October 1, 2026

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I just came back from my daily mental walks, and I looked at the sky. It was a beautiful, blazing orange.

I thought to myself: I hated where I was. Its politics, its environment, its skies, and its lighting (I couldn’t take a good photo, to be honest. I used to think it wasn’t grammable).

I hated where I’m from and once dreamt of leaving this place and moving to a foreign country.

I loved the Spanish skies. They were a beautiful blue during summers, with no clouds in sight. I was in awe of the Belgian skies and how crazy it was that during winter, they got to see more of the moon and were beautifully deprived of the sun. Japan has always been THE aesthetic country. Its skies, its lighting, its ambiance — pure perfection.

The beautiful, blazing orange I saw that day was comparable — more beautiful, even. Then I thought, maybe everyone in the world — me, you, and everyone else — has thought the same.

That in this world, the sky will always be prettier wherever you’re not. You would always want to be in a place that’s completely different from where you grew up. Because, to be honest, we travel to places to look at the view, experience the culture, and admire everything that country has to offer in a way our own country cannot. Its politics, its environmental efforts, its people, the kind of treatment they’re receiving, and how completely different it is from ours.

But I realized that it’s just a matter of perspective and mindset.

I’m not saying that we should settle for less. I guess I’m saying that since we’ve realized this already, the best we can do is act. Make the country you’re living in the place you’d love and want to visit.

A few months ago, I would have thought that it wasn’t something special. Hell, I wouldn’t even have noticed it. It was the sky I grew to know. But at that fleeting moment, I stopped. And thought it was magnificently beautiful. I thought of nothing but indulging myself in the view and nothing else. I always chased the cool blue European skies and the vibrant shades of Maldivian pink and orange sunsets, but both are comparable to the Philippine blazing orange skies I saw that day.

Sometimes, we’re so busy chasing different skies and looking at the future that we forget to just look up and see the beauty of what’s already around us. And when you think you’re not satisfied with it, do everything in your power to make a change so you’ll love where you’re at.

Romanticize this life so your soul will remember it forever.