Siblings, S’mores, and Solitude
Relationships are one of the most talked about topic these days, with the rising popularity of hugot lines, songs about heartbreak, extremely tagos lines that manage to affect us, even if we aren’t even directly included in the situation. With all these romantic connections, there is and has always been one kind of relationship that stays completely underrated, and that’s the relationship formed by blood — the relationship between brothers and sisters.
When we think of the word kapatid, which means brother or sister in Filipino, we immediately think of the people who we share, for example, the last name with; the people “born of the same tree”, so to say. However, sometimes this isn’t the case. The relationship of the word “sibling” isn’t exclusive to only those we have a biological connection with. Yes, our siblings are our first friends in life, but the friends we make along the way can also be considered our brothers and sisters. Being a part of a family doesn’t only mean that you come from the same blood or the same tree; it’s the love and care you have for one another, the emotional bond formed by years of a perfect mix of hardships and happy moments in life. Embedded in our culture is a very rich history of family ties. We Filipinos are known for our family-first mindset, with most of the celebrations in our country are celebrated with our own families.
Because of this, Lasalyanong Pinoy, an organization in our very own De La Salle Zobel, hosts the annual Kampo Kapatiran each year. First started back in October of 2016, the goal of the event is to provide an avenue for siblings and friends alike to bond over team building activities and many prayerful pursuits both as pairs and as a group. This is not only to strengthen relationships through prayer but to strengthen our relationships with God as well.
Everything can easily be summarized by a quote from the Vice President of the organization, Adolf Gaiser, who said, “…you join the camp with numerous types of people with diverse backgrounds and you all leave as one big family. Personally, that’s what I love most about Kampo Kapatiran.”
Being a part of this retreat myself, I can honestly say that I was able to learn lessons on the importance of camaraderie, brother or sisterhood, love, and trust.
The values that were taught to us during this camp are lessons that we won’t be forgetting anytime soon. More often than not, we forget the point of having siblings. No matter how many family feuds you may have, disagreements, arguments, and maybe physical fights, even if it was meant as a joke, your siblings are still the first and last teammates you’re going to have in life, and it’s nice knowing that there will always be somebody in your corner no matter what.
About the author: Gerard Ignacio is a reporter of Counterpoint. He is currently a Grade 11 student in De La Salle Zobel-Vermosa taking up the Humanities and Social Sciences strand. He has been a member of the publication since A.Y. 2014–2015.
