Divide the mats by two

This story by Arcellana is about the tragic loss of a father's three daughters. In the beginning, the story itself is not revealed wholly however, little by little it unfolds. It would talk about the simple joys and happy moments that the family would have together and coined the term pasalubong as the father always returns home with something to give his loved ones. It gives us a glimpse of what we could empathize with as the story rolls on actually, but what saddened me was the moment the mats were being used in the story. it was a very sad moment when i was reading the story as sentiments were poured more and more into it. then by the end of the story, regrets were blooming one after another as the completion of the whole story began to emerge from it and showcasing the term of "sayang".

Needless to say, its true that people like to keep living on as if nothing has changed. Its a creepy thing if you ask me actually, but it can't be helped since it is better that way than seeing people talking more about someone who has moved on. To me, i've always believed in death as important part of our lives like how would we be when we died? Will our heart move on in others? will we be remembered by the people who really knew us? will we influence a change in the world we lived in? all these things have always been in my head since as far as i can remember. nevertheless, legacies are formed when we die and it is those memories that make a change in the world that needs to keep changing.



The next story, "divide by two" is about a feud over land. we can see throughout the story the stress and degenerating relationship between the characters as the story goes on. It's main plot revolves around the problem over the few inches of lot that sparked the wick in the relationship of the characters. In a way, simple as it maybe, it's very remarkable to see that a spotlight can bring about so much life into a small section of life that many people fail to notice but happens everyday in the world.

In the movie anger management, Jack Nicholson's character explains that there are two kinds of angry people, explosive and implosive. Explosive is the guy screaming at the cashier to get his change so that he can go on his merry way, implosive is the guy who weighs bags they in and day out and counts the money in the cashier then slowly brings out the shotgun hidden in the counter and decides to shoot everyone in the store and calmly leaves the place. There are times that we really can't take things anymore especially when we bury alot of angst towards alot of things like work, people, and even simple things like the car, the house and even bills that need paying. but if there is one thing that i learned in my life is that it is better to feel sad than angry even if the latter feels better. but to cause harm to others is in no way healthy in anyway. maturity demands of this as we are constantly surrounded by kids of different ages. even people in their 20's can be considered kids. in cases like this, it good to be prepared by tempering our anger with wisdom. that is the harder challenge.

Taking a dive into Filipino Lit

It's amazing how we have so much influence from western cultures that even our own perspectives as filipinos have become such. It is amazing that even some of us are becoming impoverished by our own filipino heritage and even, on rare occasions, our integrity through the influences of western culture that we sometimes forget that we are of this country. The books that we read make us who we are and tells us a little of how we perceive our own beliefs...through a looking glass so to speak. The intent of changing who we are is dependent on the things that we feed our minds and supposedly adds quality to what makes us frankly us. To my dismay, i feel that we fall short on some ends sometimes when it comes to wondering if we are really filipino since the rise of neo-colonialism that made us dependent on other cultures especially american culture. This is reflected with the things that we wear, eat, speak, and even listen and read in our daily lives.
i myself admit that i fall prey to liking other things more than my own local surroundings and even sometimes ashamed that the notion of being proud of being a filipino is hypocritical as my stand point does not appear as one who is proud of being one. But it is a breath of fresh air to peer into the waters of filipino literature and to dive into the writings of luminous aspects of many underestimated and hidden talents that radiates the brilliance that our culture has to offer.

My Father Goes to Court is a story about two families that live two different lives. One family is financially stable but unhappy and the other is not so financially well-off but lives happilly treating it as their wealth. Later on they are accused of stealing wealth and happiness from the other as they feel weakened from the idea that the happy family seems more well-off than the financially stable one. In this story, the author Bulosan shows us a window into the characteristics that makes us filipino: simple, light-hearted and family-oriented. The idea of being hospitable showcases that we welcome others as we spread joy and happiness through generousity and well-being of others. It exposes the idea that we as filipinos have a trait of being able to brighten a dark situation and that we help by shedding light to other people as well by accepting others into our groups to make one happy one too.

“How my Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” is a story about Baldo, a young provincial boy driving his brother and his wife home. A simple witty narrative that takes to account the qualities of our culture. Arguilla’s depiction on our society journeys us to a trip to the countryside that opens little windows in our culture. it showcases our family oriented nature as well as its uncommon want to change. It has become a trademark in our culture that our elders are traditional and that family is our priority at all times and that change is a somewhat integral habit that is minded at a very subtle rate.

Filipino values...hmm...to be honest, my life is a constant struggle between being a traditional filipino and a radical one. In a way it is a serene chaotic beauty of which its complexities constantly crash into one another and everyday i find new things(beliefs, perspectives etc...) that i regularly need to ponder on in order to maintain the balance in my momentum based way of living. You see, my father's side is a very traditional filipino family and change is like a mountain that they'd rather look upon and wonder at rather than explore and conquer and my mother's side is a revolution of constant wild continuities...basically they're total opposites. With me, it's impossible to be on one side because it's like the balance that justice or libra hold in her hand, if one side becomes to heavy, the whole thing collapses. When it comes to filipino values, its very difficult for me to know what are all the filipino values that need to be minded, so instead i try to make the most of what i know how..it's hard for me to see the shades of what true filipino values are except to be respectful, kind, and generous to others...the family-orientation is still quite a mystery to me because its very vague for me to know where my loyalties lie...since my parents are separated and i inherited most of my mother's characteristics but i've been living with my father most of my life.

I'd definitely agree that filipinos are christian truly and even sometimes too christian like there is no more room for any other idea despite what some would say really. Even though i can say that there are alot who insist on the idea that christianity is the leading pillar to our being hospitable, i would still believe that the standpoint on being christian isn't the reason for why we are that way. It's kinda sad though to know that the religion is being used as a mental crutch but who am i to judge people on what they believe in. To me, i still stand by the idea that being too christian isn't really a bad thing..i mean, if it makes them happy then that satisfies my perspective about them.

As Filipinos, there is no doubt in my mind that we are very hospitable. I remember this one time i went to a friend's birthday party. He 's usually the type who keeps to himself, doesn't really befriend the whole world type of person, but surprisingly, i will never forget the small act of kindness he did that day. there were these foreigners that i knew who were planning to greet a friend at the party, when they arrived they were greeted by the celebrant with open arms and offered food drinks and many other sorts of comfort. i guess it just goes to show that we can never turn away from our being filipino.