Same Roof, Different Worlds

It's been a year, and I should've spent my senior year here in the Philippines. But life wanted something else for me. Junior year was one for the books. I was among the top students, we won nearly every volleyball game against the other schools, and we celebrated with night-outs or team sleepovers all the time. It hurts that I'm leaving all that fun and all those memories here in the Philippines. In about 2 hours, we'll be boarding for USA. Mom already got every document I need because Grant asked the school in Vermont what the transfer process would be for a student coming from another country to the US. The list of requirements isn't really long, and most of them are easy to get, but they're strict about each one. So before Grant even booked our flight, mom made sure I had everything required so I could enroll there. And now we're here in NAIA Terminal 3, waiting on our flight. Paolo and Alya stayed with me earlier, right before mom and I went inside the airport. Alya cried while Paolo kept saying I wasn't leaving them forever. Mom had to step in and remind them we'd be back in the Philippines soon. I don't know how soon soon really is. Leaving them feels like I'm leaving pieces of myself behind: volleyball, school, my friends, my relatives. And sure, it's not like I'm gone forever, but do you know that feeling when you want to stay exactly where you are because you're already content with what you have and see? It might not be much, but to me this is home. It always will be. "You can sleep," mom says when we settle onto one of the bent metal chairs, the rainbow shawl looped around her narrow neck. "We're a bit early. We still have two hours till boarding, and the flight is 18 hours."