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Where grief rests, love lingers

What were moments of loud celebration are now times of solemn remembering—but it is in these times of grief that the departed’s legacies come alive.

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Packages of love: Unwrapping the balikbayan box

In brown corrugated boxes that are filled to the brim, an unwritten promise is the bow on top: a seal of love and a yearning for home.

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Neurodivergence beyond the rose-tinted lens of love

“I feel like I need to mask my condition.” Nico*, who is diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), understands this struggle well. When he socializes, he worries about being “too much” and losing focus during conversations. This is a running habit for people on the spectrum of neurodiversity, whose daily experiences require careful navigation due to…

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Tailing nonprofits in their goal for paw-sitive change

Four-legged companions trace the footsteps left by NPOs who are determined to help them get their tail wagging again.

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Romance beyond the price tag: handmade and handwritten with care

While shiny things and paper rings declare love boldly, careful gestures and imperfect letters capture the heart’s most vulnerable truths.

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Tender hearts bloom through the work of local florists

Florists make celebrations of love and light even more vibrant by working from root to petal to fulfill their clients’ visions and intentions.

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Cemetery workers lay the living’s worries to rest

As loved ones are enveloped by sorrow, cemetery caretakers tend the tombs that honor the dearly departed—amid their own struggles and grief.

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Big shoes to fill: Marikina shoemakers bring back the shine of local footwear

While the world hurtles toward fast fashion, the sapateros and creative entreprenuers of Marikina carry the torch of Filipino culture and heritage high.

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Safe shores: Ex-PDLs find their footing in the workforce

Reentering society can seem an unsurmountable hurdle for those formerly deprived of liberty, but they remain persistent of a more accepting future.

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Ay Barbie! Effeminate men (a)rose among thorns

The quintessential man often acts allergic to marks of femininity to protect their identity, for reasons traceable to extensive misogyny.