What is Home without Mother?

Unlike other nationalities, the Filipino family almost always stays together. We are affectionate and passionate at the same time. When someone reaches 18 years old or something to that number, you are considered an adult and are most of the time expected to be independent. When a foreigner reaches this age, he or she normally moves out of the house and begins his or her life.
Filipino families however, stick together. I am in one of those families. I am 24 years old, still in school, still living at home and am proud to say that i love being at home. I love my parents and my brother and sister.
In a normal Filipino family, it may seem that the father is the head of the family and controls everything; but in truth, the mother controls the family. Children often run to mom when there is trouble, they run to mom for advice and mom takes care of everything.
Remembering an experience from back across the years, i remember when i failed 1st year highschool after the countless promises of teachers that i would make it but didn’t anyway, mom came to me and hugged me. Then as we were walking out of school, one of the higher ranked teachers who also happened to be my adviser and counsellor in school went up to us and said “congratulations Mrs. Dueñas, i heard that Martin did very well!”. I will never forget that day, not only did he say those lines i will never forget the look in my mother’s face, the eyes that stared at him as if boring holes into his very soul made him realize his grave mistake. And just like that he looked away and left. The aura that my mom portrayed was both beautiful and ferocious and is indescribable. Magnificence! My mother has that and will always have that!

Don't Give Up

Life goes on for people no matter what. So many people especially teenagers who experiences their first break up go into so much despair. However in the story Love in the Cornhusks, Tinay goes on with life by getting married and living on even after her lover disappeared without notice. She moves on as if nothing had happened until that faithful day wherein she receives a letter from Amado and his reasons for leaving so quickly, she lets down her guard in the corn husks and her thoughts begin to drift. We are like her in a way. If something like this happens, most of the time we would fall into a trance and begin to reminisce of the past.
When the snake that approaches her baby appears, she gets her guard back up and realizes that she has more important things in life to do than reminisce of a lover who left her in the dark.
The snake in this story will come; the baby does not necessarily need to be a real baby but perhaps something that would wake us up from what we were doing wrong. However, whenever we fall down whether it is love or something else, we should never give up. Life should go on.
Now, in the story The Choral, love is blind. Yes that line is cliché however it is true. You see, Filipino’s are not exactly the richest people in the world and we tend to fall for people who have money. This is what I have experienced personally and what I have seen by research and through other points of view. Most Filipinas who grew up not so well off, have odd jobs, tend to fall for the foreigners and other rich folk who adore them so much. Filipinas are often branded as exotic women to foreigners. Take a look at the real world and ask yourself, where do these men pick up such “exotic” women? Where else of course? Bars, clubs, services, public beaches and the like.
Filipinas and Filipinos alike, when we fall in love or go into a relationship, we are known to be faithful until the end. In short, when we find a mate, we will try and stay with him or her till the end. In the story The Choral, Pilar does something of the similar. She is with a rich man who adores her and loves her but she stumbles upon a man in her who came from a similar background and realizes that her heart needs someone like him. However, she continues to go on with her life of riches and stability rather than breaking everything up and going for a life of happiness. It is sad but this really happens in life.