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Life’s been super life-ing hard lately. So I decided to just go for it and try my first hike.
I joined a group of strangers at Mt. Batulao—my “mother mountain” here in my country, the Philippines. 🇵🇭
Sometimes the care and love you give doesn’t take root where you thought it would, but love still shows up in so many ways: in plants guiding your path, flowers, friendly dogs that greet you on to that scenic trail, a breeze of cold air, a view that’s totally new but somehow feels like home, and strangers-turned-friends who literally lend their hands to help you up and show you which rocks are safe to step on.
The shared “bulalo“ meals. Our Filipino Laughter. The process was challenging but beautiful!
Honestly, the peak wasn’t even the highlight for me during the trail.
It was realizing that what you put out into the universe comes back in different forms and tenfolds, and my connection with nature reassure me that I still have a place in this world. 🤍
So, yes, take a hike. Nature finds its own ways to heal.
Dec 8, 2024
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It’s free and brought my overall anxiety down. After spending all my hours in front of a screen (work or voluntary), it’s nice to be apart of something bigger, fresher, and that’s actually beautiful. It’s also nice to bring my friends along for morning hikes because it bonds us outside of usual nightlife stuff or things where we don’t have to talk to each other.
More accessible activities (for people who don’t conveniently live somewhere where mountain bike tourism is a real thing) includes waking up super early and also doing yoga. I usually wake up at sunrise which gives me a bunch of free time (for half a year).
Mar 19, 2024
😃
Last year in July, I left my whole life in Paris. My parents cut me off and stopped paying for my flat in the city and I was so depressed about it all. I used to go out a lot, party in the coolest places with my friends whom I adored... I had to leave all of it behind, the glitter and the joy. I moved to a place in the middle of nowhere with my boyfriend, like literally sheeps right behind my house haha. Everything was hard, I had to do physical labor that I never experienced before and I was bored out of my mind.
Connection is not the best here so I had to pick up something to do. I went swimming a lot, I started making pearl bracelets like my mom did in the 70's in the DRC when she was a kid. It felt nice :) We adopted a stray cat and named him plantain in lingala "Makemba", his owner had left him behind. My parents and I made peace, we all grew up...
I'm moving back to Paris to resume law school after years of wandering in the abyss of my future. I'll miss the sheeps, the big tree in out backyard, coloring books and sleeping with the door open. What I thought was the worst punishment of my life grew to become bittersweet memories... Even when everything is shit, something nice can come out of it... I wish I knew that when I was crying cause I didn't want to leave 🐸
Aug 1, 2024
six friends and i hiked this triple waterfall gem the day before graduation and it will be a memory i cherish forever!!
highlights:
- met the cutest pomeranian named kai who loved belly rubs
- sat on a log and smoked with our feet in the water (fire water and air, youre literally becoming the elements)
- we saw a rainbow which i think meant something
- the sun was OUT
- got pizza and ice cream after in this small in between town
- the drive back home was fragrant with rain and we got to see a double rainbow!!
lowlights:
- drove through a massive butterfly zone and killed SO MANY BUTTERFLIES. butterfly massacre
- wore the wrong shoes (sandals bc i forgot to swap shoes before)
- almost lost my shoes in the waterfall
- right thigh has been sore for days (i’m not sure what i did to it)
- 3/7 of us remembered to bring water for this ~3 mile hike
- had to scrub bathroom walls and pack up my room when i got home
4d ago
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😃
It really helps. :)
Oct 8, 2024
🎂
It’s my birthday! 🥳 And there’s no better place to announce it than here—PI.FYI just feels like a big group hug, and somehow, announcing my birthday here feels safe and kinda lovely. 🫶
Another year of getting influenced by all of you (from the simple stuff to the cool stuff), and honestly, life just feels richer because of this place. 💙 Big love to @TYLER for creating the best corner of the internet!! I LOVE U AND PI.FYI 🤟✨
Mar 11, 2025
🚌
It’s sweet and sentimental—you’re up, ruminating and thinking just like when your taking yourself with a good walk, but with less physical activity.
++ you can reflect with a good song and hear the sound of the bus moving, in transit.
Aug 24, 2024