When I was in elementary, I watched videos of foreigners experiencing the culture and personality of our country and the citizens within. Those videos that I watched had a few things in common – the hospitality and the capability of Filipinos to continuously put a smile on their faces no matter what calamity they’re going through.

For years, I didn’t mind that common factor in all of those videos until our teacher asked us a question in 10th grade. “What is the Filipino Identity?” To make a long story short, we couldn’t  think of a trait that was purely positive, like resiliency. Although resiliency can be good at first, like in cases where the struggle is temporary and will pass, our class found that Filipinos tend to be extreme in their resiliency. Continuously saying “kaya ko pa” while their situation worsens over time, until they’re forced to throw in the towel when they’ve used up all capability they could muster. 

I found myself drowning. There came a point where I couldn’t say “kaya ko pa.”

I’ve seen my friends become victims to their resiliency, where they go on with their school projects and organizations even when they’re sick, refusing to rest until they get confined to a hospital. I’ve had classmates who were part of the executive committee of a school organization refuse to rest because “it’s their duty” to do that work and that “they could still keep going”.

The dedication we have to our academics and responsibilities is admirable but if we continuously stay up to make these pubmats, to cram reviewing at 3 am, we’d end up being too tired for the actual exam or event we’re making pubmats for. I used to follow this kind of mindset myself, continuously pushing on with the workload, not stopping for just a single breath and eventually I found myself drowning. There came a point where I couldn’t say “kaya ko pa.” It was a point where continuing to just push wasn’t enough anymore, and I knew I needed to change something if I wanted to keep pushing.

It’s not a flex to work until you’re confined in a hospital and making your loved ones worry; you’re a human being and your body needs rest!

I don’t think our community realizes enough how important it is to back away, to limit the amount of work you do. I understand that there are situations that make it feel impossible to rest, but we need to also remember that if we don’t rest, if we continue to overexert ourselves–there won’t be any of ‘us’ left to continue doing what we kept pursuing. I remembered this especially when I joined a debate team in school; as someone who used to be part of an executive committee in a different school organization, the responsibilities involved in both these roles mixed with my schoolwork and wanting to maintain a social life, exhausted me. There were moments when I had to force myself to sacrifice one thing just to do something else for another thing, it was draining.

One day, I couldn’t endure it anymore; I swallowed my pride and cut my losses. I decided which extracurriculars or responsibilities I wanted to keep and how I’ll balance them. Since then, I made sure to have time for myself and to rest. I don’t think it’s a completely good thing to continuously endure and be resilient with our struggles and responsibilities. It’s not a flex to work until you’re confined in a hospital and making your loved ones worry; you’re a human being and your body needs rest! So, please take it. Our bodies have limits, and even if it’s such a common phrase to “know your limits”, in our era it’s completely covered with the phrase “pushing your limits.” It’s good to reach far and beyond, to have full faith in your capabilities–but it’s good to also reward your body with rest. It’s good to back away from overload and let your body recharge before heading straight back into work.