12/12/2025
Every time I walk around the Philippines, I canβt help noticing how people take for granted the little things that actually make this place special. Itβs funny how the world sometimes sees our quirks as flaws, when for me, those are exactly what make this country feel alive. Beyond all the politics and the stressful parts recently, the Philippines is honestly beautiful in its own organized messy, colorful way. Everywhere I look, there is something that is handmade yourself covers (tarpaulins, yero, scraps, woods) people make out of whatever materials they can find, the panindas arranged in the most random yet eye catching bursts of color, the houses with questionable paints in shades that shouldnβt work together but somehow do, and most of the time itβs simply the people themselves who radiate warmth without even trying.
And I donβt knowβ¦ despite the imperfections, or maybe because of warm feeling of interacting with, I canβt help feeling proud that I grew up here. Thereβs something comforting about it. Itβs not perfect, itβs not polished, but itβs real. Itβs my home.
No matter what anyone says, the Philippines has this rare kind of character that most people donβt notice at first glance. But when you really stop and look, I mean really look, you realize that the things others call βflawsβ are actually the details that make this place unforgettable, warm, chaotic and undeniably ours.
