We’d hate to compare, really, but if you’re a girl with strict Filipino parents, then your folks were probably much stricter when it came to you in comparison to your brothers, if you have any. Not that there would have been a world of difference had you been an only child who also happened to be a girl with strict parents. Call it unfair or unjust, but double standards still persist, apparently, despite the fact that we weren’t raised in the 19th century.

Growing up, you probably felt frustrated with the thousands of rules your parents imposed on you or thought they were KJ (killjoy), unlike your friends’ hipper folks. But in hindsight, you’ve come to understand that their being strict was their way of looking out for you because they love you, no matter how OA they were.

If you grew up with strict Filipino parents, then you probably know these struggles by heart!

You Were ‘Hatid-Sundo’ in School

While some of your classmates were already learning to commute as early as elementary, you were dropped off and picked up in school by your mom, dad, yaya, or some other relative available that day. Stifling much?

No After-School Hangouts

You weren’t allowed to hang out with your friends after school. Remember feeling sad when your peers would go on dirty ice cream or iskrambol runs after school and you couldn’t join them because your sundo’s already in the waiting area before the bell even rang? So, on the way home, you ask your sundo if you can buy ice cream, too, but it just doesn’t feel the same way? Thank God that’s over.

Sleepovers? Out-of-Town Trips? What Are Those?

Ever envisioned yourself being in those cool sleepovers portrayed in American movies and shows? Well, that never happened. Or it did, once, but your mom called your friend’s mom a couple of times throughout the sleepover so she can speak to you on the phone.

High school out-of-town trips were also out of the question, unless you asked for permission a month in advance.

On Another Thought, What’s a Boyfriend?

A boyfriend? What’s that? A disease?

Permission First — and in Advance — Before Anything

If your parents did let you hang out or go on a trip with your friends, you made sure to ask not just for one parent’s permission, but both, and in advance, too. You’ve most likely pleaded with your friends to do the asking for you as well, thinking their charm would work on your parents, except it never did.

Let’s not forget the interrogation you’d receive from your folks about said trip or hangout, like how many people will be there, if they’ve met any of them, and if members of the opposite sex will be involved.

You Had a Curfew

So, your parents finally allowed you to go check out the new skating rink in Mall of Asia with your classmates, but you had to be home or be fetched by, say, 7 PM. Having curfews for every activity comes with the package, but you took whatever you could get.

You Got in Trouble if You Don’t Reply or Call Back Right Away

In your friend group, you’re known as the person who never runs out of phone battery or always has a fully charged power bank with her.

No, you didn’t learn this from Girl Scouts of the Philippines, you just discovered on your own that missing a call from your parents or forgetting to reply to their text means you’d be having a sermon for dinner.

Freedom in College? You Thought Wrong

When you graduated high school, the world felt like it was your oyster and you imagined all the exciting things college life would offer: independence, parties, boys! Except you attended college or university nearby, so you still lived at home with your parents and had to ask for permission to go to parties even after you turned 18.

And if, by some miracle, you were allowed to attend university in a different city and live in a dorm, well, you still had to regularly update your parents of your whereabouts and go home every weekend. It is what it is.