The Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. The Republic of the Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Based on temperature, the warmest months of the year are March through October. The coldest months of the year are November through February. But what is it about the Philippines that makes it different from the rest of the world? Well, for one thing, it is all about their culture. The traditional culture of the Philippines is influenced by both the east and the west and by the traditions of the indigenous Austronesian people. The cultural landscape also features Spanish, American, Japanese, Arabic, and Indonesian influence. The major religions in the country are Christianity and Islam which have played a significant role in shaping the culture of the Philippines.

Filipinos are very resilient, in times of calamities and catastrophes, they always, manage to rise above the challenge. Instead of wallowing, they manage to pick themselves up and smile. Filipinos are very respectful they are taught how to use these simple catchphrases po and opo, words that end sentences when addressing elders. They have a culture of pagmamano, they raise the backhands of the elder and put it to their forehead as a sign of respect. Filipinos help one another, more popularly known as bayanihan, they help one another without expecting anything in return, so that undertaking their tasks and responsibilities become much easier. Filipinos are very religious, they go to church every Sunday with all of their family members. Filipinos love to sing this is the reason why karaoke has become so prevalent. As part of their recreation, Filipinos spend some quality time with their families or friends singing or belting out new and old songs. The national sport in the country is Arnis, a type of martial arts. Boxing is one of the most popular sports in the Philippines with the country producing global superstar boxer and the only eight- division champion in the world, Manny Pacquiao.

There are so many characteristics that can define what a Filipino is – hospitable, helpful, cheerful, industrious, optimistic, etc. It gives us the privilege to enrich our tradition and culture. Filipinos are different in unique ways. That is what, we Filipinos must be proud of. We view things in different perspective. We live our lives the way we wanted to. We have determination to fight for what we believe is right. We are not scared to face the world and tell them that we can. I must say that it means a lot to me a being a Filipino because of our wonderful culture, colorful heritage and our optimistic attitude towards life despite the struggles were facing right now, we Filipinos still get to put a smile on our faces. It does not end here, there are still other things that we Filipinos proud of. 😊

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.