That's because I'm a Filipino

Last week, my friend brought my 2 years old godson to our basketball game. It was around eight in the dim evening when he came with his son in a small blue bike. I was taking a rest, sitting down where I used to. The venue was an outdoor basketball court in the middle of a 2 wall of 30 story buildings. After a couple of minutes, we went back in the game. Now with my friend and a Chinese guy who joined us after playing alone for sometime on the other side of the court.

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My friend's son, which is also my godson, met two kids in a nearby park who were also riding a bike. All three of them had similar bike designs, a regular front and back wheel except the back wheel had 2 smaller wheels to support the rider's lack of balance.
As for me and my friend, we were dominating in the court. Playing 5 on 5, me, my godson's friend, the Chinese guy and two other buddies.
I was playing SG and the tall Chinese dude and my friend was taking care of the inside play.

I came to the play ball around five in the afternoon and already had three games before the game we are currently playing. Unfortunately, at the end of the night I only played 3 1/2 games. In the middle of the game, a light shower started. At first we thought it was just water from the air-conditioners from the flats above but then it became slightly heavier. We decided to postpone the game the game and hoped the shower would stop and wouldn't wet the court.

At first, we were hopeful that it would stop. But it didn't. The Chinese guy invited us to move to an indoor court nearby and so we started walking. We decided we can't play on the previous court since it was too wet to play. As we started walking, the Chinese guy suggested that my friend bring his son home wherein I replied, "The kid's a Filipino, No Problem".

He laughed.

What amazes me is that ,We, Filipino's are a proud bunch yet sometimes we forget why. A lot of times I use the reply "Nah, No Problem. I'm a Filipino" yet most of the times it was just a witty yet empty reply.
When a friend asks me to bring an umbrella or lends an umbrella during a rain shower, when someone suggests I go to the doctor or take medicine for an illness and sometimes when a friend offers a jacket for the winter. It's either "No Problem, I'm a Filipino" or "It's fine, I'm a Filipino".

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Filipino's believe that they have 'Agimat', a charm or an amulet of protection, luck or any other superstitious belief. Some believe that it comes just by being born a Filipino.
An artist called Bamboo stated in one of their song, "Hoy, Pinoy ako. May agimat ang dugo ko". The direct translation of this would be "Hey, I'm a Filipino and Agimat runs in my blood".

But in reality, it's not about the Agimat. In the end, it's not how strong your faith is. What made Filipino's what they are today are the hardships they face both in their home country and in a foreign country where they left to find a better life for their families back home. Modern Filipino's are toughened by the heat of the sun from farming, the high waves of the ocean when catching fish just to sell in the market, the one meal a day technique of survival, the selfish leader/s of the past, the decades of slavery and revolution etc.

So, whenever I say "It's fine. I'm a Filipino", one shouldn't see me being arrogant of my nationality but understand the hardships I came. That we didn't use umbrella's to protect us from the sun when farming. Back at home, we don't worry about slow Internet connection nor which side of the pillow should be colder. It's not that we reject the life of luxury but we just couldn't afford it. So, whenever you encounter a Proud Filipino, which is very common if you are surrounded by them; don't feel that it's arrogant. It's pure pride that we can handle any hardships.

A lot of Nationalities are proud of their own and there's nothing wrong with that. Some because of the unique culture they possess, some from the natural wonders they have at home, some because of what have they achieved throughout history.

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But we sometimes forget that we are humans. We are humans for a reason. We evolved the way we are and survived catastrophes and most of the time Nationalities are put aside. The Japanese have survived one of the most devastating event in our generation. The Chilean miners survived being trapped in a hole for a month and so as some of our Chinese brothers. Our Haitian brothers and sisters stood back up from a calamity that devastated their homeland. These are just few examples that we, humans, have survived disasters. Not because we are Filipinos, Chileans, Chinese, Haitian etc but because we are human toughened by our own environment, Our Country.

So yes, when I say, "No Problem, I'm a Filipino" I only mean that we, humans, have hardships of our own that toughened us up. The term Filipino comes because I was toughened by a place, and that is Philippines. If I grew up in DPRK or in Brazil, I would say, "It's OK, I'm North Korean" or "No worries, I'm from Brazil".

In Ending, We all have our own hardships in our own homes but conquered them all just because as the children of the earth, we can. We have our own National calamities and tragedies but faced them in a united view, race and nationality aside. We are Humans, and We are Here, so Everything is fine. Since, I am (Insert Nationality Here).