Lauren DePaulo

I finally touched down in Oklahoma. After countless hours of transit — buses, ferries, airports, layovers, and flights — the moment I saw the doors of the arrival terminal slide open and found Tyme’s familiar face waiting for me… it all became real. I wasn’t just a woman running from the remnants of a broken…

I’m in Dallas. The sky outside the terminal windows is hazy orange, the kind of light that feels both dreamy and grounding. I’m sitting at a charging station, watching people rush by with fast food bags and carry-ons, and for the first time today, I feel my body begin to relax. My phone died sometime…

I finally made it onto American soil. Seattle was the first U.S. city I set foot in, but I didn’t even get to document it. My phone battery died shortly after we landed and it took forever to find a charging spot. I felt like a ghost moving through the customs lines, half-awake, overwhelmed, and…

The moment the wheels lifted off the runway in Manila, I felt my chest tighten. I watched the city lights blur below us, and for a second, it was like watching everything I’ve known drift away. I had tears in my eyes — not out of regret, but from the sheer weight of what this…

Somewhere over the Pacific, I lost track of time. The flight from Manila to Seattle stretches longer than anything I’ve ever done — physically, emotionally, spiritually. The lights in the cabin are dimmed now, most passengers asleep under flimsy blankets, but I’m still awake. It’s hard to sleep when your heart is this full —…

I boarded the early flight from Cebu to Manila with a quiet heart. No crowds, no noise — just the thrum of the aircraft engine and the heavy silence of my thoughts. The plane took off gently, as if it knew my emotions were still fragile. I watched Cebu shrink from the window, the shoreline…

Mactan-Cebu International Airport is beautiful in the early hours — quiet, clean, almost sacred in its stillness. The usual rush of travel feels softened here, like the world is giving me a moment to breathe before I leap. I sat near a window overlooking the tarmac. Planes taxied by, their engines humming like lullabies of…

Airports are strange little worlds, aren’t they? Between gates and terminals, time feels suspended. As I sit by this wide window in Cebu City, I can see the sun dipping behind the hills, casting this golden purple light across the tarmac. It’s beautiful in a way I didn’t expect — quiet and still, like the…

I found a quiet corner in Cebu, tucked away from the big malls and busy terminals. An outdoor café with mismatched chairs and a view of the street — just enough distance from the noise to hear my thoughts. I ordered an iced coffee I didn’t finish and sat watching golden hour melt into the…

It’s hard to describe what it feels like to stand on the edge of everything you’ve ever known. Tonight, I’m in Cebu City, sitting on the floor of the departure terminal near Gate 4, with my backpack beside me and a deep ache in my chest that somehow feels like both fear and joy. I’ve…

When you grow up in a tiny bamboo house with a tin roof that leaks when it rains, you learn early what it means to appreciate small things — a dry corner, a warm meal, a quiet evening with your family. That’s the kind of life I had in Sagay. Simple. Hard. Beautiful in its…

The bus rumbled along the dusty road, cutting through fields of green sugarcane under a sky that promised nothing but good things. I chose a seat by the window and settled in with my backpack at my feet. The air was warm, scented faintly with earth and diesel, and filled with the hum of conversation…

This morning, as the sun gently warmed the small streets of Sagay and the scent of damp earth and fresh pandesal drifted through the air, I took a deep breath and stepped outside. Wearing my favorite white off-shoulder dress — the one that’s been with me through birthdays and beach walks — I felt like…