Our Cultural Roots Can Be Our Source of Strength

A young plant, barely out of the ground, is at the mercy of the wind, the sun, and the rain. It draws strength and nourishment from its roots.

In many ways, adolescents are like a young plant. They are exposed to many new ideas. At times, these ideas go against what they have been taught or what they believe in, and at other times they get very confused.

In times like these, they can draw strength from their cultural roots. They can learn many useful ideas from their country's past. They can draw inspiration from their people's values, beliefs, and traditions.

Through their cultural roots, they can even arrive at a better understanding of their own identity.

Our Customs and Practices

Our customs and traditions are a big part of our life. They have been handed down to us by our ancestors and by the people of other countries who once came to our shores. These customs and traditions reflect our traits as a people. They express our beliefs and our values.

Today, however, many of our customs and traditions are being restudied. People say that some of them must be changed. But which do we change? And what can we do to change them?

A Code To Live By

Many times in our life we may need to make a choice. It may be between work and play, or between two things equally important to us. The choice we make can reveal the kind of values we have.

Values are ideas of right and wrong. They refer to the things we regard highly. Love of country is a value. A desire for a good education is another.

Our values guide our life. It is important, therefore, for us to develop the right values.

Our Practical Sense

How practical are you? Being practical is a lesson that our forefathers taught us. It is also one of our important traits as a people. Through the ages, we have used this practical wisdom to solve our problems and create great things.

Real life challenges will help develop our practical sense. They will show us how practical wisdom is put into good use, They will also provide us with situations to analyze. We study these situations, give our opinions on them, them make our decisions.

Our Racial Beginnings

In olden times, our ancestors traded actively with many Asian people. When foreign traders came, our ancestors simply took the goods on credit. Then they returned to pay for them. Traders were impressed by our ancestors' honesty. They spread the word around. As a result, more traders came to our shores, eager to do business with our forefathers.

This is but one picture of our life in the olden times. There are many others. They all speak of a proud race - our race.