Break

It has always been our tradition every year after the pandemic to take a break during the designated holidays for the Lenten season. Unlike the years prior to the lockdown, I was swamped with work and mandatory assignments while everyone else was on holiday. This year was rather meaningful and calm after going through a rough patch at work, while seemingly trying to escape the rising prices of fuel in our country. As costly as it may be, the break did indeed heal certain parts of me as an adult.

The break took us to South Korea, one of the world's most subtle influencers, using soft power to place their culture in almost everyone else’s life. From music to fashion to television shows to food, they have done a great job of ensuring that they are known to the whole world. It is not bad to come from a country that struggled to rise into the power that it is today. On this trip, I learned how they struggled to overcome different powers that wanted to topple them down, including their very own countrymen from the upper side of the peninsula.

Taking a break leads us to many life realizations, including questioning our own strategies as a country we were born into. The Philippines took part in shaping Korea's history during the war, but as it is now, it seems like decisions are off the rails. We are deep-diving into a system and an economy that is heavily dependent on loans for infrastructure projects, among others. Their dream of progress, ultimately shaped by looking at the Philippines' growth in the mid-1990s, is now a reality and among the best in the world.

Meanwhile, we are left behind by eons, still grappling with what to do to move forward. Perhaps that is what made this particular break feel heavier than the rest --not because it was burdensome, but because it forced me to confront questions I had long set aside. Travel, after all, has a way of holding up a mirror. The geopolitical climate today only sharpens these reflections. Across the world, tensions rise, and conflicts that seem distant ripple into our everyday lives through rising costs, shifting alliances, and uncertain futures. Even something as simple as fuel prices becomes a reminder that we are part of a larger, fragile system. Decisions made far beyond our borders quietly dictate how we live, spend, and even dream.

In the middle of this break, I found myself thinking about decisions, both personal and national. The kind that shapes trajectories. The kind that cannot be undone. Perhaps this is where the true meaning of a “break” reveals itself. It is not merely as an escape, but as a pause. A moment to reassess not only where we are, but where we are willing to go. I return home with more questions than answers, but maybe that is enough for now. With all said and done, I realize that the real work begins after the break.