Searching For Lost Time, In Birthday Cookies

I made cookies for my birthday and then wished I could just send a couple batches to people on the other side of the world. I know, I get incredibly sentimental over things like food, love and identity; which, by no coincidence, are things I have recently spent a lot of time learning and thinking about.

Sentimentality is a trait shared by many Filipinos, in varying degrees. It is certainly something built into my core, outwardly demonstrated by my love of guitar-driven classic rock, highly introspective characters in books and snuggling up to watch Freaks and Geeks from beginning to end.

I used to regard the feeling of being sentimental as something I could leave behind with my old self from Manila; with the ridiculous amount of things I needed to do to become an assimilated Canadian, dwelling over how I felt about personal changes seemed an inappropriate use of my time, particularly when I needed to rush between classes, a 20 hour per week job and balance side projects, chores and making time to visit friends.

In light of what the last few years have been like, taking time to assess my personal and professional goals and drawing plans for achieving those goals seem like an alright use of my time.

Photo via Lars Plougmann on Flickr.