I Moved to the Philippines

As the title says it.

It seemed like a whirlwind of a week when I finalized my move to Cebu. My heart kept pacing back and forth; arguing if I should stay in El Paso or make the drastic decision to live half-way across the world.

El Paso had been a safe haven for most of my life. It was the city that raised me. The place that my family made home. It was friends who became closer than friends. A residency that seemed to embrace everyone with open arms. It was my home.

But all of that was inevitable for change.

The deep longing for adventure and living an extraordinary life continued to fester within my soul. Sleepless nights kept eyes peeled open; restlessness while lying in bed at one A.M. I found myself sick with normality.

The thought raced through my brain countless times. I found myself at breakfast with a blank stare on my face and a mind that was far too uneasy. It carried throughout my days.

I had to go.

My faith had played a big part within my decision to leave to the Philippines. I knew for certain God wanted me to go for the longest time. My heart was to be an aide to other people in a third-world country. But in my stubbornness, I kept fighting it with excuses. "I'm only twenty, I have to be more mature first," "I'll miss home so much," "how will I make a living over there?" "Oh my gosh...how am I going to go to school?!" “I can’t go! I just can’t leave! Ahhhhh!”

I found myself waiting for the “go” signal. I prayed that God would give me a small sign that the time was now. It felt like forever.

But with a fantastic occurrence of events...there came the push I had been waiting for my whole life.

Immediately I found myself packing my luggage in pure excitement. My mind swirling with possibilities and dreams that had been sitting at the back-burner for far too long. This was the time I had been waiting so long for.

I didn’t make my move incredibly public. With a decision to cut off from all social media, and just keep in contact with close friends and family. There were not multitudes to tell.

After a small goodbye party with a few friends and a dinner with my family, my heart was satisfied with the life I was going to leave in El Paso. It was a journey full of failures, heartbreak, successes, friendships, and promises. To this day, I don’t know the next time I will be home, but I continue to remember how my experiences in that beautiful city molded me as a person.

Flying above the Franklin Mountains, I looked back to see El Paso. It was like saying goodbye to an old, familiar friend. Ahead, a blue horizon full of uncertainty and excitement.

In a few hours I found myself across the world. As the plane descended, I could only feel as if God was telling me, “welcome home.”

In a short summary, that was my entire adventure moving a million miles away from home. If told the whole thing, I’d need to write a book. As I write this to you, readers, I only think about what to share with you all in the days, months, and years to come. Of course, I will be writing about the spectacular cuisine here and so many of the adventures that will follow.

So from half-way across the world… hello.