Hey, June.

I've just come back from my 2 week vacation in England with family. I say England, because we didn't go to Ireland or Scotland or any other places in the United Kingdom, just really within England. I've cheated with my past two entries, wherein I wrote them in advance and scheduled them for posting.. and I confess that I've only learned about the scheduling function a month ago (I really need to be more inquisitive and explore more.). But for now, I guess I want to mention my June highlight, which was this family trip!



We didn't think this trip would push through. My sister's been working there for years now, and we've never had the chance to visit her until this year. I'm very grateful for the time we spent together, and I was definitely impressed by her Tube skills... I honestly wouldn't have survived the Underground alone.

It was my first time in Europe, and I was learning new things everyday, what with all the art, history, and architecture that was all around, and even the culture, mannerisms, and terms that they used. I have to admit that I came quite unprepared; I didn't do much prior research, but I did do so whenever I'd get the chance to connect to the wifi. My sister also helped bombard me with necessary knowledge hehe.

Speaking of wifi, I voluntarily chose not to connect for the first five days of the trip. I wanted to challenge myself, because I knew that if I was connected to it, it meant being disconnected from where I was, and who I was with. I know myself, that I would probably be on my phone most of the time and miss out on the meaningful conversations with my family. I know the excitement of sharing on social media, especially since it's a vacation trip and of course you'd want everyone to see that you're having the greatest time. But I think this defeats the purpose of meaningful travel. I admit that I take the longest time in choosing what to post, and also with thinking of the caption.

But then now I have a huge backlog of unposted photos. Haha! But that's okay, because I'm sharing them at my own pace. Browsing through them makes it feel like it happened only yesterday.

Beyond all these things though, I'm most grateful for the time with family. My parents have always been supportive in every endeavor, may it be driving me to the condo every Sunday back when I was in college, now preparing my lunch at 4AM, or waiting for me to come home from the office after a long day, they're always there. All these things I never told nor asked them to do. They just simply do. I don't want to take them for granted.

I've had my own flawed notions of how adult life should be. I'm a woman in my early twenties who thought that I must rely on myself instead of admitting that I don't know everything about how this world works. Because in truth, I don't know everything. I'm still figuring it out, and I realized I don't have to do it alone. 

I want to commit to going places with them, taking them with me whether it be with decision making, or in travels. Being more open and honoring them. Family first.

I will be writing about the many places I've visited. I will recount them and describe them to the full extent of my writing abilities so that I'll be able to relive specific moments and share them with you all. :-)

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

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