Your next adventure is just a few pages away
I have long given up on journals. “It’s too much work,” I’d often tell myself. Yet year after year, I always find myself carrying a new one even though I don’t have use for them anymore.
Most of these come from friends (who apparently assume that I want a journal as a gift for the holidays because I am a writer), and then there are some given by a few PR people and my editors, like this Where To Next planner mailed to me by the publisher of this blog (Hi, Melo!) a couple of weeks ago.
It’s as straightforward as most planners go: a 15 x 21 cm notebook bound by a brown leatherette cover. The undated planner features the usual necessities like calendars and weekly and monthly spreads, as well as an interactive page where you write your own life story. Got a bucket list for this year? Write it down here, too.
What’s really interesting about this little piece of bundled paper, though, is that inside its pages, real people tell real stories of what the word “home” means for them, including features from Clara Benin, Hannah Reyes Morales, and Javi Cang.
“If you could only take away one thing, we hope it would be this: home is never just a place. It is a space where you can take off your shoes and dance to your favorite song. It is in the company of the people who listen to your stories and understand you to the core. It is in the time you spend nurturing the dreams that matter to you most,” the product description on the WTN Planner website reads.
For me, it’s a striking memento: one that reminds you of the beauty of moving, of finding peace in the unknown and making a home where there previously wasn’t one.
The WTN team took their time to collect tips on how to mindfully travel, as well as list small talk questions for travelers. They also included a “scratch map” of provinces in the Philippines and countries you can strike out or color as a keepsake and a reminder of where you’ve been to before.
For every planner purchased, 5 percent of the profit will go to projects of the Aeta communities in Yangil & Botolan, Zambales.
The Where to Next 2020 Planner is available online for P730. For more information, log on to Where to Next’s Facebook page.
Searching for the best hotels and affordable flights? Check out our complete list of affordable hotels and resorts via Agoda or you may also see available Airbnb properties in the city.
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Also read: Best Gift Ideas: Must-Have Planners For 2020