Happy Easter!

If you're in San Diego reading this, Happy Easter early!

So I guess Good Friday was the last day of village touring. It's been an educating and enlightening last few days. I finally figured out what it means to be Filipino, and that I've been Filipino all my life, in everything I do and everything I am. On a basic cultural level, there is no difference between me, or Savvy, or Tony Olaes, or the hundreds of Filipinos I've gotten to meet. We are all one Filipino people, we all come from the same roots. It's going to take a long time to truly unite, but with these connections, we're on the right track.

I'm part of something so much bigger than me. In AB Samahan, in band, in the Filipino culture, on this trip. I love this feeling, of contributing to something incredible. Whether it's a field show, or an event, or simply finding myself culturally or helping people who need it, I always feel rewarded and like I'm doing something worth living for. This trip has helped me see the commonalities in Filipinos and Filipino-Americans. It's incredible to know that I share connections and things in common with people who live on the opposite end of the Pacific Ocean.

My heart beats so hard with pride, for who I have learned I am and for the country I love, the motherland I come from, the Philippines. I'm so motivated to live my life to the greatest and fullest and ESPECIALLY to give back to the country that's awarded me with so much.

On Friday night, we all gathered for dinner, and one by one, shared our stories. Our pasts, what this trip has meant to us, what we've learned. It was a huge reflection for all of us, to connect with each other and really show how far we've come since this trip started. Each and every person's story had beauty, and hardship, but in the end, we have hope. That's what being Filipino is. Not just endurance or resilience, but hope.

We're heading to Tacloban today.

So I think our days will pretty much be like yesterday, but in different areas. Plus we are participating in a GK Build, which I'm so excited for. It's hard to explain what this experience is giving me, because it's something that comes from inside, something that's so distinctly me and so distinctly right that I can't help but be excited for whatever else is to come.

I came into this trip hoping to find my cultural "click," that moment of "THIS is why I am who I am, and THIS is what makes me Filipino." I think I'm on the right track. Everything about this trip just feels right, and I'm so comfortable and at home here. I'm able to instantly connect with so many people, on such a human level, that even though I can't speak Tagalog, and they can barely speak English, was can still connect and communicate. Personally, that's an incredible thing to embrace.

Listening to people's stories and getting their perspectives are all I want to do in life. Forward from that, I always feel a need to help, if I'm able. In band, it was everything from basic things like snacks and juice boxes to get through rehearsals, to quick button-ups and button-downs in and out of uniform, and even a lifelong set of friends and a sense of community in the ensemble. If there's a way for me to foster that end result - a community that can be valued in the individual, then I'm content. I'm so happy to have done my part.

In college, I may not be able to take that stressful midterm for someone else, but I can help with studying, or finding a tutor, or just give a back massage for encouragement. My ears and eyes and heart are open to listening to whatever people have to say. Personally, I want to make sure that somebody out there knows my story, my full life story, so I can never die, and the mistakes and triumphs I have made can be experienced and learned by others. So if I can do that for someone else, I will do it. I am constantly telling people from other groups of friends about the people and experiences from my other groups of friends. From me, you are connected to people you wouldn't expect.

I think that's the beauty of the world now. We are all connected, whether it's in person or online, to other people. That's what's awesome about people, and how people interact. I love it. It's everything I love.

So with these thoughts in mind, I'm preparing myself to delve into new situations and new places, to meet new people on a larger scale. It's these thoughts that excite me and fuel my passion for this trip and everything we're doing in it.