Life is expensive, but joy doesn’t have to be. In this time of soaring prices, when the rest of the world says, “You can’t afford happiness.” Filipinos say, “Watch us find it anyway.”
Because joy, to us, isn’t something we buy, it’s something we make. When there’s no electricity, we bring out the guitar. When onions hit P700 a kilo, we make memes and turn it into a national inside joke. When floods rise knee-deep, we float on a styro box, Bluetooth speaker in one hand, beer on the other.
Across the country, Filipinos are turning to accessible joys, simple things that cost little but mean a lot. A rewatch of Four Sisters and a Wedding because “bakit parang kasalanan ko?” never gets old. A teleserye cliffhanger, a budol finds haul, a piso load to send “ingat ka” to your crush. A P20 spend on an online game that gives just enough of a thrill to carry you through the day.
This is joy in recession. Simple, affordable happiness that fits in our day, in our budget, and in our hearts.
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