Growing up in a predominantly white community, I went through all of elementary, middle, and high school without any Filipino-American friends in my town, and seeing little to no representation of Filipinos–or even Asians–in the media. It was because of this, I think, that I spent much of my childhood and adolescence feeling self-conscious about my appearance and culture. Even without being overtly teased, I felt abnormal and out of place among my peers. I have a distinct memory of reading Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks” for high school English, which resonated so deeply with me that I actually cried in the middle of class. Tan’s mother tells her, “You want to be the same as American girls on the outside… But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.” Although my heritage is more Filipino than Chinese, reading this essay always helps me to feel so seen, as if someone has looked into my soul and told me exactly what I needed to hear. It serves as a reminder that my identity as a Filipino-American is not something that I should try and minimize; it is an important part of who I am, and to hide that would be unfair to myself and to my family. It was not until I came to college that I was truly able to befriend other Filipino-Americans; joining my school’s Filipino club, NJIT’s FINEST, has been such an amazing experience for me. For the first time in my life, I have close friends who share my culture and experiences. Now, I wonder how I went so many years without these kinds of deep connections. This brings me to the impact I want to make on the Filipino-American community: I want people who were in my position growing up to feel seen and understood. Through organizations like FINEST, we can share our experiences and know that we are not alone, whether we are first-generation, second-generation, or anything else. I want us to come together and embrace our Filipino culture rather than trying to hide it–because being different is nothing to be ashamed of.