I'm proud to be a FILIPINO-AMERICAN.

So these past few days, I've never felt so much pride to be a Filipino-American. It's an accumulation of my very first PACN, Pacquiao winning against Hatton in 2:59 on Round 2, inviting a lot of my non-Filipino friends to enjoy some Filipino food, ETC. I've never felt so proud to be what I am today. I never thought that I would be understanding and learning more and more about the culture. I never thought I would LOVE every bit of the lessons and history of the Philippines. Honestly, my heart is truly learning what it means to be a Filipino. Just like what Lori had to write about in this year's PACN for Barkada, "Ikaw Pa Rin": What it means to be Filipino.

To my first years: THANKS SO MUCH! WE DID IT! Our first COLLEGE PACN! We had so much heart for this PACN and I know it for sure. Come on, look at the CAST! Frank: IAM Patrick Ocampo (FIRST YEAR), Manager: Kevin Hsu (FIRST YEAR, Barkada), Francine: Zugey Kumagai (FIRST YEAR), Jun: Joseph DeJesus (FIRST YEAR), Chito: Jay Luzon (FIRST YEAR, Barkada), Cara: Lauren Motis (FIRST YEAR, Barkada), Rapist boys: Greg Natividad, Justin Nguyen (FIRST YEARS), Boy 1: Rico Pascual (FIRST YEAR), Emmerich: Karl Flores (FIRST YEAR), Fraternity boys: Charles Manabat (FIRST YEAR, Barkada), Wonderkid: Shea Salinas (FIRST YEAR), Sara: Diane Yabut (FIRST YEAR), Rachel: Charlene Mag-Iba (FIRST YEAR, Barkada), Francine's Posse: Danielle Delos Reyes (FIRST YEAR). I mean, come on guys! We are almost half of the entire cast! How awesome is it for us to have so much heart in this PACN! I can't even express my thanks to you guys for making my very first (maybe even yours as well) PACN the best I've ever had. Let's continue to shoot for the best & make the next few years the best we've ever had! Kasi, IKAW PA RIN (well, US). :D

This year's PACN is something very important for me. For my family to drive out here to Pomona (well Glendora) & watch their daughter & granddaughter perform something they used to perform when they were younger was touching to them, as they've told me. For my parents to go from "I don't trust Barkada" to "I like Barkada" is so important to me. It's like a relationship: I want my parents to approve. But it's not just that. This PACN was a lot of firsts for me. I've never danced a traditional Filipino dance before. I've never done Binisuan before. I've never danced Tinikling before. Not just that, I've never sang the Philippine National Anthem ever in my life. I've never known what the words were or what they meant. I've never spoken so much Tagalog in my life. I've never had a huge production like this before about CULTURE. For me to learn all of this in about 2-3 months is something so...breathtaking. To see everyone's passion in trying to get things together, to teach others how to dance, to teach people how to say words in Tagalog, to teach the WORDS of the anthem of our homeland. HOW PASSIONATE. Even though these are people's 3rd, 4th, maybe even 5th or more PACN, I think I can honestly say I have learned so much for this being my very first. Who cares if you've had PACN before, it's about what you learn EVERY PACN. It's about how much heart you give everytime. It's about what YOU put into it that will make it all worthwhile. Which is why for me, this PACN will always and forever be my favorite. Even though I don't have anything to compare it to, this is what changes my mind about so many things. For me to come from Bakersfield: NO Filipinos. NO culture. NO pride, to all of a sudden be bombarded with culture, it's amazing that I can't even take it all in at once! But it's so awesome. It's like eating Mango-Peach pies from Jollibee. You love it so much and you eat so much of it, but you're so full and you can't take anymore but you still keep eating! Okay bad analogy but this is how it feels. Not only do I love Barkada even more, but I love being a Filipino-American. I love my culture. I love being who I am and where I am today. Time to share and show what I've learned and am continuing to learn with the rest of the world with my head held high & a smile that says: I'm proud to be a Filipino-American.

-- Danielle Delos Reyes