These last couple of weeks have been trying to say the least, but what I have learned, is that no matter how hard things get, we need to keep going. After the untimely passing of our aunt during our week long quarantine, our maternal grandmother passed away soon after. She lived a long 91 years but it still hurt. It was absolutely gut-wrenching to see our Mom and her siblings grieve her passing while having to adjust to the protocols around here. At least they were together. Just before her passing, my brother Jeremy released his "Havenbound" EP which has really helped my Mom and me cope durin ..read more

You've always been there no matter what. We've seen you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders while trying your best to be strong for all of us. You are our protector and superhero. Despite all the hardships in life, you've always pushed forward and still give us all hope when we seem to lose it at times. You never ask for anything. You continuously give everything one hundred percent. We've seen you go through situations that would absolutely break people's souls. You are an inspiration. Thank you for always taking care of us. We know that you are always doing your best to keep us a ..read more

Some chase after their dreams and turn them into reality. Some wait for things to happen in life which in turn leads to them wasting that time away. Some of us are okay with just living day to day, but sometimes it begins to affect those around us. The older I get, the more afraid I am to try and realize them, and in turn, it began to strain my relationships with loved ones. After having talks with my family, I've been reminded that just wanting or needing something to happen isn't enough. Action is the only thing that can push us all forward. When I moved to Manila with my brother, I thought ..read more

Coming to Manila was supposed to be a reset from a traumatic experience my brother and I had in the Province. We came to Manila looking for opportunities to help us grow. We've applied to jobs, my brother has worked on music, I've been working on this blog. We tried to fill our time with things we're passionate about while also trying to establish ourselves in Manila. This was also a chance to create content for our YouTube channel, but we hit a roadblock. Or at least I have. Before coming to Manila my brother and I talked about all the cool content we could film with our childhood friend who ..read more

A spontaneous day trip up to Tagaytay lead us to one of the best café experiences we've had in the Philippines. Café Voi La drew us in with its stand out location at Crosswinds Resorts and when you enter you can not help but be captivated by the atmosphere. We arrived around lunch hour and while there were quite a few people there, it did not feel too over crowded. When looking at the menus we were a bit overwhelmed with all the choices and the items were a bit pricey (about 400-500 PHP a dish). After some deliberation we decided on their Café Voi La Signature Chicken Satay, Beef Steak Tagal ..read more

Another year around the sun and what have I learned? I've learned that I would absolutely be lost on my own. Watching my family make major life decisions while I worry about miniscule things made me realize how much growing up I actually need to do. Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/nJupV3AOP-U?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink People often say that you should do things on your own pace, but in my case it only holds true to some extent. I have people that I love and care about in my life that have always taken care of me especially when I lose ..read more

Our parents raised my brother and I so that we got to be in touch with both cultures. We were born in America, but grew up with a Bisdak mother and Manila boy father. Nevertheless, they raised us with a lot of love and care. We visited the Philippines quite often growing up, but would only get to experience it for months at a time. We learned the language and learned a lot about the culture firsthand. Coming home during fiestas was the best because everyone in the community would get together to eat food and share an experience. Lechon, adobo, rice, hipon, isda, pusit, pancit, monay, budbud, p ..read more

How many times have you seen this scenario. A family member goes abroad, works themselves to death. Send the money back home to have it invested in buying land, building a house and potentially starting a business. We've seen it all too many times on Teleseryes and although it may be over exaggerated on screen it doesn't mean it isn't true to some extent. Filipinos abroad go for an opportunity to give their families a better life. They work hard, live in harsh conditions and send money back home. The expectation is that money will go investments for the future., but ultimately time and money i ..read more

Our parents did everything they could to make sure we would never have to struggle like they did growing up. Their generation came to the United States with a dream to give a better life to their families. Our dad told my brother and I that he never wanted us to feel alone like he did when his father left for this US to provide for them. What made things even harder was the fact that he lost his mother at a young age. Despite all the tragedies and loss he experienced in his life, our dad made good on that promise and has been there every step of the way. Our mom still sees as her little boys t ..read more

I'm moving into my late 20s. There are a lot of things I've experienced in life, but there is also so much I haven't done due to fear. Fear of failure. That is something that I have struggled with for a long time. I let fear control me to the point the the people I care about suffer. I love my family yet all I have been doing is making things harder for all of us by just not trying. Whenever I am encouraged by them, my mind goes on to thinking of all the ways I could mess up, instead of using it as motivation, I made the decision to drop out of college, I made the decision to pursue a music ca ..read more