Hello, everyone! Raise your hands if you love ‘walking’. If you don’t, my moniker, ‘Mangyan Walker, ‘ might just make you reconsider!
‘Mangyan’ refers to beloved indigenous groups that adorn the island of Mindoro in the Philippines like a traditional necklace. These include the Iraya, Alangan, Tadyawan, Tawbuid, Bangon, Buhid, Hanunuo, and Ratagnon groups. Now, ‘Walker’ is, of course, one who walks, sometimes aimlessly, in a mall before ending up in front of an ice cream stall or, in my case, purposefully up a mountain!
Here I am, a person born and raised in lovely Mindoro, a Mangyan at heart who discovered an inexplicable love for the art of walking or hiking if we’re fancy.
My passion for hiking revealed itself in the not-so-glamorous stage of my teenage years, just shy of my sweet sixteenth birthday. Oh, and this was around the time my dad, my go-to person for everything, passed away. It was quite a cocktail of emotions for a 16-year-old.
It was like being in the middle of an emotional whirlpool, without a life vest, while trying to solve a Rubik’s cube…underwater. Yeah, that about sums it up.
On the brighter side, being in college is a lot like being in a candy store; there are clubs and activities with every flavor you can imagine (and if there’s not, invent it!). As someone struggling with grief, the intrigue of the engineering department was a welcome distraction. Short story short, before I could spell ‘thermodynamics,’ I was part of the Sialdang Mountaineering Club. Hooray for mountain candy!
Falling into mountaineering was like finding the last piece of the puzzle or the cookie you thought you lost — I discovered an outlet. But more than an outlet, it was an in-let, a way into friendships that have surpassed the expiration date of a Twinkie, a personal insight to strength I never thought I had, and a comet-hit-me-on-the-head kind of realization.
Like a good movie, the lesson had a twist: continuous hustle, even with a sloth’s speed on vacation, eventually gets you where you want to be. The point is that every step, no matter how small, counts. It’s like when you start cleaning your room—you begin slowly, whining at first, but after a while, it gets cleaner…or at least less messy. The rule: Keep moving, one foot in front of the other.
So, friends, the saga of the Mangyan Walker continues, each chapter filled with trials, tales, and wouldn’t-change-it-for-the-world experiences. I’m leaving you with this tiny wisdom nugget: No matter what you are doing, however challenging, happy walking! Or crawling, or whatever gets you moving—keep at it!