HOME

There is a saying “There is no place like home.”There are songs entitled “Home” by Daughtry and Michael Buble.
When a balikbayan reaches his native land, he or she is greeted with the statement “Welcome Home!”Publication stores sell magazines called "My Home."

Home, Home, Home, Home…

What is home?

Have you experienced sharing a room with strangers owned by a stranger? Or have you tried renting an apartment near your workplace or located in university’s residential areas? Or are you one of the millions of Filipinos who work abroad?

If you answer YES, I am so sure you can define the word HOME even if you don’t scan a dictionary or google its definition.

As for me, I experienced an “independent life” when I started earning a living. I was one of those newly graduates who had a strong desire to save even a small percentage of my monthly income amidst difficulties in balancing financial resources. I rented a space in the vicinity of Leveriza, Pasay City just one ride away from my office. We were a bunch of five - all-female, single and very much available. :p Among the group, I was the most unfamiliar face. I was an alien. Yes, I knew their names and I assume they also knew mine but that’s it. My work schedule didn’t match with theirs, so I had very little opportunity to befriend them. When loneliness started to dampen my spirit, I also began doing the back- and-forth routine almost every other day until eventually I returned all my belongings to its original place.

.My next journey of independent life occurred just recently. I worked in a very far far away land. Two to four hours travel (x 2) to give you a brief description of my daily itinerary. We had a staff house close to our office. I stayed in that place for a while but due to some chronic events I couldn’t agree with, I decided to return to what I do best – the back-and-forth routine. Although I knew that my physical resistance might soon suffer as well as my pocket, it wasn’t really a difficult decision. I was learning to love my job. That’s the foremost reason why I didn’t immediately consider resigning an option. Yet, as expected, I didn’t last long.

There are pros and cons in living a different lifestyle. It takes a lot of adjustment to live with people you are not related with. An independent life has taught me a lot of things. However, there is one thing that I refused to learn – how to stay.

Why?

Because it’s true “There is no place like home.”
Because I injected in brain cells the lines “I am going home to a place where I belong...”Because my heart is always shouting “I wanna go home. I gotta go home. Let me go home.”Because each time I step on our door I feel that every folks in this house are telling me “Welcome home!”
Because even the most ventilated residence or the grandest mansion I see in the magazine has no match to a place I call “My Home.”

And on top of everything, "My Family is My Home."

My Family

My dear friends, what is home to you?

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