About

People at home are always so shocked when I tell them I was born in the Philippines. Their faces light up with confusion or disbelief as if it were impossible to be White and Filipino. I don't look Filipino, but I don't look white either. Their eyebrows raise with the question so what are you really?

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Well, let me tell you. I was raised in New York City born to a Jewish father and an immigrant, Filipino mother. Growing up, I always struggled with my identity going to school with zero to little diversity. As a teen, kids would disregard my Asian side but fully embrace my white side. I relied on my mother to give me that Filipino zest at home, cooking adobo and speaking to me in Ilonggo. The struggle with identity really came to the surface once my father passed away when I was thirteen. This exacerbated the fear, confusion, and resentment surrounding my ethnicity.  

 

Once I came to college and grew up a bit, I started to explore the idea of what it meant to be a biracial young woman. It was something I never even considered. This journey is not a struggle of the past but a metamorphosing awakening of the present. Through new experiences of happiness, love, sadness, lots of food, and friendship, I constantly uncover the different ways to go beyond the binary of identity. 

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