One of my favorite hang outs when I was in college, was in UP. No, I’m not a iskolar ng bayan. But I have a lot of friends from UP so they introduced me to this wonderland called Sunken Garden. A friend and I even had our own bench across the Educ bldg. And whenever we meet we’ll just say, “cge sa bench ganitong oras.” Such belongingness. hahaha.

I know that I’ve got a lot of 2nd home, and the Sunken Garden was one of them. I usually hang-out there with or without friends. Sometimes to shoot for my photography class, sometimes to have a heart to heart talk with friends. And sometimes just to simply hang out.

It’s been 5 years since I’ve graduated. And since I’m working far from UP, it’s been quiet a while since I’ve hangged out “just to hang out” there. I guess that’s one of the reasons why it made yesterday (my latest tambay), a special one. I was passing UP since I’m supposed to meet my mom. I got torn between hanging out at Starbucks and Sunken Garden, but yes, the latter won. It’s like calling out my name. So I just sat there at “our” old bench just staring. I smiled and simply uttered, “hey, it’s been awhile.”

 It feels so much like home. Where I could just write how I really feel. Where I could find rest and peace from the battle of the world. Where I could just enjoy the wind blowing on my face, or the laughter of barkadas hanging out. Where I could pray and not be suffocated with the mess in my room. A place where I could just be alone yet not lonely. 

It feels like a friend that accepts me without judgement (whether I’m an alumni or not. hehehe). Whom I could just pour our my heart and know that whatever I will say will be between me and him.

I’ve been through a rollercoaster of emotions lately. And this …this is a perfect place to say time out.