At 7, I went home on my own from school (and if I may add, I am not supposed to do such a mortifying thing atleast that's what my parents said). I rode the jeepney got off the street in front of my favorite sari-sari store and bravely walked towards our red gated apartment. I know, I know, you'd all tell me that it isn't your kind of an adventure but it is for me. I love the thrill of thinking as to how to get to a place on my own and managing to get there in one piece. As you see, I'm no good with names but places and pictures I can navigate through them. I can't even read as much back then but I got home safely despite the constant worry of my mom that I'd get hit by a car, get lost, or be kidnapped by an alien. The only danger I feared is that I'll get some good old sinturon smacking from my dad when he finds out what I've done. I went home unscathed but my dad wouldn't wanna let me off the hook so I got some taste of his discipline. Yeah, I know you wouldn't want to hear about my personal history but our personal histories are what brought us right here. So here I am right now 20-ish and itching to save and explore the world out there ( that is if I have the luxury to do it at the same time..) Back then I was sorta the "blacksheep"of the family, I'm the middle child and I think THEY think that I'm just an attention seeker. Well I'm not or maybe I am. But I just wanna be out there; the constant freedom of doing what you want to do even if it's the silliest thing you're ever going to commit in your entire life-- I love that feeling. Breaking free from the usual, seeing things that are out of the box. I guess, adventures and thrill seeking that's me. That's all me. I feel alive when I jump into something new and just give it a go. The rush of things brings me back to life and convinces me that this is real and everything just sinks in.
2007 was my formal introduction to traveling. My sister treated me to a few days of vacation to KL. It was my first and as they say 1st loves don't get to die easily. I liked the feel of the plane seat just before the plane takes off and the slight nudge as it lands. It gives me a feeling that we hit home that we are safe and that we can continue to experience the place. The sights, the smell, the sound, the taste and the feel of the place is new. But while everything was new, I felt at home easily. I was like a chameleon blending in and making friends in no time. I am good at this as it just comes out naturally. I am the lakwatsera my mom and a few of our relatives tells me ( but wait for my sister's story she's more of a lakwatsera than I am, haha)
I realized that being a traveler is not a decision you make nor it is something you force yourself to be-- it is. Every human being is a wandering soul and each place he would want to go to or has gone to will always have answers waiting for him. I think we all travel, we journey with our lives and what propels us to do so is our will to know more, to understand more, to learn more so that we can be more… be more than ourselves. There will always be that force inside of you that constantly nags you to dream to be in another place and want to be in another place to see wonderful plains, meet awesome people, taste gastronomically mind-blowing food and find nuggets and even jewels of knowledge. Sometimes, we don't even have to go too far to travel, sometimes we just need to muster up the courage to go deep into ourselves and be surprised that the answers are there all along.
So yeah, I'm not a born traveller but I was born to travel. For me, life is all about traveling and surviving what's out there. When your foot sets out there is no stopping only looking forward to the next destination and yes, enjoying what comes along the way while you're at it. So me and my sister right here though we can become potentially economically challenged in the future: WE WILL WORK FOR AIRPLANE TICKETS to satisfy our wanderlusts and zest for life! toddles and travel on!=)
GAILIE
wan·der·lust (wŏn'dər-lŭst')n. A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel
German : wandern, to wander (from Middle High German) + Lust, desire (from Middle High German, from Old High German; see las- in Indo-European roots).]
Wanderlust, that's me! That's how my friends describe me. They suggest that I change my name from Gail to Gala (which means to wander/travel in Filipino).
Back in the days, I was constantly transferred from one place to another. Grew up in 3 different regions, Sampaloc, Manila; Catubig, Northern Samar and Tuguegarao, Cagayan. This proved to be benificial to me because I learned how to speak different dialects, I can speak Waray, a little Ilocano and Ybanag. At present, I can also understand a few basic Kapampangan phrases.
One of my fondest memories of growing up in Sampaloc is exploring the vast grounds of UST. We lived just across the University. Everytime I got bored I convinced my yaya to bring me to UST but that was our little secret. My mom doesn't want me exploring the dangerous streets of Espana, little did they know that I even reached Trabajo Market which is about 4-5 blocks away from our house.
During my 3-year stay in Cagayan, I would sneak up in the afternoon and go to the park all by myself. There was even a time that i attended my classmate's birthday party which my grandma explicitly told me not to attend because its in a different town, very far away from our house. But my adventurous streak got the better of me, i went ahead and attended. I wonder if my grandma found out about it.
I was wondering what led me to become a wanderlust, is it because I was raise in different locations, or genetics played a role in which i inherited this wanderlust DNA; Or perhaps, environment played a factor too; people influenced me to wander about. Or maybe, just maybe, this curious streak inside me drives me to explore and discover the world.
Whatever it is, I'm currently planning my next adventure trip! See yah! :)
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