June 6 2001, the date of my birth in the Philippines, the country that I had been raised in until moving to Canada when I reached the age of six. I had spent the last nine years here in Canada; however, it has felt as if I had spent my whole life here in Canada. From my 5-6 six years in the Philippines, there isn’t much I remember, specifically the things that have defined me for who and what I am. But there is one thing, it’s that I am Filipino. My ‘Filipino’ life was set and laid out for me as soon as I was born. Being Filipino meant eating specific and traditional food-which I still eat- and partake in activities that are Filipino-specific. I continue what I did back in the Philippines in Canada, just not as frequently. Back home I had many relatives and siblings, my experience with them has – and still - helps me and shapes the life I continue to live; they played a major role in defining me for what I am now. Leaving the Philippines was hard, I was relatively young at the time I was given the choice whether to leave or not. It had felt as if I was betraying my country and everyone for leaving them so soon; they were the ones who had shaped my life into what it is now, how could I have just abandoned them? The Philippines is not exactly the optimal place to live in, and it had already done so much for me, therefore …show more content…
Although the food, culture, and places were all foreign to me, I had to familiarize myself with it for they were the things I had decided I was going to see for the rest of my life. As I grew and adjusted to Canada, I had also forgotten most of my life in the Philippines. As time flew, my native language and all the people I knew were simply gone from my memories. I fluently spoke Filipino, but as my time passed in Canada, it had proved to be difficult in speaking the language, to be specific, I was only able to speak less than 1/5 of the language, yet it continues to worsen even