some cards must be surrendered before they poison your hand forever: resentment, pride, old anger sharpened by years of silence. Other cards must be protected carefully: hope, loyalty, the fragile courage to begin again after loss. Wisdom is not measured by how perfectly we play, but by how gracefully we adapt when the game changes without warning.

And eventually, every person reaches that terrifying final moment.

One card left.

A last chance at love. A final opportunity to forgive. One remaining dream waiting to be risked. The room grows quieter then. Fear creeps in because there are no more cards left to hide behind. Only honesty remains.

In UNO, you must announce yourself before the final card falls. You must gather enough courage to say, “UNO,” declaring to the table that you are still here despite everything.

Maybe that is what living truly is.

Not perfection. Not endless victories. Not holding the best hand in the room.

Many people stay silent because they are afraid. But silence can cost the game.

Perhaps the real lesson of life is this: everyone receives different cards, but every person still has the power to choose how they play them. Wealth does not guarantee victory. Poverty does not guarantee defeat. Karma keeps count quietly. Risk exists in every move. And sometimes the bravest thing a person can do is place their final card on the table and trust that it is enough.

After all, no one remembers who had the easiest hand.

They remember who played with heart.

The Frontman