This month alone has been a blur of airport terminals, heavy backpacks, and overlapping goodbyes. Just weeks prior, I was in my hometown of Iloilo, mentally preparing for the biggest professional plot twist of my life in a journey that has increasingly felt like a fast-paced motion picture. I would soon permanently relocate to Manila. In the middle of this hectic transition, I somehow found myself in Cotabato City, miles away from home. I was …