HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

I had been living in a dorm now for about a week. So far I’ve been doing okay, and really, it’s never been this convenient for me.

The whole “independent” thingy is not really what it’s all about. This is about convenience. I decided to stay in the university dormitory because I was already tired of the distance between home and school. Not because I wanted to be independent or I wanted to live on my own. I am in my third year of college now and people my age should definitely have that sense of independence. It’s an automatic thing, I think.

The dorm is nice… in its own right. It’s clean, well-ventilated, and noise-free. The only setback I can think of right now was the boredom. There’s a TV in the lobby but really, I’m not gonna sit there for an entire day just to overcome boredom (and I never really find TV as a boredom buster). There’s a radio in our room (which is actually prohibited), a wonderful part of our room that seems to be glued on the station “Mellow Touch”. Listening to music is fine but I’m not gonna listen and just stare at something for the whole day, right? Then there are those magazines from my classmate and roommate which I read over and over again when the dullness hits in, which I think happens quite often. And because there’s nothing to do most of the time, the big option (and the only one at that) is the bed that seems to say, “I’m here, your loyal friend…” I think I’d go fat if I don’t find an alternative to sleeping soon.

During my first days on the dorm, not only was I bored. I was also very homesick. No wonder. The longest time I had been away from home was three to four days but now I had to be far from my family for a week just to be near school. Besides that, I can also say that before I had come to the decision, I had become very close to every member of the family, especially my sisters. My nights used to be filled with “kilitian, kulitan, tawanan” sessions and for four nights I wondered, could they be doing that without me? *Sniff*

I missed my mother’s cooking terribly. I have always considered her as the best cook in the whole galaxy (Zaido theme playing…) and during my stay in the dorm, I was juggling canned goods, instant pancit canton, and “lutong ulam” from the neighborhood. I began to crave for my mom’s sense of good taste and inventiveness. *Sigh…*
Home is where I watch my favorite shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Kyle XY. But since there’s a lot of competition for the remote control, the mentioned shows just stay in my dreams.

I missed every part of home though I never cried. But on my last day for the week (Friday morning), I received this text message from my sister which said, “…Miss ka na rin naming, lalo na si Jenna. Lagi kang hinahanap…” Jenna, my favorite (and everyone else’s favorite) two year-old niece had been looking for me. At that time, I considered crying. I would have flown home if I could but instead I impatiently waited for all my classes to be over. I can remember running towards our house just to get home ASAP. Whew!

This was probably the first time in my life that I’ve felt this homesick. I even brought some “pasalubong”. More than excited, I was desperate to go home. And when I saw that little child running towards me and shouting “Tita Joy!!!” I knew then that home, really, is where the heart is…
- November 17, 2007