Mindanao, My Beautiful Mindanao
I was in Grade 5 when my parents decided to transfer to Mindanao, permanently. That was, give and take, 25 years ago. While we had limited opinions as we were yet kids, we were apprehensive of finding our place in Mindanao because of the things we heard back then about the place. That there are killings in Mindanao, that the Muslims are known to be abusive people, that we are foreigners to their land, and that it is hard to live there because of the conflicts between Christians and Muslims are just some of the reasons why I and my sisters wouldn't want to welcome the thought that we were leaving peaceful Antique to a land unbeknownst to us. But it happened. My family moved to Mindanao. Passing through Zamboanga City, we arrived in Koronadal, South Cotabato and it is where I took my 6th Grade and more. It is the land which opened my eyes that what they say about Mindanao is not true. That there is no truth to some lies they say about the land. That Mindanao is beautiful.