True Filipino

Note: Maybe you’re thinking why I wrote this entry in English but the title is True Filipino. Shouldn’t I write this in tagalog? The reason is this is that not all Filipinos out there knows how to speak and understand tagalog.

Are you a true Filipino? Have you ever asked yourself this? There are many times that I actually ask myself of this question. It kept bugging me because as you can see now in our society, not all of us are really Filipino by heart.

Look around you. What can you hear or see? You may see imported products. Look at yourself, you could be wearing the latest Korean fashion or the hottest Japanese gadget. You could be listening to the newest American song right now. Now, ask yourself, what’s wrong with this? Well, nothing’s wrong about it if you still can’t forget that you’re a Filipino, but no are actually acting now as Koreans, Japanese or Americans. Why? Because they think that these races are cool and it’s better to be them than to be a Filipino. Well they’re wrong. They can’t never change who they are. Even if you cut your hair and dress yourself like the other races, you can never be them. I guess some of you that’s reading this is doing these things.

Another is the latest music. Do you ever know Eraserheads, Imelda Papin or Apo Hiking Society? No? What a shame. These names are one of the biggest in the Filipino music or OPM. You could be listening now to the songs of 2ne1, Jay Sean or Fahrenheit. Again, there’s nothing wrong about this. While I’m writing this one, the one that’s currently playing in my netbook is SEOUL by SNSD and Super Junior. Amazing right? Here I am writing about being a true Filipino yet listening to the music of the other nationalities. Yes, I like K-Pop and Chinese songs. But I know my limitations. I know I still have to patronize OPM because this song is written for us Filipinos. We are one of the best playmakers of the world, one of the best when it comes to music. We have to listen to Filipino modern songs while coping up with the world.

Another is the way we act. I know that in the first part of this entry, I’ve already mentioned about this but here, I would add emphasis to this. One time, during our Filipino class, our teacher asked us, “Kapag nasasaktan kayo, ano ba ang sinasabi niyo? Sa tingin ko ay ouch o aw. Hindi ba tama ako? (If you’re hurt, what do you say? I think ouch or aw)”. I was astounded on what he said. How many times was I hurt and yet I usually say ouch. There are times on when I can say agay or aray but still this made me think a lot. Yes, whether we say it aloud or not, most of us are acting like the other nationalities. Right now, we usually follow and dress up like Koreans, Japanese, Chinese and Americans. Wake up people!! WE.CAN.NEVER.BE.LIKE.THEM! UNDERSTAND?

Why are some of us ashamed of being a Filipino? We should be proud right? Maybe we don’t know it but there are some Filipinos that really excel in their fields. They say that one of the best races in the world are the Filipinos. I really agree about that. So Please, people! people! If you’re a Filipino, be proud! Stand high!