People who smack you in the head

My high school friends Gema and Kat

In total remorse for the last five months. I knew something was wrong with me because I didn't want to see any of my friends or professors. I just denied it. I didnt want to see their faces, talk to them nor text them when they asked me how I was doing. I was in paranoia, depression and early stage psychosis probably, and I felt so ashamed of my condition I didn't want to go outside our house. I just wanted to stay in the comforts of my bedroom, watch Eat Bulaga with my dad and eat and eat and eat.

The best friend: Gema

The can't-wait'togo-to-Japan friend: Kat

My teacher best friend: Brine

By the end of July something dawned on me: I have tons of friends, professors who never stopped supporting me and I felt no remorse when I hated them all. But they never left.

My elementary friends: Brine and Myvi

After I've decided that I will apply for a residency for the first semester, no one asked the "why" question. They simply hugged me tight and smacked me where the hell was I five months ago. I told them I needed to elevate my state of love life and so I went looking for a boyfriend. They laughed. We ate. We shared stories. They understood my condition. We gobbled our friend's molasses cookies. It was like a year of heaven for me.

College Friends: Amy, Mikee, Lakan, Lisette, Shaula, Mylene

I reunited with my elementary and high school friends. We ate the same food. I gave them letters and loom bands. They kissed and hugged me tight and fully supported my decision to take the residency. My friend Gema didn't stop talking and kept on asking for directions at UP. It was like nothing happened at all.

Sometimes it's all in our minds. We can never move on until we give ourselves a chance, unless we forgive ourselves. Never mind what the people will say. Friends will smack you in the head because you disappeared without their permission. They will slap you because you already have a love life while they don't. They will hug you until you can't breathe because they've missed you. They will kiss you because they've missed you, just as you missed them after all.