Dear Warriors

I'm quite pleased with how I spent the last two long weekends. The first one was spent in La Union, where I finally redeemed myself by standing up on a surfboard!

Five years in the making! Haha. Thanks, Mike, for capturing this moment!

I loved that I got to hang out with the Warriors, and was secretly senti because a couple of them are leaving the country soon. I detest goodbyes. The trip also got me thinking about how things would change once Bonnie and Clyde migrate. Clyde is kind of like the default leader of the group, and for sure, our dynamics would have to evolve when he leaves. I tried to take a mental picture of everything that happened during the trip, because I'm not sure how many of these we'll have left. While I want the Warriors to last forever, we'll all be moving on eventually, people will come and go, and there will come a time when we'd get together, look back, and sigh, "Those were the days."

It's kind of like looking back at high school. My friends and I would marvel at how we were with our barkada every single day and didn't even know how special that was; these days, we're lucky if we get to see each other once a month. I used to dream a lot about high school, and I'd wake up feeling incredibly nostalgic--I'm feeling that nostalgia now, even though the Warriors are still right here, right now. I guess I've just learned not to take things for granted, because I know now that plenty of relationships come wrapped in transience.

So Warriors, forgive me if I stare at you, smiling for no reason sometimes; I'm just taking a mental picture. Bear with me if I give out random hugs even though you feel like we're not that close (haha) or if you're conscious that you smell like inihaw na liempo (sorry Vima. Haha). And sorry you'll have to put up with my pointless emails. It's my own little way of telling you that you guys really matter to me. One day, I'm sure I'll look back at this point in my life with fond memories of you all.