What defines a Filipino? Is it the way we look or certain skills that we’re supposed to have? Does it matter if we speak Tagalog? A majority of the world knows our community as just enthusiastically hospitable or being in the medical field and while those are accurate, it doesn’t stop there. Whether you’re a born and raised local or a proud immigrant, being a Filipino means more than just being able to sing or dance. Just like everyone else, Filipinos are limitless.

Here’s the tea: Because of a long and complicated history of colonization and first-hand experiences with marginalization, Filipino-Americans often go through an identity crisis of our own. We’re often mistaken as Hispanics while we also mistake Pacific Islanders as Filipinos too. A study even shows that 48% of Filipino-Americans choose to identify as Pacific Islander rather than Asain, when given the option. The reason? It’s simply because “we all look alike”. But while the Philippines is a collection of islands in the Pacific Ocean and how both communities originated from the same ancestors, this doesn’t mean that Filipinos should identify as Pacific Islanders.