My alma mater. So much has changed and yet, it is still home. This is where I grew up - years spent wandering the halls, searching and finding "my spot", discovering a little bit of myself everyday. Much of my growth I owe to my teachers and friends.
The moment I set foot on the school grounds, the sense of comfort and familiarity was overwhelming. The cafeteria smelled like it always has and the food that I used to line up for was still being served!
The gym, where we held our weekly assemblies, intramurals and graduation rites looked exactly the same albeit a new air-conditioned one was standing right beside it now.
The oval, my "safe place" (I played for the football team) during my first two years of high school seemed smaller now but it still beckoned me to at least step on its rubberized tracks.
The theatre - my comfort and my joy for the last two years of school! I made lifelong friends and found myself here! Late night rehearsals, memorizing scripts, sharing boxed meals - they were the best of times!
Saving the best for last, I went to visit my teachers. Seeing them now, not merely as mentors but as friends, has given me a sense of inexplicable joy knowing that they will always be my constants.
Ateneo de Cebu - you will always be home.
