Today is Monday, but unlike a normal Monday, I woke up knowing I didn't have to work. It is the start of our two-day Term Block Wellness Break for teachers, a short but much-needed break from the duties, deadlines, paperwork, lessons, and everything that comes with being a teacher.
Instead of staying home all day, I woke up early and used my free time well. I had to run an errand at the bank in Olongapo City, so I got ready and went out. It was meant to be just a simple bank errand, but somehow, this normal Monday became something much more special.
After finishing my transaction, I decided to walk.
Not just anywhere.
I decided to walk through the streets I used to walk through almost ten years ago, when I was still a college student.
As I walked, I felt a strange mix of memories and happiness. The streets looked familiar, but also a bit different. Maybe the place had changed a little, or maybe I had.
Ten years ago, I walked these same streets carrying my dreams.
Back then, I was a college student training to become a teacher. I was still trying to understand what the future would be like. I had dreams, worries, doubts, assignments, exams, and many times I wondered if all my hard work would pay off.
I remember walking around these streets as a student, thinking about the life I wanted someday.
And today, I was walking there again.
Only this time, I am no longer the college student dreaming about becoming a teacher.
I am a teacher now.
That realization hit differently.
Sometimes, we get so busy living in the moment that we forget to look back and appreciate how far we've come. We focus so much on what we haven't done yet that we forget to celebrate the dreams we've already made real.
My younger self once walked these streets hoping that one day she would finally stand in front of a classroom.
And she did.
I am now living the dream that my younger self used to pray and work hard for.
But my nostalgic walk didn't end there.
I also went back to a restaurant I ate at during college—Nara Korean Food. It felt both funny and comforting to be back after so many years. I ordered the dishes I used to like: bibimbap, kimbap, and ramyon.
As I sat there eating, memories came rushing back.
I remembered my younger self, eating there after walking around the city. Life felt simpler then. I didn't know exactly where my path would lead me. I only knew I wanted to become a teacher.
Now, I was sitting in the same kind of place, eating the same food, but as a completely different person.
Ten years later, I came back.
I walked the same streets. I ate at the same restaurant. But I am no longer the same girl.
I have gone through failures, challenges, heartbreaks, duties, victories, and many lessons along the way. I have grown older, stronger, and hopefully wiser.
This simple Monday reminded me that sometimes, we need to go back to the places where our dreams started—not because we want to live in the past, but because we need to remember how far we've come.
My younger self once walked these streets, dreaming of becoming a teacher.
Today, the teacher is walking those same streets.
And perhaps, somewhere along the way, I finally became the person that younger version of me was hoping I would become.