The context of a piece of work is always personal. There's always emotion. We just express it in different ways. Years ago, I made the same trip with much more excitement and hope. This one feels more like finishing something unfinished—though the experience has redefined my perception of reality and my core personality, I feel it's still proper to honor that turning point that brought me here.
To give some context, I went to Quezon Province almost the same time as last year (only a week earlier) with a different set of people. I met so many new personalities on that trip that I had admired and studied along with the ones that have been an influence in my development as an artist.
It's only been two days past this week and I felt I've reached exhaustion. The new environment I've placed myself in has been toxic, to say the least. Frustrations come flinging left and right due to lack of direction and planning, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Nevertheless, I took this mid-week break; perfectly timed; as it's also Labor Day. It's given me a much-needed break from the real, and it's somewhat time to decompress.
The trip to the north also brought forth fuzzy and happy moments from last year's Bangui trip with another group of photographers I've had the pleasure of working with. I would go as far as saying that I miss their company, but we all have to go and seize the new opportunities ahead of us. Nostalgic, but also refreshing to visit an old place with new people I can staple to my memory whenever I think of the Northern part of the Philippines.
Often times, we get confused with what's right, or beautiful regarding our works. While it's nice to get appreciation or "likes" in this day and age, the best person to actually please is ourselves. We have to have ideas and the right tools to bring them to life.