So whenever I hear the name "Kulas", what are the words that comes in your mind? Is it a diligent worker who will fulfill the task given to him in a clean and efficient manner? Or is it a person who will hastily do things given to that person with mediocre results? In an unfortunate turn, however, we live in a generation where "Speed" disrupts our way of thinking, but also involve and engage us in a sophisticated set of activities that dramatically altered our perspective to society; as my one professor mentioned it as a "noisy" generation.

In video games, we select the gender of our characters, on how do you want them to look like, on what kind of powers, abilities, and equipment you would like to see on them, and most importantly, you choose on what kind of destiny your character you would like to take on. Naturally we, people in real life, do the same thing; we build our traditions and customs, we do different things that make each race unique from one another, and we select the best course of action on how you will influence the people with the gifts in your hands, but the most important question is; how will things end up? Is it for better or for worse? No one will know unless they see it for themselves...

In the movie Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon, Kulas is a character in the story with one thing in mind; to explore and to discover the many things that his little world can give to him. His adventure was hindered, however, by the many characters he met along the way, as well as the difficult choices that he must overcome in his life.  The major problem in the movie is that the more characters he encountered, the more challenged he is in finding the true "Filipino" among them. In short, the major dilemma of the movie (and in real life) is that our sense of identity is all mashed up.This will be the start on where the different things of the past, present, and maybe the future, shall converge on what we may now know as being the "KULAS OF THE 21st CENTURY"

Like everything that we see around us today, we can´t really tell if these things helped us find on who we are or it did confused us even further. To tell my side, it neither helped us grow towards our customs nor hindered us from seeing new possibilities and improvements towards our older traditions. An example of this is on how we communicate towards other people.

 First impressions among the many people will be Facebook, Twitter, Multiply, YouTube, (the heck, I would even consider dating sites as communicating) among others. In my own thoughts, however, another way of communicating is playing a game with people you don´t know .Many people will think of me as a klutz on saying that, but it is how I see communication; seeing the people around you in avatars and icons. League of Legends is a classic yet rare example for this. It is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) that has been released worldwide by Riot Games (stationed in Santa Monica, USA) as a spiritual successor to another popular game Defense of the Ancients, a mod of Warcraft III. This has not just been a game for me, but rather it has become an avenue of having friends on other different walks of life, meaning to say that things really do come in threes.

Silence embodies the mind and it empowers the spirit; or so how things go by the Chinese people during ancient times, and so, contemplating the mind and body refreshes from the worldly events that runs among us. So what do we do nowadays to feel the same experience as the Chinese did? Take a visit to Luneta Park and visit the Chinese Gardens to find the serene silence that you can ever want. It originated in China because for centuries, the Chinese find peace and contemplation with nature and allows them to tap the natural surroundings around. So if you want to escape the worldly activities every once, then this place is a consideration; meaning to say that not all people prefer themselves to be noisy and wild, but rather a few would instead become silent and calm with nature´s embrace.

Succulent cuisines, wonderful hangouts and unique hobbies are also considered as cheerful gusto of different individuals whether it is a mall, a special Filipino meal, or even small trinkets of your liking. Like Robinsons Place Manila, this not just served as the second-largest Robinsons Mall to ever create by John Gokungwei but it also served as an avenue for many different brands that helped shaped our world.

Another thing to consider is one-stop food stores that do not just serve as ideal places to talk with your friends or colleagues but it also serves as a mini dining hall for executives. Mini-Stop, a Japanese convenience store chain that is also active in the Philippines, serves a multitude of different meals and products that can help you get a grub you need in a pinch.

Speaking of succulent cuisines, there are some flavors that never seem to die out despite of the many restaurants duking it out for consumer supremacy, on which one of them, a meal is called the ever-classic “sinigang” which means “to cook over meals in a clay pot”. The sour taste of the tamarind really brings me back to home and it has become a staple meal to my family. Well, the meal is not limited to pork but the meal is also available to beef and chicken, depending on your preference but pork is the way to go. The chewy texture of the meat along with the slender greens like kangkong and sitaw can make a serious burst of flavors. Many people rely on cook packs in order to make their sinigang sour, however. Regardless, it has remained to be a staple dish for many Filipinos and served in the many restaurants and food chains around the country. It is also a regular meal being served in small “karenderias”.

Toys, for many of us, symbolizes the days of our childhood. It reflects on how things would have been colorful for the majority of the people. Children´s toys back then only consists of wooden tops, kites, and they even do outdoor activities to play with other children; something I like to call “social toys”. Toys make children happy and productive on what they. However, there are some toys, for a few, that are considered to be a valuable asset to their collection and will not lay a hand on them in order not to lose its ¨collector´s worth” or “collector´s value”; an odd yet interesting hobby for Filipinos.

On a more serious note, how can you say that your money is safe? What is the fastest way to get items from your love ones? How can you protect yourself AND your community at the same time? These simple dilemmas can be answered efficiently, thanks to technology of course.

In an overall note, the generation the country current faces has a very blatant reputation of being over reliant to technology and search engines, rather than being a bookworm kind of people, but with the changes on the way we act, move, and venture in this field of danger and adventure, the generation can still cope up to its standards without sacrificing any key traditions that has already been embedded to the citizenry, like showing respect to the elderly, always ready to spring into action, and similar stuff that is not needed to be shown every time to your faces. After all, you should already have that ability; to adjust and maintain a clean repertoire for many people to come into your doorstep, because at the end of the day, there would be only you who will make a choice. So pick your actions wisely.

Sources:

www.leagueoflegends.wikia.com

www.chinesegarden.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsons_Place_Manila

http://american-filipina.blogspot.com/2011/04/food-and-oral-history-pork-sinigang-or.html

http://www.ifood.tv/network/sinigang

http://www.ministp://www.mugentoys.com/capsule-figures.html

http://www.ministop.com.ph/

FILIPINO HERITAGE: THE MAKING OF A NATION Volume 3