Kindred Children

"It's hard to improve yourself if you don't even know who you are."

This phrase started our long-ish conversation between breaks during the shoot. She said this in a recent interview for a magazine and it was the line that hit me the first time I read it. Thanks to this line, plus the spirited conversation, it dawned on me how much we have in common.

It's a realization that's a bit Johnny-come-lately considering that we've been working together for more than 3 years. Maybe it's because those 3 years came in little bits and pieces, and the stories and information came in small, unrelated links. It's only now that i've started to connect this little links and pulled back to see the bigger picture.

Through the course of our many conversations, it's only now that i've noticed how we have some quirky little similarities - in the way we think, we live, and up to a certain extend - in the way we love.

We both live away from home, and away from the people and places that we hold dear. We similarly feel the longing each time we step in our parallel life, but at the same time, we find excitement in being a different place as a different person. We also have that same fervent wish to come back home and pick up where we left off in this wonderful life that we left here in Manila.

The good news is, she'll be getting her wish very, very soon. She's due to come back home in August, and she said that the thought of starting her life anew is both an exciting and intimidating proposition. Intimidating because after more than 3 years of independence and anonymity, it's back to the familiar comforts (and setbacks) of home. Exciting because she has so much to look forward to when she comes home.

I'm looking forward to the day that i'll be in the same position - back here at home, being together with the people I love, and starting our lives together forever. For me, it would definitely be more exciting than intimidating.

And when we're both continuing our lives here, we'll have another thing to talk about during the break of our next shoot.