Self-discovery doesn’t always start with big decisions – sometimes, it begins with coffee.

Before I finally left my home country and I was still in Baguio, I wasn’t searching for anything in particular. But with each café I wandered into, something quietly shifted. It started with the warm familiarity of Valencia’s, where the aroma of freshly brewed beans mingled with quiet conversations and rainy mountain air.

Then came mornings at Tan-aw sa Alang, where the view stretched far beyond what I thought I knew of myself. Afternoons turned into slow hours at Arca’s Yard, tucked among pine trees, surrounded by art, books, and the scent of nostalgia. Café Orilla became a small refuge – a place to write, think, and just be.

There were many more tucked into corners of the city – hidden gems that served more than just coffee. They offered space. Space to pause, to reflect, and to reconnect with parts of me I hadn’t visited in a while. In chasing cafés, I wasn’t just following the scent of good coffee. I was, without realizing it, following a path back to myself. Those short travels to coffee shops led me to eventually pack my bag and go to Thailand, where I stayed for two years before moving to the US.