19M. I miss the Philippines so bad. Need advice.
I moved to Canada when I was 7 years old and have been here for over 10 years now. Within that 10 years, my family and I never returned to the Philippines again and so growing up, I always felt a little distant from my family there. Fast forward to last year, my dad passed away and since I was at the age where I could travel by myself, I decided to go to the Philippines.
For 3 months, I spent my time reconnecting with my cousins from my dad’s side, all of which are my age. I just had the best time of my life. Then, fast forward to summer of 2026, I decided to ONCE AGAIN fly to the Philippines to be with my cousins. I was there for 2 months this time.
I really want to experience Christmas and New Years in the Philippines, but my mom has been getting frustrated with me going to the Philippines. She has never been fond of going back home because of the expenses, which is also why we didn’t go to the Philippines much growing up.
I’m about to write my entrance examination for medical school, which is a 4 month commitment, and if I get in, it’s straight grind for several years. My rationale for wanting to constantly go back is because I feel like now is the time to travel and spend time with them. In just a couple years, I’m going to be too busy to visit my dad’s family whom I’ve grown so close to.
Am I selfish for wanting to go back and forth to the Philippines? It’s just my mom and my two siblings now that my dad passed.