Of Coffee Cups and Goodbyes
“I guess our journeys are just a part of growing up and finding our own way through this world. I wish this world was smaller sometimes though… but it’s not, so I’ll continue to find my way as will you and one day we’ll wake up and wonder where the time went. That’s when I’ll call you and ask for the answer because you always have good answers to tough questions.”
I saved this text message almost two years ago. He sent it when I too, was deeply searching for my own worth. I was just surprised lately how it aptly describes every young man who is searching for a better meaning in life. Unknowingly, this has been a predictive course on which he will later trail two years after.
On a Thursday afternoon, he sent me an SMS message that he is going back to the US for good. He feels that it’s now time to move on and search for his true calling, to broaden his perspective and find better opportunities back home.
Over a cup of coffee, we engaged in a meaningful tête-à-tête. Living here, as he mentioned, has been the best of both worlds. Indeed, he experienced living on both ends of the social spectrum: from being a social worker in an orphanage in Tarlac to a Project Manager in Makati; from communing with the poorest of the poor to brushing elbows with the elite. In two years time, he had more cultural experience to share than what an average Filipino can do in a lifetime.
We talk about our plans, about a foggy future that is best left to the imagination; about misty dreams and unseen challenges up ahead. I can sense that he’s quite apprehensive of the unknown and yet, deeply excited to carve a new path he would later thread.
The horizon is not yet defined, neither, the path is fully paved. But he has a strong heart and an athlete’s determination to be a victor in whatever circumstances that may come.
As we talk, I only realized that this maybe the last time we will have these unguarded moments where we discuss about our dreams, plans…future. When we babble our wishes without the fear of being judged, uttering hopes with the fullest confidence that it might come true and when two men, of separate backgrounds and ethnicity, transcends social demarcation.
Saying goodbye always entails difficulty far beyond measure. Nevertheless, I am confident that somewhere in the fabric of fate, our paths will cross again.
To you bud, saying that I am going to miss you is an understatement. The lessons I have learned from you cannot be marred by time or distance but will always remain an essential ingredient of my past. When I was traveling on my own, you came along.
A day will come when we will wake up and wonder where the time went, however, it’s not me who’s going to answer that…it will be you!
I saved this text message almost two years ago. He sent it when I too, was deeply searching for my own worth. I was just surprised lately how it aptly describes every young man who is searching for a better meaning in life. Unknowingly, this has been a predictive course on which he will later trail two years after.
On a Thursday afternoon, he sent me an SMS message that he is going back to the US for good. He feels that it’s now time to move on and search for his true calling, to broaden his perspective and find better opportunities back home.
Over a cup of coffee, we engaged in a meaningful tête-à-tête. Living here, as he mentioned, has been the best of both worlds. Indeed, he experienced living on both ends of the social spectrum: from being a social worker in an orphanage in Tarlac to a Project Manager in Makati; from communing with the poorest of the poor to brushing elbows with the elite. In two years time, he had more cultural experience to share than what an average Filipino can do in a lifetime.
We talk about our plans, about a foggy future that is best left to the imagination; about misty dreams and unseen challenges up ahead. I can sense that he’s quite apprehensive of the unknown and yet, deeply excited to carve a new path he would later thread.
The horizon is not yet defined, neither, the path is fully paved. But he has a strong heart and an athlete’s determination to be a victor in whatever circumstances that may come.
As we talk, I only realized that this maybe the last time we will have these unguarded moments where we discuss about our dreams, plans…future. When we babble our wishes without the fear of being judged, uttering hopes with the fullest confidence that it might come true and when two men, of separate backgrounds and ethnicity, transcends social demarcation.
Saying goodbye always entails difficulty far beyond measure. Nevertheless, I am confident that somewhere in the fabric of fate, our paths will cross again.
To you bud, saying that I am going to miss you is an understatement. The lessons I have learned from you cannot be marred by time or distance but will always remain an essential ingredient of my past. When I was traveling on my own, you came along.
A day will come when we will wake up and wonder where the time went, however, it’s not me who’s going to answer that…it will be you!
posted by jef at 5:11 PM
8 comments
