Life is a Beach: Thoughts on Travel and Life Overseas

My cousin, who just arrived from the Middle East, is staying with us for a few weeks while she buys a house somewhere near Manila. I’m so glad to see her and bond with her. She is one of my closest cousins, the one and only “elderly sister” I could ever ask for. Yet, a part of me always feels challenged every time we’d update each other about our respective lives.

You see my cousin grew up from a poor family. She didn’t even finish college yet here she is, all dressed up in expensive and branded clothes (I’m not kidding, she was wearing a pair of Php20,000 Ferragamo shoes which she said she bought on sale… it was originally priced at Php45,000… *faints*), with tons of money to spend, and a lot of learning experiences to share. I am proud of her and I’m really happy for her. She was telling me all about the successes she had in her overseas job, the amount of money she made, and the exotic places she’s been to. In fact, she just recently had one of her gran canaria holidays and she was telling me how perfect that destination is for people like me who love to travel. She was urging me to try my luck abroad and she’s sure that with my skills, I’ll reach certain career heights than she never could. The thing is,  I am quite content with my life here but somehow, her incessant sharing of views and opinion, that I shouldn’t be wasting my time, energy and talents here in the Philippines, can be too much to handle sometimes. It makes me feel discontent when I have been content for a long while now. Her views make me feel greedy and sad but I know I must keep my cool and just respect her views. After all, deep down, I know she meant well. She always has.

Well, anyway, just like her gran canary holiday, I told her about one of our recent trips which I really liked — our trip to Siargao. For me and my husband, this little piece of island off the coast of Surigao del Norte has everything I’ve always wanted in an island destination…

It has several islets/islands covered in white sand and surrounded with crystal clear waters (Guyam, Naked, Dako, La Janosa, and Mamon islands);

It has the perfect waves for surfing (found in Cloud Nine);

It has enchanting caves and lagoons (in Sohotan Cove) where we can swim with millions of stingless jellyfish;

It has cozy resorts and accommodations where I can live like a princess.

There are just so many things to do in Siargao and I know I won’t get bored even if I stay for a month or so like I did in Boracay last summer.

There’s no doubt that my cousin is happy for me and the life I chose but she insists that until I experience the kind of wealth she has, I will never know the difference. I’m praying for guidance and sign as I write this. God knows I want to keep living a comfortable life. Maybe someday I’d get very lucky and accumulate a ton of wealth. But for now, I’ll just keep on doing the things that make me happy… If help comes along or if certain opportunities come knocking at my door, I of course won’t neglect it. Here’s to my dreams of traveling the world and experiencing new things!