“Without shame.”

Where most folks have a sense of pride for where they originally came from, I have always known the Philippines as a colonized country. As a second-generation immigrant, I cannot discern my violence from my ancestry. To recontextualize my trauma, I reclaim my brown body relative to ideas that were never meant for me. I create a space where cultural hybridity flourishes, through self-love, childhood nostalgia, and traditional handicraft. My work mends the frayed segments of my history in celebration for both myself and my Filipino-American community. When oppression overwhelms the self, we the community are reminded of the tenderness and warmth our racialized bodies are capable of.