Home away from home…

I have not seen my parents in 973 days but who’s counting…

From 2015, when I was 15, I had lived in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia with my parents and my little sister. Growing up with parents that often work abroad, I have been gifted with the wealth of experience that only travel can give. One of downsides of this though was knowing that I would need to be away from my parents once I started at university. And I knew that day would come, marking it down in my calendar, counting it down. Yes, I was coming back to my home country for school but home is really where the heart is and my heart was back in Pohnpei with my parents.

My parents and I have a close relationship so when they had first sent me off in 2019 for Foundation studies at the University of the South Pacific I was pretty emotional about it as I had never lived far away from my parents. In those first few months being back in Fiji and away from them, I remember crying myself to sleep, I missed them so much. I was calling them every minute to update them on what I was doing, looking back now, this was my way of coping.

I remember counting down till my younger sister joined me as she had graduated high school in June 2019 and would join me in semester 2. I was also excited because I got to see my dad who was accompanying her. And the same old countdown dance would begin again as I excitedly counted down till my dad arrived and then sadly checking off days and then hours till he had to go back. However with his work he was going to be traveling back and forth to Fiji and there I was again marking dates for his next visit, counting down…

The last time I saw my parents was in Feb 2020 at Pohnpei International Airport, Micronesia shown in the photo below, as they sent me off to continue on with my university journey. We had just spent the holidays together but like all good things it had to come to an end because I needed to focus on my future. I remember feeling positive because I would be able to travel often to visit them. BUT alas, 2020 had its own plans, we could not foresee COVID-19, lockdowns and travel bans. And so the new norm was seeing them virtually.

We’re in 2022 now and my parents have moved to American Samoa. I am a digital baby so I know the benefits of virtual connections, the daily messages and messenger calls, still it is NOT the same.

They’ve missed out on so much, my 21st birthday was last year and whilst I knew it was impossible for them to be in Fiji with me celebrating, deep down all I wanted was for them to be here.

As I entered 2022 at the beginning of the year, I told myself that this would be my year where I work extra hard to make my parents proud and to get to where I want to be in life. Looking back, I am grateful to have my sister with me and we both truly believe that everything happens for a reason.

I am currently in what I hope will be my last semester, as I finish off my last 4 units, I have been blessed to volunteer twice a week at WOWS Kids Fiji and intern 3 days a week at The Greenhouse Studio. It can be a lot and as I try to balance it all, I take it one day at a time, grateful for the blessings, the challenges and the lessons. Writing this, I am unsure when our family will all be reunited again, I think, I hope and I dare to dream that it will be for my graduation next year that’s 182.5 days but who’s counting…