On Second Chances

I am Filipino - a Flip. For my caker friends, it means being bound by values, traditions, superstition and as if it wasn't enough, by opinions of people who will never step out of their boundaries because they do not know otherwise. And what it meant for me was a death sentence. It never made sense to me, how could I have been born to a race where for centuries, the descendants only followed? I rebelled but only became more of a prisoner of a society that is hell bent in detaining me. So after countless sleepless nights and thousands of thoughts captured in paper, I broke free. I left my old life, where I never felt I belonged. Turned my back on a culture that suppressed me, because it fascistly thinks it knows better. I'm still a Flip, I can't deny my color, my features but I'm no longer bound by its tradition or beliefs that a divorced woman is an outcast, simply because I said I'm done. So pardon me for not screaming at the top of my voice, crying out "Ako'y Pinoy".
Thank God for second chances.. and the assurance of His love. My family who stood by me, no matter what. And the love of a man who thought I saved him, little did he know, he saved me.