There’s a funny thing about being from a place like Hilongos: you can leave it, you can travel far, you can build a whole life somewhere else… but you still carry it around like it’s in your pocket.
This blog is my way of unpacking that pocket.
I’m starting hilongosnon.com because I’ve been wanting a space that feels like home, but doesn’t need permission to exist. A place where I can write about the stuff that actually makes up a life: the small wins, the messy days, the “grabe kaayo” moments, the memories that hit you at random while you’re doing something totally unrelated — like buying coffee, commuting, scrolling, or staring at a ceiling at 2AM.
I’m a Hilongosnon. That word doesn’t just mean where you’re from — it’s a whole vibe. It’s family, jokes you can’t translate properly, and that way we can be both tough and soft in the same sentence. It’s the way music can turn a bad day into something survivable. It’s culture you don’t notice until you’re far away and suddenly it matters more.
So what’s this blog going to be about?
Everything I’m brave enough to write about.
- Life experiences: the stuff nobody teaches you, and the stuff you only learn after getting it wrong first.
- Culture: the things we’re proud of, and the things we should probably talk about more honestly.
- Travel: not just the “look at this view” kind, but the kind that changes how you see people — and yourself.
- Politics: not as a shouting match, but as something that affects real lives (especially back home).
- Music: because music is not a hobby, it’s therapy with rhythm.
I’m not aiming to sound like a columnist. I’m not trying to impress anyone. I just want to write in a way that feels real — the way people actually talk when they’re not performing.
And since this is the first post, let me set the tone: I’m not promising perfection. I’m promising honesty. Sometimes that honesty will be funny. Sometimes it’ll be a little heavy. Sometimes it’ll be stories that only make sense if you’ve lived them, and sometimes it’ll be things I’m still figuring out in real time.
If you’re from Hilongos (or anywhere similar), you already know how it is: we can be sentimental without wanting to admit it. We miss places we complain about. We love people even when we don’t say it properly. We keep going even when we’re tired. We laugh because what else are we supposed to do?
This blog is for that.
So yeah — welcome to hilongosnon.com. If you found this, you’re early. If you’re reading this, you’re part of the beginning.
Next post? I’ll start with a story. Something small but true. The kind of story that sounds ordinary until you realize it shaped you.
Thanks for being here.