Calib, Ayesha Mishaelle I.

January 29, 2020

GEUSelf A66

Part I
1. Describe yourself.
- I have always described myself as a cheerful, outgoing, and kind-hearted person.
Ever since I was a child, I am always described by my family as beautiful,
hardworking, passionate, kind, and maldita.

2. Describe your family. Who lives at home?

- My family is the kind of family that always stays at home rather than going out.
We usually bond during Sundays and birthdays. The people that live at home are
my Mom, Dad, My 2 younger sisters, our Aunt, and I.

3. Describe roles in your family, such as the role of mother, the role of father, the role
of grandmother, the role of child, and so forth.
a. My Mother is the head of the house. She provides for our family and she does
everything that she can just so we can study in great private schools.
b. My Father helps my mother in her work by driving her around.
c. I, as the eldest, do my best in helping in housework whenever I am not busy
with school/org work. I assist my mom during weekends to lessen the stress
that she feels and I do my best to save money in order to help pay the
necessary bills in our house.
d. My 2nd sister always cleans the dishes. She’s the ate whenever I cannot
attend to my duty and she makes sure that I am always okay due to the fact
that I am very sensitive (health).
e. My 3rd sister is our happy pill. She makes us happy and eases the stress by
talking about her day or watching television with us. She always helps our
Aunt every meal time.
f. My Aunt takes care of us siblings whenever my parents aren’t home. She
buys and cooks the meals, cleans around the house, and makes sure that
everything is in order.

4. What traditions, rituals, and/or customs were passed down to you by family
members?
I will only mention the unique ones in our family because I know that we all have
pretty similar traditions, rituals/customs since we are in a Filipino setting.
- In our house, whenever there are birthdays, we always play the song sung by
Christian Bautista called “Araw Mo”. It is our tradition that whenever there are
birthdays, but it is played depending on the day of the birthdate (example: If the
birthday is on a weekday, it is played on dinner time when the family is complete.
If the birthday is on a weekend, it is played on breakfast time to start the day
right).
 - Every Sunday, we always gather in the living room to watch Jessica Soho. If we
have assignments, it is encouraged to do it in the living room so at least we are
still together.
- Whenever we visit a province, we have to bring food pasalubong to our relatives
so they can get a taste of food that can only be seen in Manila.

5. What traditions, rituals, and/or customs do you think it is important to pass to the
next generation?
- Other than the commonly known Filipino Tradition, I wanna pass the Birthday
Song tradition to the next generation because we get to start the morning with
the feeling that it really is our birthday or end the day with a happy song as a
reminder that I had a great birthday this year.

6. With regards to your family situation, what obligations do you see yourself as
having? What obligations does your family have to you?
- As the eldest, I am expected to give back and “iahon sa kahirapan” to the family
on my mother’s side. The obligations that my family has to me is to provide
financial assistance for me to continue my studies, be there for me whenever I
need them because they are my strength.

7. What role does your family play in everyday life?

- My Family is my daily source of motivation and my inspiration in everything I do
because they deserve only the best. They may get mad at me whenever I skip
meals, but I am thankful that I have people who’ll always care for me and love
me no matter what.

8. How do the roles of males and females differ from your cultural perspective?
- I hate the fact that we live in a Patriarchal Society where Males are the heads of
the society and we have to change our names once we get married (I know that
we can choose not to, but people will judge you A LOT if you don’t change your
name to the male’s last name). In my perspective, males and females are equally
strong and they can both do a lot of things. However, in cultural perspective, the
males are dominant and superior while females stay in the house and are inferior
to their partners.

9. What kind of music do you like?

- I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Disney songs. I like k-pop songs, pop songs, and a little bit
of classical and rock sometimes. If I had to choose one, I’d probably choose
Disney songs. I’m open to listen to other genres, but I prefer those soft songs
because I like to calm down through music.

10. What kinds of foods do you eat most routinely?

- I mostly eat home-cooked meals. I only eat Chicken and Fish because I’m a
VERY PICKY eater. I don’t eat all chicken and fish meals too. When we’re
outside in malls, I always prefer Pizza and Pasta meals.
11. What do you consider fun things to do? When do you do these things?
- Trying new things, arcades, book shopping, testing makeup, watching tutorials,
series, movies, helping other people with events, hair, makeup, and clothes. I
consider a lot of things fun to do because what matters is what you feel towards
the thing that you are doing. If your attitude tells you that it is fun, you’ll end up
having fun.

12. Describe yourself in the way that you think most other people would describe you.
How would you say your own self-description would differ from that description?
- For other people, I am cheerful, kind, talkative (in a healthy way), and will always
listen to you. It differs on some cases because this is their image about me and
this is what they always see whenever I am there. I’m that friend that they can
always count on.

13. How might you respond to the question, “Who are you?” with reference to your own
sense of personal identity.
- Whenever I answer this question, I always say “I am Ayesha. A simple girl who is
very cheerful, kindhearted, loyal, and I do my best to make other people happy”.

14. With which cultural group or groups do you identify most? Why?
- I’m a Filipino. My values, cultures, and traditions are all tied to the Filipino living
because that is how I am raised and what I normally see in other people.

15. What aspect of the history of the group with which you most identify is most
significant to you? Why?
- I’m not really sure because I don’t usually relate my identity to the history of
Filipinos.

16. Who are some of the people who have influenced you the most?
- My mother is the person who really influenced me the most. She’s my greatest
inspiration in everything that I do and I can thank her for being a great example to
her children and everyone around her. Another person would be Anne Hathaway;
I grew up watching Disney movies and that includes the Princess Diaries. I
believed in myself more, helped other people more, became more graceful, and
more thanks to Anne Hathaway’s character.

17. What are some things that have happened to you in the past that have influenced
you most?
- When I didn’t get the recognition that I deserve (academically). Because of this
experience, I do my very best to do my best in studies, organizations, and
relationship with other people. That may be a terrible happening in my life, but it
did help shape me into the hardworking person that I am right now.

18. What do you call yourself when asked about your ethnicity?
- I am Asian and some of my foreigner friends tease me about a little Latina
attitude. I usually say that I am a full-blooded Asian-Filipino.
19. What are your feelings regarding your racial and ethnic identity?
- It’s okay because I have no negativities towards my race and ethnicity. It is better
than being part of another ethnicity where there are a lot of problems. However, I
do feel that my race can do much better attitude-wise.

20. Describe your most pleasant memory as a child.

- I was 13 years old at that time and I consider this as one of my best memories.
We were chosen to dance for the assembly and we were just freshmen at that
time. People didn’t expect a lot from us, but when the curtains opened and they
saw a bunch of 7th graders wearing colorful clothes, heels, and bright smiles with
a lively dance, they couldn’t believe what they were watching. I was the last
person on stage (I had a solo because my dance coach believed in my potential
as a dancer) and as I did my pose, I was shocked to receive a standing ovation
from the audience and from the dance club coach who rejected me because of
my weight.

21. Describe your least pleasant memory as a child.

- When I was in Grade 1, I was chosen to represent my team color (Green team)
in the Intramurals “Best Cheerleader competition”. I froze in front of the judges,
teachers, coaches, parents, and whole gradeschool unit because I got so shy. As
a 7-year-old, I felt that I disappointed all those people when I didn’t dance and
give them what they wanted from me. They all believed so much in me, yet I
failed them.

 Based on your answers, how do you understand yourself?

- I understand myself just the same and as normal. I didn’t experience or know
new qualities about myself or what. Still same as usual. Although, I do appreciate
myself more by answering these questions.

 What is culture? How does culture influence the way we understand yourself?
- Culture is a way of life. It is how a group of people eat, talk, interpret, and
understand each other and many more. It influences the way we understand
ourselves through the fact that culture is deeply rooted within us and culture is a
part of our identity as a person and as part of the society.