Diletante Escritor

–also posted on Hit-or-Miss

Philippines was “sold” by the Spaniards to the Americans many years back and then and there the Filipinos have learned and became fluent in the English language.

The English language is known as the universal language. It is the common language which every single earthling should know to be able to communicate to the entire world. But there are still plenty of countries that are not knowledgeable about the English language. It’s evident in the Miss Universe pageants. The representative from Japan needed a translator to be able to understand the judge’s question.

English speaking countries are very lucky to have their national language as a standard for communication in the entire globe. In our case, we might consider such skill to be a blessing. Most non-English speaking foreigners come to our shores to learn the English language. For this year and last year, I have seen a significant number of Koreans in all four corners of the world I move in. At first, it was a shock for me. But eventually, I got so used to seeing at least five Koreans every school day.

Our capability to speak in English also lures Americans and other English speaking nationalities. I really don’t know what they are all doing in the Philippines. Perhaps they have started a new family here with a Filipino or are just on a vacation. Seeing Philippines as a paradise, $1 is equivalent to P40+ plus they won’t have a problem communicating with us. The foreigners contribute a bit to our economy, which if you ask me doesn’t completely make me happy. I am earning dollars online and if the exchange rate between the dollar and peso goes down, my earnings also go down. But, just ignore my sentiments. I am but one Filipino only, part of the public, a group of people who the government here does not give a damn sh*t about. Ok, please totally ignore what I just said.

Anyway, I had always wondered if being fluent in English really did any good to us and if the process of learning English before (as if the Philippines had a choice) was all worth the time. Such skill gave some Filipinos an opportunity to work abroad and leave their families behind. But some of them don’t always get a fairy tale ending. Some end up having their families broken simply because of the distance, just to be able to survive or to improve their financial status.

I was once proud of myself for being fluent in English at such a young age. You see, when my father conversed to me back then, he would often speak to me in English. In effect, I learned the language easier and faster. But the drawback was I sucked in my own national language. I hardly ever understood Filipino. I knew the basics but my grammar was bad and I can’t speak Tagalog well. I felt the disadvantage when my grades in the Filipino subject were unsatisfactory and when I played a major role in a Filipino play we did in high school. It was hard to memorize and speak something I hardly understood.

It is a fact that everything always has advantages and disadvantages. In my case, I have seen both sides. If you ask me, I’m happy to be able to write this post in English but would be afraid to translate this into Filipino. It’s a shame not to know a lot about my own national language. Overall, I’m not proud of myself because I can’t converse well in Tagalog. Don’t get me wrong. I learned English because I was more exposed to it than to any other language. But if I were to choose, I would have preferred learning Filipino and English at the same time.

So is being fluent in English a blessing or not?

What’s hot and what’s not. We follow what we see in the media. Televisions are filled with superficial stuff that makes an impossible standard. Long and straight hair, white complexion, thin body, the list goes on. Everybody is struggling to be perfect only to end up broke or even worse, have their lives ruined.

It’s so silly actually, Filipinas still find time to worry about their looks when in fact our country is facing a much bigger dilemma compared to having a huge pimple on the face. Women save money for a whitening soap but ignore the poor beggar girl on the street. A mother goes gaga over a new line of mineral make up and forgets to buy food for her children back at home. Ok I think the last one is a bit exaggerated but you get the point.

So is it really wrong to try to look good? I never said no, right? I even think it’s appropriate to take care of yourself, including your looks. It’s the very first thing people judge if they see you, so why not make a good first impression? You must practice good hygiene and posture. Wear clean clothes and make sure you brush your teeth at least twice everyday. But we get very envious of that girl we saw at the mall. She has a very fair complexion and she looks like a model in an ad! And now we look at ourselves, and suddenly we feel down for not having the same complexion. Insecurity sinks in and we are drowned by sorrow and self pity. Eventually we find ourselves saying, “I’m not pretty enough.”

Personally, I have stopped buying magazines. First, because whatever tips those magazines can give, I can find them in the web. Second, I’d prefer to buy myself some food than a copy of a magazine. And third, I don’t like their models. Just like any other form of media, the magazine also imposes an impossible standard. In other words, I get insecure when I get myself a magazine. It makes me feel bad and sorry for myself.

So instead of joining along the bandwagon, I chose to go my own path. I rarely watch television and as much as possible, I avoid advertisements during breaks. I ignore what people say about me (i.e. too thin, dark skin, etc.) and I try not to compare myself with others. The whole avoiding thing gets easier actually, only if you surround yourself with the things you like and do the things you love doing and you are good at.

Sadly, some people couldn’t get away from it easily. I know I’m not alone when I wanted to change my views pertaining to this topic, but there are factors that affect everything. Fortunately, I’m not in a private school (Everything is easy when you are not rich enough, you are forced to accept things the way they are.), I’m not surrounded with overly superficial people and I know that if I joined the trend, I will of course look better, but I know I will never be contented and I would keep on wanting for more, thus will lead me to have a miserable life.

Blame it all on the media and the stupid beauty industry. They are in it for our money that’s why they have to try to hit us hard.

1. Make money.
2. Share things that I know.
3. Rant about things.
4. Improve writing skills.
5. Make some friends.
6. Sick of Friendster and Multiply.
7. Make the most out of our internet connection.
8. Have nothing else to do this summer.
9. Distract myself from problems and heart ache.
10. Try something new.
11. Challenge myself (i.e. gain constant readers and maintain my blogs’ existence).
12. Pour out my frustrations and opinion on things.
13. Make the most out of my brain cells.
14. Try to be productive.
15. Learn what other people think about my posts (i.e. comments).
16. It’s something my friends are not into yet. I sometimes dare to be different.
17. Establish a possible source of income.
18. Share things that I’m interested in.
19. Improve my typing skills.
20. Distract myself from my own imperfections.
21. Because my kuya (older brother) told me so. And I’m glad he did.