My cousin, the hero

My cousin, Anna Oposa, is my personal hero.

She is beautiful, has tried her hand at everything (i.e. dance, golf, yoga, diving, etc.) and is good at it, graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines-Diliman just this year with a BA in English, has travelled anywhere and everywhere either for fun or to save the earth, is the biggest and strongest environmental activist I know, and sings, literally, like an angel.

She has the personality that will lure you in at an instant, even if you have just been introduced. She is compassionate and loving to her family and friends and will defend them in every possible way. She can be calm over a good book, but loud and proud when she is at her happiest and most accomplished.

And best of all, she is my favorite cousin.

This is what I came across today, that makes me an even prouder cousin -- an article on present-day Filipino heroes:

"6. Anna Oposa. A lot of people claim to care for the environment but how many actually go out of their way and really work beyond lip service?

Oposa, director of the Law of Nature Foundation, has proven her love for Mother Earth by vigorously working on protecting marine life.

She also initiated "Save the Philippine Seas," spurred by recent reports of massive coral reef destruction in several parts of the country. Her initiatives made quite a huge social network ripple and united Filipinos through a national blog day to save the Philippine seas.

She is also lobbying to strengthen laws for environment protection, a long-term goal that we hope would live on far beyond our grandchildren's life spans."

- Taken from Seven Stories, seven inspiring Filipinos. VISIT Yahoo for more!