Seven years. That’s how long Positively Filipino has been sharing your stories all over the world. 

This past year was like no other, what with the pandemic and all the other problems it brought with it. Not to mention the natural disasters that befell us like hurricanes, super typhoons, volcano eruptions and wildfires, and the political upheavals in the U.S. and other countries. For the first time in my lifetime, my family and I experienced a pandemic. For ten months, we stayed put, covered our mouths and noses, and watched loved ones and friends die without being able to say good-bye. But it was important for all of us to continue living, if only to serve as a reminder that the world is not dead yet. So, at Positively Filipino, we continued to give you relevant stories not only on how the COVID-19 wreaked havoc on our lives, but also how our fellow kababayans in other parts of the world were faring. At the same time, during the shelter-in-place period, we worked on producing webinars for a better understanding of racism, the electoral process, press freedom, and other experiences that make up our hidden but rich history in this country.

As the vaccines arrive in our cities, there is hope that this pandemic will be over soon, and with a new administration, there is hope for unity. I had been thinking a lot about many things these past ten months, and what I would do if I survived this pandemic. We just cannot go back to life before COVID-19. There are too many lessons to be learned from this experience, and we can’t turn our backs. How do we prevent another pandemic? How do we reach out to our neighbors and start a serious conversation about race, equality, and unity? What do we need to do to heal Mother Nature? How do we repair the social, emotional, and academic toll our children have gone through? How do we uphold our constitutional rights and democracy and hold our politicians accountable? How do we begin to genuinely help the poor achieve economic stability? Too many questions that could take more than a lifetime to answer, but we have to start now.

In the meantime, let’s do our part, no matter how small. Here at Positively Filipino, we will continue to share your stories and provide relevant information. Thanks to our talented writers who create the stories every week. Thanks to our thousands of readers like you, who faithfully read these stories and send us encouragement every week. And thanks to our staff, Gemma Nemenzo, Rene Ciria-Cruz and Raymond Virata, who make Positively Filipino happen every week.

Please continue to share our amazing stories of Filipinos all over the world as these stories define us as a people. We are no longer invisible.

Join us in ushering a happy and hopeful 2021.