{"id":6254,"date":"2025-11-30T16:01:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T08:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/?p=6254"},"modified":"2025-11-30T16:01:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T08:01:23","slug":"omar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/omar\/","title":{"rendered":"Omar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Najhanne <\/em>Buat <\/em>Asum<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOmar!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOmar!\u201d<\/p>\n

The muffled shouts of my name pulled me from my earphones. I glanced out the window to see my older sister, Kaka Jam, calling for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo fishing with Abi,\u201d she yelled, pointing towards the lake where Abi was busy preparing the bangca under the scorching sun.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m doing something!\u201d I yelled back, about to plug in my earphones, when I saw her throw down the basket she was holding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with you? You never go out to the lake anymore!\u201d<\/p>\n

I ignored her. What does she mean, what\u2019s wrong with me<\/em>? I guess I\u2019ve just grown. I\u2019m no longer interested in going to the lake to catch fish with Abi like I used to when I was a kid. Now, I\u2019m chasing something bigger, something better than the fish in the lake. I want to become a well-known actor in Manila.<\/p>\n

An hour later, I paused the video when a notification popped up at the top of my screen. I lifted myself from the bed and hurriedly checked it. Hunched forward, shoulders tight, I held my breath. I hoped.<\/p>\n

And just like that, I knew I was one step closer to my dream. My online audition for Starbust Entertainment had been accepted, and I was going to be one of the supporting actors for a new movie. I nodded with certainty, whispering to myself, \u201cManila, here comes Eli.\u201d<\/em> I smiled proudly at the thought of finally using the stage name I had created years ago.<\/p>\n

With courage, I went out of my room. I prepared with all my might, rehearsing in my head how I would tell Kaka and Abi the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs-salamu alaykum<\/em>!\u201d I jumped out of my seat when I heard Kaka Jam.<\/p>\n

\u201cWa alaikumu salam<\/em>! Kaka!\u201d I greeted her excitedly as I guided her to her seat.<\/p>\n

She looked at me with eyebrows drawn together, confusion and annoyance clear on her face. \u201cWhat has gotten into you lately? What is this all about?\u201d<\/p>\n

When she was finally seated, I told her about the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cManila!? You are leaving Balindong?\u201d she exclaimed. I had seen it coming, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cKaka, come on,\u201d I pleaded. \u201cThis is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! You know how much I dreamed of this, you know how much I wanted this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Absolutely not, Omar!\u201d she said with finality.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Kaka, you know this is not just about leaving,\u201d I persisted. \u201cIt\u2019s chasing my dream! It\u2019s a whole different thing!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLeaving is the bottom line here! You are leaving Balindong for Manila!\u201d<\/p>\n

I fell silent. I know all this fuss wasn\u2019t because she refused to support me. It was because she was afraid. Afraid that once I left, I would turn my back on them completely and let Manila swallow me whole. My constant plans to move, the dreams I spoke of again and again, and the countless times she caught me searching for places to stay in the city\u2026 all of it must have fueled her fear.<\/p>\n

Just then, the sound of the front door opening sliced through the heavy silence. It was Abi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s all the commotion?\u201d he asked, confusion in his voice as he dropped the basket he was holding.<\/p>\n

Kaka wasted no time explaining the situation, even exaggerating my desire to abandon everything. I watched Abi nervously, waiting for his verdict. He stood still, eyes fixed on me, studying my face for a long moment. His expression was unreadable, contemplative.<\/p>\n

Finally, he spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet him go, Jam.\u201d<\/p>\n

My jaw dropped. Kaka\u2019s face contorted with disappointment, but she remained silent when she noticed Abi\u2019s seriousness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Abi!\u201d I exclaimed.<\/p>\n

Kaka ignored me the rest of the day. Abi, on the other hand, even helped me with packing. That night, I could barely sleep out of excitement.<\/p>\n

The next morning, I practically bounced out of bed. I nearly inhaled my meal, unable to wait to arrive in Manila, where my dreams awaited. An hour later, Abi told me the van had arrived.<\/p>\n

When I got to the van after sharing a few words and a hug with Abi, I couldn\u2019t help but look forward to what awaited me. I still couldn\u2019t believe all of this was happening.<\/p>\n

I looked out the window as the beautiful Lake Lanao receded into the distance. That\u2019s when I felt a pang of sadness tug at my heart, still hurting at the thought of leaving home, Abi, and Kaka Jam. However, the image of myself acting alongside other actors quickly distracted me and pushed those emotions aside. I shook my head. For now, I should focus on my acting career, on becoming the actor I dreamed of.<\/p>\n

Finally landing in Manila, I couldn\u2019t hide my happiness. Now that I had arrived, I had to work my way toward becoming a successful actor.<\/p>\n

And I did. Ten months in, the movie I acted in became a major hit, receiving high ratings. I also gained recognition\u2014my Instagram account soared to 300k followers, and offers came from every direction. The movie was certainly the talk of the town.<\/p>\n

I should be happy by now, though. I am where I have wanted to be.<\/p>\n

But somehow, I never felt accomplished. Like something was constantly missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEli!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEli!\u201d<\/p>\n

I only returned to reality when my manager, James, called me. I had been spacing out again. It wasn\u2019t the first time I\u2019d felt lost, adrift in a place I should have known by now, after ten months.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome supporters recognized you earlier. They were calling for you, but you didn\u2019t respond. Are you okay? You\u2019ve been like this lately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry. I didn\u2019t realize.\u201d<\/p>\n

I knew I had wanted Eli as my stage name, but somehow, lately, the name felt foreign. Hearing it spoken felt like hearing someone else\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

I excused myself and went to the bathroom, splashing water on my face in an attempt to wash away the confusion. As I dried my hands, a voice stopped me.<\/p>\n

\u201cOmar?\u201d<\/p>\n

That name. Just moments ago, I had felt lost, but now, hearing it, I suddenly felt found.<\/p>\n

I turned around to see who it was. It was Hassan, a good friend from childhood and also my first cousin.<\/p>\n

\u201cHas\u2014\u201d I began, but my manager\u2019s voice called from outside the bathroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cEli! We\u2019re leaving, just waiting for you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Disappointment flashed across Hassan\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh! Sorry, I thought you were someone I knew,\u201d he said, starting to walk away.<\/p>\n

I stopped him. \u201cIt\u2019s me, Hassan! Omar!\u201d<\/p>\n

He hesitated, still unsure.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaken aya<\/em>, si<\/em> Omar.\u201d I added, full of hope that he would finally recognize me.<\/p>\n

He smiled, finally recognizing me, and stepped forward for a hug. I felt an unexplainable joy, being seen for who I really was, being called Omar again, speaking my language.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cArt exhibition,\u201d he replied. \u201cI painted Lake Lanao. It got accepted for an exhibition.\u201d That explained the malong he was wearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have the time? Let\u2019s go out!\u201d I invited him eagerly.<\/p>\n

And so, I excused myself from the team and went out with Hassan. We headed to a nearby coffee shop. At first, we just caught up. He shared about his exhibition, and I told him about my acting career, which he was only learning about now. For someone not into watching series, I understood his surprise.<\/p>\n

Later, what started as a normal catching-up session turned into something deeper. I found myself telling him everything I had been feeling lately, about the emptiness, the feeling of being lost, even after reaching the place I had been dreaming of.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou asked earlier if it\u2019s wrong to chase the dream of acting. I don\u2019t think it is. There\u2019s nothing wrong with aiming to go further with your dreams\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, if it is not, why am I feeling like this? Why does it make me want to regret even coming here? It doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sighed and gave me a reassuring smile. \u201cYou know, Omar, most people who feel lost are those who forget to stay rooted in where they come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

My brow furrowed. What is he trying to say?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen was the last time you called home?\u201d<\/p>\n

And there, I understood him. I knew what he meant. I had been too busy in Manila to even\u00a0 reach out. I couldn\u2019t remember the last time I called, the last time we shared a conversation. By now, I was afraid and in denial. I didn\u2019t want to admit to myself that maybe Kaka Jam had been right from the beginning, that I had made her fear come true, leaving them entirely as I fully embraced my dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cOmar, there\u2019s nothing wrong with going far, with exploring the world. Just stay rooted all the time. That way, you won\u2019t get lost. You can reach for the furthest star, but if you forget where you came from, you\u2019d simply be like a bird simply flying around aimlessly.\u201d<\/p>\n

My head kept replaying his words, filled with memories of home and the life of Omar.<\/p>\n

The conversation I had with Hassan made me decide to go back home for a while. I knew I had to find myself again, and I could only do that in the place that gave me the identity of who I truly was\u2014Omar, a Meranaw.<\/p>\n

When I arrived at our place, I saw the lake from the van\u2019s window. I felt the familiar warmth of home. I recalled what Hassan had told me about how the lake gave us the identity of being Meranaw. Seeing it once again made me feel truly back, not only in Balindong, but also in myself.<\/p>\n

As we finally arrived at our place, Abi and Kaka awaited me. Reaching them, Kaka greeted me with a playful smack on the forearm.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you still remember your way back here, huh?\u201d she smiled. I replied with a teasing grin.<\/p>\n

I looked at Ama, who was smiling. I remembered how he had allowed me to go to Manila so easily, how he had set me out to chase my dream, and now here he was, watching me return with a greater love for my culture and home. Maybe he knew how to make me come back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe missed you, son. We\u2019re glad you\u2019re back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad I\u2019m back, too, Abi.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

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Najhanne Buat Asum\u00a0 \u201cOmar!\u201d \u201cOmar!\u201d The muffled shouts of my name pulled me from my earphones. I glanced out the window to see my older sister, Kaka Jam, calling for me. \u201cGo fishing with Abi,\u201d she yelled, pointing towards the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6255,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6254\/revisions\/6255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}