About a House

This morning, as I was browsing through my Twitter account, the song Hold Me in Your Arms by Southern Sons started playing in my computer, and suddenly I was transported back in time when the song was still playing on the airwaves - my high school days in Samar, in our old house, my home for many years.

Memories had been a lot in that old house - the times when me, my brothers, and friends would play "baril-barilan"; the times when we would be left during weekends and friends would be invited to sleep over; those times when me, my brother Dino, and my nephew Yan-yan would spend many hours in the night collecting water into containers; those times when I’d just lay on the sofa and watch MTV all day; those many afternoons spent on the roof with my bestfriend Yanie, Dino, and Yan-yan just talking.  And during the time when I was studying in Manila, the numerous meals and the many drinking sessions shared with Yanie and my other bestfriend Aping whenever I go home for summer vacations; the parties; the "ligawan" nights complete with background music; and the many nights doing nothing but just linger, talk, eat, have fun.  So many fond memories. 

Sadly though, the memories would all just be in my memory, after the house was sold a few years back.

There are times when I wonder why things should go and end - friendships, childhood, youth, loved ones, places with fond memories.  The more I think about it, the more I feel melancholic. 

There is a common saying that goes “past is past" and with it that you have to "let go of something to move on.”   I guess that’s the reason why most people change, which most of the time not for the better, because they choose to forget their past, even the nice things - former friends, the way they enjoyed when they were children or teenagers - because it gets in the way of their future.  But I choose to hold on to my past and to everything connected to it, because it's part of the reason why I am who I am today.