One gloomy night on the days leading up to the elections of 2016, time suddenly went to a stop. For a moment, I just sat there in front of my desktop computer with a cup of coffee on one hand. And then the immortal lines from Robert Frost’s poetry whiffed like fresh air on my brain.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.”
The next day, I made a decision to leave a life and career built around nearly three decades of journalism practice in the Philippines. I told the wife I am coming with them even against doctors’ advice as I was yet recuperating from two trips to the theater going under the knife for a bad back.
Off I went to the Land Down Under.
From the moment I set foot on foreign soil, I knew my life will be totally different. Gone are the back breaking deadlines and news coverages. If there was something I took with me that somehow kept the umbilical cord that binds me from home, it is the fact that I was able to keep the job as managing editor of Edge Davao remotely from thousands of miles away. Thanks to the wonders of technology and the similar time zones between Philippines and Perth, I would transition to a virtual newsroom for the next five years and counting.
For four years, I lived a life equivalent to a quarantine–no friends and family in a foreign land where people consider socializing as luxury time. That is why when the pandemic hit the world, lockdowns were the “old normal” to this long distance editor.
Each day living in Australia was a realization of sorts and a process of acceptance. I was like a fish out of water. I thought I was a misfit. Here, they play different sports and our national pastime basketball wasn’t the most popular. If I dabble to sportswriting, I need to know sports like footy, cricket and rugby like the back of my hand. If I try on writing news, the written language and grammar rules differ in a way. So I had to contend with odd jobs just to get some mojos in my pocket switching roles as a professional tennis coach for kids and coffee machine cleaner-refiller in offices including the newsroom of a leading television network.
When Covid-19 struck, I rediscovered my creative self whilst on quarantine. I took out my trusty Nikon camera from the bag and dusted it off. I started to collect more gear to boost my stock then adapted to new camera systems. I also revived my old radio talk sow program back in Davao for the defunct 105.9 Balita FM “Let’s Get It On With Neil Bravo” this time as a vlog on Youtube and social media. Little did I know I am beginning to transition naturally to my old self. Slowly but surely, the fish is back in the pond and swimming back to life.
To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable writing in the first person. But as a storyteller, pardon me for sharing my journey. I simply dwell on the consolation that it might inspire you too.
Whilst the pandemic was literally treated as incarceration to most people, to me it was liberation.
After four years spent in voluntary isolation, I was like a Genie out of the lamp. Aside from my supportive wife and family, I have a lot to thank Perth-based Pinay entrepreneur/philanthropist Melissa Aguasa, who owns the biggest Filipino shop in Western Australia, for “rubbing the lamp and letting the Genie out.”
Once out of the bottle, I was able to weave my expression directing music concerts for charity benefiting typhoon victims in the Philippines and one for 2015 Australia X-Factor winner Cyrus Villanueva. I went on to filming commercials, short films and hosting events. In 2021, I was tasked to co-spearhead the Secretariat for the biggest event in the Filipino-Australian community — the 75th Philippines-Australia Diplomatic Relations Anniversary. The event was held at the biggest outdoor venue in Perth in Langley Park and was capped with a Gala Night which I hosted. It brought back memories of many hosting gigs back home.
Eventually, I opened a video and photography business with a studio located in the shop owned by the Aguasas who trace their roots in scenic Batanes.
Aside from attending to the virtual newsroom of Edge Davao six days a week, I broadened my base as a regular feature writer and contributor for Australia-wide publication The Philippine Times.
I must say, I have finally found myself again. It took a lot of patience and yes, waiting for God’s time to give it to me. It wasn’t an easy journey.
And now I look back to the day I was at the crossroads of my life and asked which road to take.
Which leads me back to Frost’s masterpiece.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
