I was really close to my father or Tatay (to us) while growing up. My relatives would often tell me stories on how I would cry ugly tears every time he went out and of how I would always look for him when he's not home. Which isn't really surprising at all considering that a huge amount of my personality has been chipped from him. Yes, I am his female version.

You see, like me, my father is a man of few words. He rarely get's angry. In fact, I could only count the number of times he raised his voice because of anger. Let's just say that between the two of them (my parents) he wasn't the disciplinarian. You can't count on him though if you want to ask for advice right away because like what he always say, he was a seaman, a farmer, a carpenter but not a teacher. He wasn't really good at delivering words needed but as it turns out, words really don't mean that much in the grand scheme of things because what he wanted us to learn, he showed it through his actions. And among all those lessons he showed us, these had stuck to me the most and I love to share it with you.

• Education matters a lot. My father is the seventh child from a brood of ten. His father was a farmhand and his mother a plain housewife but was able to send them all to College. Growing up, he had instilled it in us that education is worth pursuing because this is the only wealth that he could leave on to us and that no one can take it away from us.

• He taught us about hard work and responsibilities. He always believes that success can be achieved when you work hard for it. His motivation encourages me to work my hardest and to be responsible for all of my actions.

• Look at the brighter side of things. When he wasn't able to go back abroad due to health reasons, he took it positively by telling us that this would mean he would be able to stay and spend more time with us. He always tell us that there's always a reason for everything and that there's always a rainbow after every rain.

• Get on the floor with your kids. When we were young, he would always play board games and card games with us. He accompanied us to the beach or to go hiking. And he does the same things to his grandkids. Even if he's busy and is tired from work, he would always have time to play with his grandkids, make them toys and tell them stories. He would always say that my daughter would only be a kid once so make them remember you at this stage by playing with them.

• Value family and spend time with each other. My father's first priority is us. Everything he does and everything he thought for is always for our well-being. I only have my daughter with me but he always tells me to keep the family closely knit and that no matter where we are in this world and what we're doing, know that family will always have our backs.