Hi, my name is RJ and I am Filipino. I will be doing this tag since the month of May is 'Asian Pacific American Heritage Month'. This is the question that I would always ask myself, Am I Asian-American? I used to ask my friends if they are Asian-American, and they would answer me that yes they are Asian-American. But the thing is-- both of their parents are Asian, born in their country, moved to America and they consider themselves as Asian-American. Okay I'm confused.
Anyway, I am full Filipino (Vanilla Filipino), I was born and raised in the Philippines then moved to America.
I remember my first day of school, I was really nervous because I did not know anyone in the school. My first period teacher (we call it first period or our first class of the day, it is also my homeroom since we walk to different classrooms throughout the day) introduced me to the class saying I am new to the school, so be friends with me. I was weirded out to be honest, but my classmates were really accepting and nice to me. We were supposed to introduce ourselves in front of the class, and tell what we did during the  summer. Well, I was already introduced by my teacher so that was an advantage for me. I remember our first task was the Bingo thing where we have to ask around the room who fits well on that specific number or slot. Of course, I was shy and did not speak a single word. My classmates noticed me alone in a corner, and they started approaching me! I was a bit overwhelmed because I felt like the entire class was swarming me. At the end, I did not get to fill out my Bingo paper, but still made new friends knowing that they already knew each other from the past school year.
Second period came, I specifically remember this Physical Education class because our teacher was actually Korean-American so I felt comfortable since I have an Asian teacher you know. I was honestly confused what we were doing at that time, but I remember my teacher being so understanding saying that he knows what I feel because he went through it already. He guided me, and toured me around the gymnasium by myself. It was a little bit awkward, but I handled it well. He asked me about how is it being Filipino and how long I have been to America. He was pretty cool.
Third period came, and my teacher this time is German! I was a little bit scared to be honest, because I was expecting the teacher to be really strict but it turned out  to be a chill teacher with specific standards lol. This was a Math class, and this is where I met my first Filipino classmate! I think. I do not really wanna go into this because this would take hours to tell you the story. Moving on.
Fourth period came, and this old lady--- honey, she was strict like really strict. She made us speak in front, say our nationality (which was weird) but it was also nice because this is where I met my Filipino friends that I am still friends with even up to this day. After we introduced ourselves, she made us pull out or Shakespeare books. Oh boy, imagine reading Shakespeare on the first day? Anyway, I was not informed that I am considered as an ESL Student (English as Second Language) which puzzled me. Yes, I don't open my mouth, but bish I can converse in English! Halfway through the semester, I was given a test to test my "Proficiency in English", and after a couple of weeks I got out of the program and proved that I can speak fluent English ya know what am sayin'??
Fifth and Sixth period were my performing arts classes that I really enjoyed. I was a part of a choir, and the teacher made us sing "Do Re Mi" on the first day, okay. I met my "ates" in my choir class, actually my friend's actual ate, and I consider her as my ate as well because she was really nice to me even though they were half European they still consider themselves as full Filipino like I am. My acting class, aaaaahhhh, where our Director would always praise me for having clear pronunciations (lol i don't know why, i just said thank you) he would often say that to me which paved my way into doing broadway shows. I was casted to be in a Musical play that lasted for six weeks. Good times, I really enjoyed broadway xD
My first year in school was amazing. The next following years, was also amazing, made a lot of friends because I spoke a lot this time. I was more comfortable as the years went by, and participated in more extracurricular activities.


1. Which ethnicity are you?
- Filipino (just Filipino)

2. Which generation are you?
- I actually got help on this before with my teacher, and told me that I am first generation. I am still not sure to this xD

3. What is the first experience where you felt that demarcation of being a minority/different?
- Well there were a lot of Filipinos at the school that I attended to, so it was really not a hassle for me. Throughout the years during different classes, my classmates would often ask me if I have seen this one specific movie. I would asked them who's in the film, and right after they said who the actors were in the film, I would say that I don't know them. Another thing is American TV Shows, I did not know who Ellen Degeneres nor Oprah Winfrey was. I was lucky not to have my classmates make fun of me for not knowing these two television personalities were, but they tried hard and showed me pictures of Ellen and Oprah. They always say, I am not from America, so why not just educate me than make fun of me which was pretty nice of them.

4. Were you always proud of your heritage or was there a time you rejected it?
- Of course! I have always been proud of my heritage, but there was a time where I wanted to get rid of my thick accent even though my friends have been telling me that I speak fine and I was adapting to Californian accent. I had a phase where I just watched YouTubers every single day, and I feel like that is reason why my accent got vanished.

5. What are some stereotypes that you struggle with?
- Being in America does not mean I have a lot of money.
- Not all Asians are smart.
- We do not speak "Ching Chong Chang"
- Not all Asians watch Anime.

6. Can you speak your language?
- Yes! Well, I speak tagalog inside the house, when I talk to my pamileh, and to some Filipino friends.
I can write basic tagalog, don't let me write an essay in tagalog because I cannot do that-- I forgot how to do that to be honest. I can read basic tagalog, I say basic tagalog because I do not understand broad tagalog words if you know that I mean. Malalalim na salita. I can speak tagalog fluently (I think so) because I grew up speaking the language ;D

7. How was being Asian American affected your relationship with your parents?
- Definitely got closer with them. If they do not understand a complex English sentence, I would be there to translate it to them. I often translate to my grandparents usually because they speak minimal English, but they manage to converse with their friends in straight English. I don't know why lol.
At first, asking for help at a department store was fun for me, but as the time passed by, I tell them to ask for a sales associate themselves so that they can get used to casually speak English. I know that they speak English at work, but there is something that would always make me smile when they speak English. Though they still have that Filipino accent, it is evident that their way of speaking improves overtime.

8. How do you feel about your heritage now? Do you identify with it?
- I feel okay with it. I was born with it, so I accept is wholeheartedly.
Yes, I identify with it.

9. What is your favorite thing about being Asian American?
- The food, the white sand beaches. Our interesting Asian history overall.

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Sorry, this was a quick post. I am back!
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xo,
rj