by: Mila Claire Nufable, Michele Nudque, Julie Ann Claire Nique

The hundreds of years of colonization in the Philippines yields to a country where different cultures, beliefs, qualities, and identities exist in one place. Despite the influences caused by the colonizers, we Filipinos still have the unique identities that set us apart from the others. One of the traits of Filipinos is the love of memes, and through it, we can show our positive identities.

Smile: The Curve of Hope

Filipinos are labeled to be happy-go-lucky people. Our smiles are brighter than the sun and our energies seem to not be going down. We tend to show everyone how positive and joyful we are in our life.

Displaying happiness in front of people not just in the best moments of our lives but also during the worst point of it is very natural to us Filipinos. We still managed to smile and laugh after being devastated by various calamities, failing an exam or job interview, being injured and losing a game. This is not because we are happy that these situations happened to us but it is because this is the only way to show that we can still cope up and fight again for life. Despite all the odds and problems in our lives, we Filipinos remain to be positive about it. We can always see lights even in the darkest episode of our lives. We smile because there is hope inside of us, that at the end of the day we will be alright and will stand up again.

Hospitality: The Love that Makes You Feel at Home

Hospitality is probably one of the trademarks of being a true-blooded Filipino. Our kindness and fun company can draw many people’s hearts. Foreigners would always come back here in the Philippines not just because of the astonishing places and appetizing food we have but because of how we warmly welcome and treat them. We allow both our local and foreign visitors to feel very comfortable as if they are at home.

We Filipinos tend to give our very best to impress our guests, may they are close in our hearts or not. There are so many preparations done before and upon the arrival of our visitors. Our homes would unexpectedly be in its cleanest state and decorated with attractive ornaments. New kinds of stuff that we have never seen and utilized inside the house will be brought into use such as utensils, bedding, clothes, and many more. A variety of mouth-watering meals cooked from high-quality and expensive ingredients that we seldom and never had would be served in our tables. We will spend a lot of money and effort until nothing is left to us, ensuring that our visitors will leave satisfied and happy. Seeing our guests satisfied with the accommodation we rendered to them gives us a sense of fulfillment.

Overall, let us foster our rich and fascinating culture and continue to show the world how amazing we are. Let us be proud of our identities because these are the things that identify us as a real Filipino.