On a sunny Monday noon, the plane touched down in Lumbia Airport, Cagayan de Oro City. As I stepped out of the plane, I said to myself finally, I'm back to celebrate something: my sister's graduation from college. My last 2 trips home were because of the deaths of my grandfathers from both sides. May Allah (s.w.t.) bless their souls. I took the regular 2 hour drive from Cagayan de Oro to Marawi and when I arrived, I was warmly greeted by my relatives. I don't know if my relatives know this but all of them have these certain smiles which make sorrow and agony untraceable on their faces. It seems like they are always happy and that is why whenever I'm there, I can feel the welcome and comfort even though most of my years were not spent there.
The days that followed were all about the graduation. My father unfortunately couldn't attend due to work matters and of course, international tickets are not a joke. I attended the ceremonies with my mom where I had the opportunity to observe how MSU is doing in today's time. It was pleasant to know that this year had the most number of graduates as I believe that one of the primary reasons why Mindanao is being left out is due to lack of education, especially in the college level. May these graduates find their places in this world and help rebuild the once glorious Mindanao.
With the busy days I had there I didn't get the chance to properly congratulate my sister so I hope this would suffice - Minnie, everyone knows that I'm not much on words and I don't talk much so first of all, please forgive me for my short-comings because I know there's a lot. Please know that as an older brother, I am very proud at what you've accomplished already at such a young age. I'm sure Dad and Mom would have loved to witness how you have developed into what you are now. Countless are the times I have wished that we were all having dinner at the same table, discussing how things went during the day. Life has its reasons. Lastly, chase your dreams but always be grounded in your faith which is Islam. Alhamdulillah and congratulations!
Sharing some shots from the 3 week vacation:
My mom and a cousin who also graduated.
Dimaporo Gymnasium where the graduation was held.
Oval ground of Mindanao State University
I just had to take another shot of Lake Lanao.