Being back in Manila, living in the room I grew up in after 4 years of being away was oddly surreal. I arrived wishing everything would magically disappear and I’d start with an empty room. It was overwhelming to be surrounded by remnants of who I was, yet I didn’t have the heart to go through it piece by piece and throw it away. Coz it was me. And technically it still is, as who I am now rests upon the person I was.
Then there’s the process of fitting everything in, new with old, current and keepsakes. Of weaving everything into the here and now. Crafting a new chapter for an already existing story.
Because as you get older, the chances of a total clean slate are few and far between. There’s already too much history; connections, interactions, life.
What you do get, should you choose to take it, is a fresh page to start anew. You can always begin again. Maybe not at square one, but maybe that’s a good thing, too.
This is my new chapter, don’t be afraid to start yours.