I’m overwhelmed with pride, and thus brought to tears. My pride is not being a simple individual but rather an individual of the Serbian collective. It is a pride i take in myself as a man, a descendant of the great and enduring south Slavic Serbs. My very identity is forged in who i am ethnically and racially. Therefore my very existence is a reflection of the culture and race i had sprung from, as I’m a living descendant of the most heroic people that had ever lived. I’m a Serb and Serbia is me.

The Serbs are a one, each and every individual a mere leaf of the the great Serbian tree. Our existence is tied by one blood, one love, one heritage and the one meaning. I can be rich or poor, successful or not, for ill forever remain blessed. Not blessed in some godly manner but blessed purely upon who i am as a modern human being, a Serb. If i was homeless and naked id still remain royalty, royalty not by inheritance of some monarchical lineage but as a descendant of a mighty warrior people who had shaped the very existence of today’s world and civilisation as we know it. I’m blessed by nature and its random selection in allowing me to carry on the genetics and the blood of such a great people.  For that, to mother nature I’m grateful for and forever indebted to. The heritage of my people, and our ongoing fight for freedom and unsurpassed sacrifice over the last millenia bolsters my sense of awareness and belonging in a way that’s unrivaled. Its the fountain of pride that cascades through every fibre of my being.

I feel so proud of my people that whenever i read the epic Serbian poems, tales of our heroes and proud and relentless people, i seldom fail to get emotional. Euphoria would make my chest near rupture as my heart beat increases, the rush of historic nostalgia and self pride would flood me as i get almost overwhelmed by a fusion of happiness and sadness. My love of Serbian history and my heritage allows me to see, that i as an individual pale in the collective meaning of what it is to be Serb. This is the source of my pride and something only a Serb would understand. Its this very feeling, the very spirit of my existence, that provides the foundation to my extreme self respect. It is the fuel to the fire that drives me.

I love who i am for i love what i am. To love myself is to love my people and vice verca. To pride myself in who i am is to pride myself in my people. We are all one and hence our pride is our spiritual bond just as our blood is our genetic. Nothing and nobody could take it away from us nor break it and id fight for my people as id fight for my own life. If death came in a fight for freedom, the last two things to leave me as i fall dead would be my Serbian blood, as it flows from my veins, and the pure love in my heart for who i am. Blood and pride both of which ill have till my last physical breath and my inevitable end. That is the core to why I’m so proud and the reason I’m so passionate about my heritage.This is what pride means to me.

My pride isn’t based upon nationalism. Its based upon my very understanding in who i am and the emotions i feel as a result of that understanding. Pride means different things to each of us. To me its the emotional bond between my inner self and my people. Pride mirrors my identity as its product of my identity. It is the respect for who and what i am, thus pride is ultimately a product of respect. What does pride mean to you?