Try not to miss me when I'm gone.

It's been six years since I've visited my family back in the Philippines. Six long years. I'm leaving this Saturday to board a plane at JFK International Airport, and I couldn't be more excited. But I do feel some remorse, I'll be gone for three weeks. That's three weeks that I won't be seeing faces that are important to me. Naturally I won't have any sort of contact to life in America when I reach home, and I can't help but wonder what I'm going to do without my closest friends. I'm sure I'll miss them, and I'm sure they'll miss me too. It hurts a little bit to think about, but I try to keep my mind off of it. Three weeks to spend with family I haven't seen in half a decade, the days should fly by. I love it in the Philippines. I love the day-to-day life in my mom's village, and I always find myself thinking about what it would be like to live there permanently. College in the Philippines is an option, my father is constantly pushing the prospect upon me. It's a far distance, though. I like the way of life here in Ludlow. Some people say they hate it, but we actually have it better than most. I don't understand sometimes. I'm hoping this trip to the Philippines can finally get my mind off of certain things as well. I hope it serves its purpose as a vacation to be an escape from "la vie quotidienne."

- Jeremy