When I was growing up, life in the Soriano household was typical Filipino. I came to the United States when I was nine years old. My parents both worked to make sure all of the financial needs of the household were met. My mother worked during the day and my father worked at night. Each of them were very caring parents and hard working individuals. They were responsible and did their very best in trying to raise us into what they would consider good kids. Now looking back as a father of two boys…..I mean young men, I now realize what my parents went thru back in those days were not an easy undertaking. They worked truly hard. It looked like they hardly had time for themselves or for each other. Sometimes just sometimes, it felt like they barely had time for us. I am not faulting them for that situation. It’s just how it was. There were only so much time in the day and that was the best they can do at the time.

There were a lot of fond memories of my youth but there were also numerous challenging times. As a pre-teen, teenager and college student, I encountered situations that I could not figure out on my own.I would stumble in trying to solve the problems and could not figure out how to properly resolve it. I understand that that is what life is all about.It’s full of ups and downs. I think the trick is to have a life where your ups and downs are not so high and not so low. It should be a life where you accept the inevitable challenges knowing that bad things come to pass and that the good things needs to be savored and appreciated. Acknowledge both because one cannot exist without the other.Back then the issues of the day were varied. They ranged from having a girlfriend, part time jobs, financing school, going out with friends, staying on top of your studies and staying connected with family. Thru the years I have gathered wisdom that I want to share with the youth of PBUSA. I don’t want to lecture but I do want to share. I want to share financial knowledge that would deal with their finances. I want to share information on careers and jobs.  I want to share information that could help them be their very own cheerleader when life can be a challenge.

 Sometimes we all grow up and not take the time to really understand how to live. I myself am a work in progress. You never really stop learning about life and how to prepare, handle, and maintain a sense of well being. After a couple of years of being associated with PBUSA, I can see where I can possibly be of help. I think that every youth needs to have a supplement of or venue to get good information in addition to the family and the church. A source where they can learn practical information about daily  existence and have the knowledge in how to think and handle problems clearly. A place where information about preparation, service and love are talked about in a very casual and friendly environment.  

 I have always appreciated and related to the famous phrase “it takes a village to raise a child”. I want to contribute to the empowering, supporting and developing the youth of Pangasinan descent. There are many organizations in existence that can do the things that I have mentioned. The one major difference is that it’s about personal development and learning the culture/traditions simultaneously and relating daily life from the perspective of a Filipino-American of Pangasinan descent.

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Ferdinand B. Soriano