She is a keeper.

See that girl? She's the girl people always thought as weak as a baby chick.

"Girls should wear dresses. Huwag kang magkilos-lalaki dahil babae ka."

"Ayusin mo nga ang upo mo."

"Girls play with dolls. Ibalik mo ang robot ng kuya mo, Yngrid."

"Magpalit ka nga ng damit. Sobrang ikli ng suot mo."

"Huwag kang makipagkaibigan sa mga lalaki. Dito ka lang sa bahay."

"Ayusin mo ang pagsasalita. Dapat mahinhin ka at itigil ang paglalaro niyang mga panlalaking laro."

Siya si Yngrid. She was born in a conservative and old-fashioned family.

Sinunod niya ang bawat sabihin ng kanyang ina mula sa pananamit, pagkilos at pananalita. Kasi akala niya, iyon ang tama at makabubuti sa kanya.

Like a marionette, her life was controlled by her family's rules and whims.

Not until she can't take it anymore. Humans have this inherent nature of having a free will and always wanting to be free. So, she rebelled.

She wore boys' clothes, played boys' sports, and made friends with some.

She received scorn instead of understanding and acceptance from her family.

Mali ba na gawin ang mga gusto niya dahil lamang sa isa siyang babae?

Ayaw niyang magsuot ng dress at palda dahil mas komportable siya sa pantalon. Hindi niya hilig ang pambabaeng damit at gusto niyang maglaro ng basketball.

Bakit isyu ang pagiging babae niya sa lahat ng kilos at nais niyang gawin? Does gender really matter in everything? Is there a law that girls can't do what boys can?

Yngrid was in the phase of her life where she questioned everything. She finds the old-fashioned rules to be ridiculous. It's already the 21st century for heaven's sake! However, she can't say that to her parents.

Gayunpaman, pinili niya pa ring sundin at gawin ang mga bagay na nais niya.

Society ridiculed her. Her family scorned her. She was shunned by people who believed that women should behave in a prim and proper manner.

However, this did not stop her from achieving her dreams.

She fell in love, once. The relationship failed. She'd have had many relationships after that but it all ended the same way and because of the same reason.

Men don't like women whom they can't control and Yngrid is firm about equality and believes that two people should have equal roles in a relationship. She then decided she don't need a man in her life.

Why wait for a man who'll treat you as his princess when you can build your own empire and sit on your own throne as a queen?

She became a female police officer despite her family's disapproval. That was just her first step to proving that she can do what men can do. She then went back to university to study and became a lawyer.

She's an independent and career-driven woman. She achieved things without the help of a man.

Napatunayan niya rin sa pamilya niya na hindi hadlang ang pagiging babae niya sa pag abot ng mga pangarap niya.

It didn't take her just one day to gather her courage and step up for herself. It took her years before she was able to prove her self as a capable woman. A woman is not just about sitting still and look pretty. It's not about keeping quiet nor just nodding her head to a man.

It took her years to show that she can be strong and successful despite her gender. It took her great struggles just so she can be able to prove to the toxic society that a woman is not just a woman. She is not just meant to be a mother and a wife.

She wanted a society where women will not be seen as inferior. Someday, she wanted to hear more voices from women and to see them being able to wear clothes that they want and choose a career path that they love without prejudice from other people.

And when that day comes, she hoped that these voices will be as powerful and strong as those of men.

A woman is not just a woman. She can be more than that. A capable and independent woman.

Yngrid Encarnacion.
Hindi lang ang pangalan niya ang maganda sa kanya kundi ang kalooban at buong pagkatao niya. Sa mga lalaking pinakawalan siya at hindi binigyan ng sapat na pag-unawa, isa lamang ang masasabi nila:

"I should've treated her better."

She is a keeper.
Only if you decided to keep her.

🥀

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