The Comfort Rooms

For Love Or Money

Supposing that I'm a Filipino working in the United States as an I.T. consultant for the past 5 years. Life has been very, very good. I drive a nice Hummer to get me around Southern California, the place I call home for the past half decade. I live alone in my nice 3-bedroom suburban San Diego home that I still pay for as of this moment. Paying for it doesn't seem like a problem at all. Besides, $120,000 a year before taxes is too much for my needs, that I send some money home back to the Philippines every month.

$1,000-$2,000 a month? No problem at all! My life as a New Filipino Hero is both fulfilling and an honor at the same time. I help alleviate my family's poverty with the money I send them. I guess this is the life they had all ironed out for me. Me, graduating from Information Technology and hopefully, finding a job abroad which I thankfully did without sweating much of my eyebrows.

Life in the Land of Milk and Honey is something that I have dreamed of. In fact, I love the fall season, something that I will never experience in my home island of Cebu. During winter, I can spend some R&R eastward in Colorado or Utah. And I no longer get giggly upon the sight of snow. I admit, I was jumping up and down upon seeing some snow fall while on a trip to Sacramento but now, I consider myself staying here for so long that I have become used to the sight of it.

I have even developed that American twang and I sometimes find myself laughing on the inside when people recognize that I do not have the FOB accent. I guess it helps if you're the only Filipino in your company.

Things have become so quick that I did not realize that I have been here for 5 long years. Yup, I am now eligible to become an American citizen.

Should I tell my friends back in Cebu regarding it? Should I tell them with such pride and excitement as if it is something that I have dreamed of all my life? It means I will no longer become a Filipino unless I choose to be a dual-citizen. But should I give up my being a Filipino for that coveted green card and citizenship?

Shame on me and shame on all of you. Trading your citizenship in exchange of a better life is all but nonsense. Your newfound American citizenship does not automatically give you a more Caucasian complexion and hair color. It doesn't make your Filipino accent vanish in a jiffy. It doesn't change the fact that you are born here in the country and that you have ridden on carabaos, and tricycles, and jeepneys. It doesn't change your preference for tabo over bathtubs. It doesn't strip you off your craving for some warm morning taho. And it doesn't make your future kids look like the Jonas brothers when they get born.

All in exchange of a better life huh? Crap it is.

This post was written by: Jerick Baluyot

Jerick Baluyot is a professional blogger, writer and digital marketing specialist. Follow him on Twitter