Written by: Jana Mykaela J. Merin
I use the word ‘Filipino’ not as a noun, but as an adjective.
In my country the Philippines, we are certified cultural detectives. Even just a single drop of Filipino blood leads us to think that you belong within our homes and are welcome into our
hearts. Your life is intertwined with our soulful heritage; fanned against you by the blowing wind is the breath of our ancestors, just like with the ‘abanikos’ handcrafted with love by the ladies of Lumban. Shame is not a word known in our vocabulary, from parades in your honor to billboards for college acceptances, you are known because you are loved. Mountains are not uninhabited lonely sites, but places we would gladly scream your news to the world at the top
of our fervent lungs.
I am not a careful being, in fact most Filipinos aren’t. We are passionate chasers of liberty and our hands are rough against the rice fields we man. We are hard workers against the scorching
heat that glaze our tan skin and dry out its moisture. Though despite the pain of the blazing sun, we believe that it doesn’t matter because nevertheless there is light. The sun is a symbol on our flag that represents unity and freedom, a glaring difference in contrast to what we countrymen live through today. I think that our known quality of hospitality stems from our belief in this. For equality is shared between us mortals because we live under one same star. It
goes without saying that between our etched palms, sunburnt foreheads, and aching feet, we have developed perseverance to endure the sun because without it our hearts grow cold. The
Philippines is a tropical country and we long for the seasons that bloom and fall, yet we’ve grown accustomed to murky pools of dirt with rain, and dried inflamed fields from heat to ease
our sorrows. Granted upon us is the power of great strength that we admire as we live through our days as people of the Sun.
Similarly, I believe that the depths of the ocean are incomparable to the way a Filipino shows immeasurable love. I say this not because I am prideful, but because I have belief in what my culture has shown me. We do not just ask, we choose to show our dedication through an act of sincerity; through what is called– making ‘ligaw’. There is often a sense of community in making one’s affection known to the other. A row of companions lined up on a street and by their utmost devotion are accomplices to this rite of passage. He often stands there upon the dewy blades of grass, holding his guitar and starts serenading Her. With this, he starts making ‘harana’ : the Filipino way of melody as a net to capture your heart. We flow through life despite the currents and are unified despite the isle of man. The sea is as endless as our aspiring pursuits and on the Philippine flag, the color blue symbolizes truth and justice, matters that disperse through our grasp like the water that pools on our palms and seeps through. As an archipelago, we do not swim through these life-like waters to discover something new, we swim because we know there is always an isle on the other side no matter what. We are a united body of water spread across generations that contain secrets we deny for
life to move forward. We have depth, yet there our times our attitudes may falter and appear shallow, but all in all we strive to connect and yearn to be as free as the ocean-riddled shores.
We are uncontained figures of motion that crash into rocks within our reefs yet we continue to live as the people of the Sea.
I always wondered if the word ‘brazen’ was applicable to the Filipino resilience I grew to recognize as I got older. Are the bold counterparts of my mythological heroes in fantasy psalms
really just bloodshot vigilantes that roam the streets of Manila in reality? Red is a color that adorns our national flag, yet also stains our nation with the hue of our veins in the historical succession of the ages. There is fear and destruction that plague our every day, and the stain in Philippine history blind us in an endless cycle as we live. They say that you can see the world through rose-tinted glasses but I find that our eyes have been shielded from the truth with the
much darker tint of blood and an even more hindered view. We should not be condemned by our courage, but rather uplifted by the spirit of the free. A sad truth, but our nation has become a barrier in achieving intellectual freedom, unbiased reasoning, and a state of unified people through the fool’s paradise we still put ourselves to live through. My statement is not an attack on the Filipino people, but rather a reflection of our faults and the mindset that still brings us to ruin. I do not want the color of red to represent violence, but rather it be an expression of our bravery that fights for change. We continuously fight brazenly against the unprincipled and the deceitful as people of the Revolution.
Now as I have stated at the beginning of this narrative, to be ‘Filipino’ is an adjective, not a noun. I have fallen in love with my cultural identity because we are multifaceted. We are persevering workers at times, yet we can also be shallow personas in the next. To be ‘Filipino’ means you are human, you have faults yet you strive for change. It is definitive of being who you are despite imperfection. I am not ashamed of my roots, but I am accepting of the deficiencies we have that eat at the fabric of our cultural threshold. In doing so, I have learned to express this by finding groups that empathize with me as well. In joining the organization of All The Same, I have learned that I am included, accepted, and understanding of what my
culture truly means to me. ‘Filipino’ as an adjective defines being imperfect, yet at its very heart we are souls that encompass the sun’s light, possess the depth of the sea, and set to
revolutionize our modern times.
There is a quote that I feel builds upon this, it goes ‘Pilipinas, ang hirap mong mahalin.’
(Philippines, you are so difficult to love).
Nevertheless, I accept all the qualities that embody being a Filipino. I choose to love being one. Be it lacking capabilities or courageous possibilities, I choose to be recognized as ‘Filipino’ no matter how imperfect it may be seen as. We may be viewed as less because of how we look or the state of our country, but what most do not have that we do is the strength and openness of the heart. You can be ‘Filipino’ by being honest and strong despite your faults and your sins, because by being one you also know that a new beginning waits for you because you choose to love. We are not perfect, nowhere near so, but we reflect humanity and the ordinary mistakes
that we make, what’s sensible is our drive to rise above it.
For it is only with faults that there’s a chance for change, you should strive to be imperfect. Strive to be Filipino.