Simply

5:00AM 

Do you want to know why I love going to Catanduanes? It's because it has remained pure and untouched. People there live simply and humbly, it makes you think of all the complexity that goes on in the lives of people in the city and instead you look at the locals of the island and appreciate their way of living.



Frequent brown outs are experienced, the only fast food/legitimate restaurant that can be found in the city is only in Virac and it's Jollibee, they do not have computer shops or at least I did not spot one, they sleep really early and wake up really early, your skin will get dark for sure, and typhoons hit this island before it reaches Manila.

But they have the ocean, the mountains, the stars, the animals are well taken cared of, the optimistic and happy smiles of the people despite being known to be one of the first islands which experiences the wrath of the typhoon that enters the Philippines, so many of the things we do not experience because we've made life so complex, we want so much in life.

The truth is, life does not have to be complex for it to be a fulfilling one. We do not always have to want more. The more we want, the more tiring it gets, the more insecurities and anxieties settle in. Looking at how the locals in Catanduanes live their lives fills my heart with joy and contentment. Not that this is settling. Settling is an entirely different thing. But when you just go to a place such as Catanduanes, you cannot help but feel that there is so much more to life than complexity, that life is meant to be lived simply to know true contentment.

Which is why everytime I leave this island, I feel like I'm going through a breakup wherein I do not want the relationship to end. This is how much my love has grown for this island, which is strange because I did not even grow up here.

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