A lot happened in just a year and we all admit that it was the worst.

It’s not a secret that

we have always prided ourselves on our resilience: withstanding earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, typhoon after typhoon, and the pandemic.  Headline after headline, story after
story — the word “resilient” has emerged as a concept attributed in particular to the
Philippines, evolving into the phrase “Filipino resiliency.” With all the things that
happened that year, it is clear that we have endured a lot of things. And yet, knowing these
predictable threats to our people and state, why do we always seem to share the same ongoing
narrative about resilience year after year? Have we learned to be resilient at all or have we been fooled
into thinking this way?

The smile of our own is not the solution to the problem. This resiliency won’t really solve anything, it’s
just an excuse that someone chose to ignore. Because we’ve gotten so used to our resilience,
and it is so often romanticized by the media, the government, and sometimes,
ourselves, we forget that we’re supposed to be striving for something more. A place and
time where we won’t have to be resilient because there is no tragedy or
mismanagement to withstand. Awareness is what drives people to action. On a smaller
scale, as individuals, it is our responsibility to continue doing our best to be socially
aware, educated, and updated on the different issues around the country.

 Resilience in itself is not a bad thing; as pointed out earlier, the need for it is what we
have to address. And we cannot really do that if we don’t uphold ourselves to one more
thing our country prides itself on: our unity. We can only prosper as a country when we
decide to work together, man and woman, citizen and citizen, people and government,
to get to our goals. When we all put in our best efforts to create a good system, solve
the country’s problems, and make sure every Filipino is given the opportunity to live a
secure life, then we are on the way to the right type of resilience.