Hi Hive! I’m so happy to finally share my first verified post here. This piece is deeply personal. This is about my childhood summers by the sea, the color I once tried to erase, and the healing I found in going back to where I started. If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your roots or longed for a life of peace and simplicity, I hope this resonates with you. Here's my story written from the heart, and now finally shared with the world.
Friends and I recently went to Palawan, a popular destination in the Philippines, known for its stunning, white-sand beaches and crystal-clear waters. Being there made me feel a kind of peace only the sea can give. I can’t describe it, but if you’ve ever sat quietly by the shore or stayed in a floating bamboo hut above turquoise water, you’ll know what I mean. My visit to this place reminded me of my childhood and made me long to go back to where I belong – the sea and the coastal life that once raised me.
When I was a child, every December meant going home to my grandparents’ house by the coast. It was a time for celebrating my grandfather’s birthday, feeling the joy of Christmas, and giving back. We would bring gifts for our tenants and reconnect with a life that felt simpler, lighter.
The highlight of our vacation was always the sea. It was irresistible that my cousins and I would swim for hours under the sun, not caring about how dark our skin got.
When I’d rise from the sea —oh my goodness—you’d only see my eyes and teeth! My uncles and cousins would tease me endlessly, while I hid at the back of my dad.
I stayed dark throughout high school from all the sports I played. It wasn’t a big deal until I went to college. That’s when I met my fair-skinned relatives from my mother’s side and saw classmates who looked polished and mestiza. That’s when I started to feel…less!
I began avoiding the sun. I stayed away from the beach. Even when I joined beach outings, I wouldn’t swim. The sea, which once felt like home, suddenly became the “culprit” for a skin tone I no longer wanted.
Now that I’m older, things have shifted. I look at the sea with different eyes. I crave its calm, its healing air, the saltwater that soothes the body and resets the soul. I scroll through photos of floating cottages with bamboo floors, handwoven panels, swings hanging over the water, and wind chimes made from seashells, and I feel an ache in my chest. Why did I ever turn my back on this?
These days, I don’t mind getting dark. I don’t even think about it. I just miss the way the sea makes me feel: alive, refreshed, grounded.
I realized there’s so much more to coastal life than just beach photos. The sea air is clean and light, and it clears your head in ways no city breeze ever could. The water is rich in minerals that ease your body. The sun, in the right doses, energizes and strengthens.
Beyond the health benefits, there’s a kind of life here that’s hard to explain until you feel it, like lying down on a bamboo floor, hearing the waves beneath you, sitting in a shaded hut, sipping something warm while looking out at the horizon, or swaying gently on a handmade swing over clear blue water. Oh how I love the silence that only the sea can give!
Aside from peace, I see its potential too. Coastal areas are full of opportunities! With the right resources, you could build something beautiful here. A little café. A floating learning space. A local livelihood program. A small community where you can teach, share, and grow with people who have lived by the sea their whole lives but may have never seen how much more it could give.
If I ever get the chance, if life blesses me with enough courage and stability, I’d move to a coastal town for good. I’d wake up to sunrises over the water. I’d sleep to the sound of gentle waves. I’d live simpler, healthier, a more meaningful life.
Until then, the sea will remain close to my heart. It reminds me of where I came from, of childhood memories soaked in sunlight, of laughter and teasing, of growth and letting go.
Most of all, it reminds me that sometimes, the place you tried to forget is actually the one you’re meant to return to.
Have you also fallen in love again with something you once took for granted?