This is my answer to the call of promoting Filipina to the World Wide Web. I get to answer a lot of queries why I am proud of being a Filipino, and I ask them back, why would I not be proud to be one? I guess this is the effect of the best and worst traits we, Filipinos have… and it is to talk and talk and talk and talk, even if some of the topics are not worth sharing.. we do share it and love to flaunt stuff to others.. even if they are already negative ones. Maybe we just don’t care how other people from other nations would think about us and it also keeps depression at bay knowing that another person knows our misery.. thus Filipinos have a low suicidal rate but have a higher rate on the number of rallies, hey we even invented People power remember?

Since a lot of us are efficient in using the English language in communicating whether verbally or in writing, we are the most heard of by the world, considering that we are being likened to Chinese who are visible in almost every country on Earth. Almost all Filipinos living outside the Philippines would like to get a glimpse of how their country is doing, it makes them feel a bit connected in a way and each situation that makes noise is an added agenda after every Pinoy meal time.

I have a lot of friends who are married to foreigners and since I have observed that marrying one has become a hype to a lot of Filipina, I pity my Filipino boys for some are finding them less of a marrying type. When you search the word Filipina in the internet, what will come out are mostly Filipina dating sites. I am thankful though for the works of Filipino bloggers who have started a trend in promoting the words Filipina and Filipino the best way possible. I join them in the quest to let the world see that there is more to being a Filipina than the desire to look for a parter who is living overseas. No offense meant to those who have a very successful relationship to their foreign partners, because I too have a lot of friends and relatives even who are married to Americans, Australians and Europeans.

So what do I think is the essence of being a Filipina? What comes to my mind are the different Filipino women whom I have admired and adored all these years and I have noted some of their values and traits that I have also tried to adapt in my life.

Sharon Cuneta – I love her since I was a child, I have always been a kid who is fascinated with the glitz and glamour of showbiz and Sharon proved to be worthy of my admiration. She is strong and independent.

KC Concepcion – Ohh.. this girl rocks, I love her hippie free spirited attitude in life and her passion to promote her Filipino heritage in Paris was surely a big plus that she earned my admiration as well. Her current involvement in United Nations as an Ambassadress and her passion to make kids smile and laugh made me say.. this kid surely is worthy to be respected.

Maria Clara Lobregat – Our former mayor here in Zamboanga City is mostly remembered for being the woman who never tire of wearing the national dress of Maria Clara (yeah.. same as her name) anywhere.. even at home. She is a woman powerful and yet so motherly, sweet and yet so strong willed.

Sister Eppie Brasil – She is the nun that I most admire at the moment, I got to know a lot of how to pray while working thru her talks. Thru her I learned how to live a contemplative life. She is intelligent and prayerful.

Mikee Cojuangco – Oh.. I have always dreamed of owning a horse, thus my interest in the life of Mikee Cojuangco began when I was still a teenager. I saw her as very sporty, humble, smart and family oriented person.

Charlene Gonzales – She is someone I admire when it comes to hosting, and since she has become the host of he Proudy Filipina show in QTV channel, it even strengthened my admiration to her. She strikes me as a person who is very balance, her face is an image of serenity and contentment in life.

Lucy Torres and Sarah Meier – two Filipina models whose poise I have always loved. They strike me as soft, sweet and private. They were able to maintain a quite life even if they are both the most sought after cover girls of the magazine.

Dawn Zulueta and Margarita Moran - they have always been staunch promoters of Mindanao. They showed their pride of being residents of the South. They love the rural way of living and their people. Most people in the internet don’t know that there is more to the Philippines than the city of Manila.

Lea Salonga – she was a former student of my mom in Montessori and every student then were idolizing there.. everybody knew she will be big someday and surely she did become one. She is world class.

Thus from the list of my admired Filipina I therefore conclude that the true essence of being a Filipina is a woman who is strong, independent, generous, free-spirited, hardworking, loving, motherly, family-oriented, proud of their heritage, world class, balance in life, humble, kind and most of all beautiful inside and out.

These are just a short list of the people I admire.. I plan to continue this and add more to the list as the months and even years go by. Promoting the true essence of a Filipina (as a blogger) will now be one of my missions in life and I will surely be glad if it will become yours too.

I AM YOLYNNE AND I AM A PROUD PINAY… BECAUSE WE ARE ONE OF A KIND!!!

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