Why It Feels Great To Be Pinoy
Now, don’t even get me started on why I should be listing down reasons I can’t be proud about my country instead, but I have been tagged by Jonas and asked to do just as the title says. I believe the original context of the game is to enumerate three signs that are happening now that makes one proud to be Filipino, but it’s easier to give out traits which should help us pull through as they always have. Talk about being optimistic.
I call them the three F’s.
1. Family. We are so closely knit, we can always look to someone’s support when all things go awry. Our sense of family extends farther out beyond bloodlines. Reason why Ms. Philippines will be Most Photogenic at Ms. Universe for the nth time (thanks to internet voting. I learned we have already a total of 7 of these awards, 5 of which were gathered from online votes.)
2. Fun. We know how to party, we know how to treat our friends right, we enjoy life despite the hardships. And we know how to laugh at our silly selves. We generally acknowledge that life is a gift, and that it is good.
3. Faith. Expressed in all forms. It doesn’t even have to manifest as a religion, or recognize the divine. We believe in something, and when we do, we are passionate about it.
I’m not sure if the following are into memes like this, but I’m curious about what they know, but which I have failed to see (so that I could not answer what was really asked for). I’m tagging Ramil, Leylander, Sajid, Estanli, an2net, Massa P., Jane, Martin, badoodles, and Tingting.
This seems like one interesting mix! 
Grateful Sunday
Rain.Friends.
Smiles.
Love.
Dreams.
Sunshine.
Wind.
Joy.
BlueSky.
Tears.
Words.
Reasons.
People.
Life.
YOU.
Just counting my blessings.
A text message received from a friend this morning.
I’m off to church…
Comments on Philippine Education
I haven’t updated this site until now, as I’ve been kept busy by an OFW brother who was on vacation recently. (He has acquired British citizenship but works in New York, so that does qualify him as an OFW still, doesn’t it? Ang gulo!)
Distraction out, I have yet to recover and get warmed up again to blogging. But a comment from broadcast journalist Adrian Ayalin got me checking out his newer entries, and the article on naked out-of-school youth protests did strike a chord. I was in my alma mater’s student council for some time. This topic deserves a better treatment, but you’ll have to forgive if I just give a rundown of random thoughts. Forgive my title, too. My mind still lingers on the pasalubong chocolate and designer watch. Kalat.
To my knowledge, we have yet to have a Magna Carta of Students to define and guide over the issue on existence and breadth of the right to accessible education and its balance with the educational institutions’ necessary academic freedoms. Students are finding it harder to get and maintain an education, as yearly tuition fee increases by 10% may be too prohibitive for most. It could be higher for some schools, particularly private tertiary institutions as the Commission on Higher Education has suspended its own directives which limit these hikes. Schools, on their part, need to raise in order to survive and keep up with the demands of an supposedly progressive system.
