Just Filipino

It may seem trivial. After all, most teenagers go through phases, but this was much more than a phase like goth or emo. In my mind, I thought I was leaving up – that if I only surrounded myself with whiteness, bathed myself in it, I would be spared from the struggles of my ancestors. Turns out, I was wrong. Denying my culture didn’t protect me from racism, but it did isolated me from a community that would have validated my feelings, stood behind me, and made me stronger.

Mother-Friend

Postpartum depression hit me like a ton of bricks after having my first baby. I would get so upset anytime someone would call it the “baby blues.” It felt too trivial a term to describe the desperation and hopelessness I felt moment after moment, day after day, and it didn’t help that there weren’t a

First Day of School

My oldest started kindergarten today. For the last few nights I have been waking up in the middle of the night worrying about him. I usually wake up around 3 am and a never-ending cycle of questions swirl through my head. What if he’s too nervous to talk? What if he doesn’t make any friends?