10 - Do I Have What it Takes to be a Filipino?

Do you have what it takes to be a Filipino? There's no denying that all of us here have the same Filipino blood, but does that prove that we're Filipino? A lot of people don't know what it means to be a Filipino. Before I answer that question, I'm going to talk about the two things. First is the qualities of a Filipino and then I'll explain why we should be proud to be Filipinos. After that, I'll answer the question.

           
 Filipinos have a lot of positive traits that makes them stand out of other nationalities. These traits have been passed down from generation to generation. These traits are the exact meaning of what a Filipino should be. 

            
Filipinos has a strong relationship to their families. We see the importance and the value of each member of the family. We see it regardless if they are young or old. Even though their children already has children of their own, they don't put their parents in nursing homes. In our family, my grandfather decided built a three storey house so that his three children would live together with them even after they have their own family. Filipinos do really care for their family.

           
 A remarkable quality of a Filipino is his capacity to endure problems and hardships. For instance,  the long suffering  they endured during the many colonization in the Philippines back then. Even now, there were a lot of typhoons that Philippines experienced. Even today, we always show that we can face our problems without giving up. My father told me that when he was at my age, they didn't have money for them to study in school. But did that stop him? No. He worked hard everyday,  He worked at the morning and go to school at night. Now his more successful  than he thought he could be. This shows that we Filipinos can endure anything that comes in our way.

            

We Filipinos have strong respect to our elders. We practice saying " Po" and "Opo" to people who are older or has higher position than us. I'm guilty that I don't use it to my parents and grandparents. Even though I seldom say those, I still show respect to them by taking their advices or doing what they told me to do. Respect for the older ones won't be removed in our culture.

Why should we be proud to be called "Filipinos" ? In the poem " I am Filipino" written by Carlos P. Romulo, there is a stanza that says, " In my blood runs the immortal seeds of heroes. Seeds that bloomed down the centuries. In deeds of courage and defiance. In my veins runs the same hot blood that led our forefathers in battle. Against alien foes, against foreign oppressors , with courage and defiance." Our ancestors displayed the very meaning of being a Filipino. They showed that we Filipinos are united as one, no matter what the situation is. We should be proud that we are the seeds that bloomed from their hard work and perseverance.

            

My answer would be yes. Even though we have some foreign blood that runs in our veins, the traits we show to the world are the very reason that we should be called Filipinos.