Words and art by:  Elizabeth Sabelino

Blue. Red. Sun. Stars.
Community. Faith. Spirit.
My home.
Or so I thought it was.
“Lakaw na ta,” my mother said.
It felt like my future was on a thread.
I couldn’t get it out of my head.
Moving, moving, moving.
Will I fit in?
I don’t want to move, is that a sin?
Goodbye, my friends,
Goodbye, my family,
Goodbye to everything I’ve ever known.
Goodbye, ‘Pilipinas Kong Mahal’.

Red. White. Blue.
It took a while to get used to.
They didn’t look like me,
This wasn’t what I thought it would be.

We settled.
New house. New school. New spaces.
We moved again.
New names. New faces. New places.

But nothing ever seemed to change.
Fitting in. Fitting in. Fitting in.
Why did I always try?
Smiggle Pens. Sportsgirl bag. Justice clothes.
I never owned those.

We’ve boundless plains to share,
How come I don’t really feel there?

The library.
I belonged. I belonged. I belonged.
It felt so free.
I was there to be me.

Matilda, Geronimo, Thea and EJ:
They were my friends.
Characters on paper,
To them, I was no stranger.

Purple. Yellow. Stars.
Fourteen years now.
A better future was the vow.
A testament to my parents’ achievements –
I apologise on the grounds of disagreements.

Community. Faith. Spirit.
I, once again, could feel it.
Friends that turned to family,
Who would help us ever so happily.
I feel grounded now.

What is home?
Is it a place, a country, a feeling, or a person?
What if it’s all of those things in unison?

Home is when I’m in Ormoc.
Home is when I feel free.
Home is when I can be me.