Am I A Filipino?
Hello dear readers! It's me again! Lately, I've been absorbing myself to a certain question: Do I
have what it takes to be a Filipino? Well, if I was asked that, then I’ve got a
lot to say. Throughout my academic life, I have always somehow encountered this
question one way or another. Be it Makabayan, Filipino or HeKaSi, always the
same old question. But this time, I am required to express it in actual words.
But
first of all, what makes a true Filipino? Have you ever wondered about that?
Does being a Filipino require you to have flat nose or brown skin just like
this? Or do you have to have Filipino blood flowing through your veins? Maybe on the physical aspect, yes. But there
is more to it than just that, for you to call yourself a Filipino.
We Filipinos have characteristics
unique to our own. We are as close to our family as a well-knit scarf and we
value family more than any other race. Where others refuse weary travelers, we
receive them with warm hands and free food. We never abandon those in need and
those who are unfortunate enough to encounter disaster. We Filipinos have
always been known to be creative and resourceful. When we are faced with
adversity, we never fail to rise up to the challenge. And another unique trait
of Filipinos is of course, our love for our country.
Although all of the previously said
traits could indeed be seen from the denizens of the Philippines, in my own
humble opinion, the most important of them all is the Filipino patriotism and
solidarity.
I can support this humble claim of
mine through my own personal experience. In terms of solidarity, I have a very
interesting story to tell. Do you remember the previous year, month of
November, a catastrophe like no other before, devastated the Philippines. It
was known as the Tropical Storm Haiyan, or locally known as Super Storm
Yolanda. Maybe some of you have heard the news of the destruction it created,
and some of you may have donated relief goods, right? Just from this act, we
can already see how we Filipinos help each other. But there is something that
makes me different from the rest of you, and that is because I was there when
it happened. The day before the storm, we were so calm. We had this naïve idea
that, “It’s just another storm, no big deal.” We thought as such, and we’ve
never been so wrong.
The torrents
of rain were like waterfalls that covered the outside world with an illusion of
white. The lounge was flooded, the furniture were soaked and people were
complaining. By that time, over 100 evacuees were present in a stuffy cafeteria.
Although it was hot, at least they were safe. Meanwhile, I just stood next to
the window observing the so called super storm. For a long time, I only saw the
never-ending rain, flying branches, flying leaves everywhere! Then suddenly
there was a flying tricycle. I’m not kidding. There really was a flying
tricycle!
A
short while after my stunned state upon seeing the flying tricycle, not too far
from our dorm, I can barely make out the silhouette of a man in prone position.
He was crawling his way to our building. So I immediately notified my dorm
mates, and together, we rushed out and brought the person, who turned out to be
an old man, to the safety of the dorm. The poor old man was shivering from the
cold, so what we did was give him a set of clothes, a thick blanket and, a hot
bowl of soup. When he finished the meal, he gazed at us with a gratified look,
and with a bright and genuine smile, he said “Salamat mga apo”. My heart burst
forth with emotion as it filled with a sense of fulfillment. It was because I
was able to do something meaningful with this life. At that moment, I proved
deep inside my heart that The Filipino solidarity is genuine and true to its
most fundamental sense.
With
solidarity, comes our love for our people, and our love for our own, developed into
a natural sense of patriotism. We, the citizens of our glorious nation,
Philippines, are born with courage and utterly defied the dominion of others.
The ancestors of our past desired freedom, and freedom they achieved. Through
countless battles and innumerable sacrifice. They disregarded their own safety
as they cleaved the path to independence. Here is an excerpt from Carlos P.
Romulo’s “I am Filipino”:
“I am Filipino
Born of
Freedom ---
Freedom
for Myself,
My
children, and
My
children’s children ---
Forever”
So
now, let’s go back to my first question. Do I have what it takes to be a
Filipino? My proud answer to that is of course, YES. In terms of physical
appearance, well look at me, don’t tell me I don’t look like a Filipino to you.
Just like any other Filipino, I value my family, I help the unfortunate, I am
sort of creative and resourceful, but most of all, I truly and deeply love my
country, the Philippines.
So to
end my speech, I want to declare to you and to the world. I stand tall and
proud and never shall I deny that I am Filipino.
In all honesty, the person I
consider my closest friend in Asia Pacific College is Mr. Andrey Bryan Buzon.
The day we first met was at the first day of classes. During the surprise
activity of Ms. Joei that required us to introduce the person next to us,
Andrey’s introduction by Vince caught my attention. It was mentioned that he
lived in Bahrain for more than a few years.
Ever since the start of my new
college life, I’ve been hanging out with friends constantly when in school and
in going home. One of these friends of mine is a person who grew up mostly in
Japan. His name is Vincent Junior Huliganga. You can find out more about him
through his blog (huligangavincent.blogspot.com).
Before I discovered light novels, I’ve only ever read short
stories that interested me in my elementary and high school English books. One
of the stories I remember is “The 51st Dragon”, which is about
Gawain Le Coeur Hardy and his legendary dragon slaying skills, but
unfortunately, it was implied that he was killed by the 51st dragon
he encountered. Funny story right? Another one I remember is a short story
entitled, “Creation of the World”. It seems this was the English translated
version of the story about Malakas and Maganda. I assume you already know the
story so I’m not going to summarize it for you. Haha!
