"Ano Pa'ng Kaya Ko" sung by Leia has made a huge impact on my life. The song is a Tagalog (Filipino language) version of, "What Else Can I Do" from Disney's Encanto. This song followed the seemingly perfect Isabela through her journey of self discovery, where she renounced her "perfect" image. I relate strongly to this character in her struggles due to the Filipino culture I was raised in. I am the oldest female of my family's next generation, much like Isabela. I grew up knowing that I needed to be the most graceful and perfect. Of course I was always made aware of this and how I constantly failed. This was Isabela's main problem as well, until she saw how happy and amazing she could be if she stopped trying to be so perfect. I went through the same process when I left for schooI, but it left me estranged. The Tagalog version of the song makes me feel less so. It is inspiring and offers a positive bridge to a culture that is still a huge part of who I am. This only further emphasizes the sentiment when it sung in the very language that was used to suppress me.

I was a lonely child and was forced to find artificial means of human connection. It seemed to be my mother and me, but it was mostly just me. My mother was often out of the house working or looking for work. I could tell her being a single mother put a lot of strain on her work life and made it difficult to keep a job. We moved around a bit, and it became apparent that I should just be left at home. Thus, I saw my mother a lot less and she was usually too tired to interact with me. As a young child, I unconsciously searched for a companion or at least the feeling of one. Television was the provider of this comfort as a friend and perhaps acted as a parent, too. Either way, it gave me what social creatures need and what a child needs. I found an escape and stability in my unstable life. No matter where we went or when we moved, the television programs remained the same. More specifically, the same characters would be with me. I knew them. Though they were simply parasocial friendships, they made me feel like I had friends and wasn't alone. I was an extremely shy child and paired with all the moving, I could never really form any actual friendships. However, there were always those that existed on the screen. They did all the talking, so I didn't need to. I joined them in their fantastical worlds, where problems were easily fixed and there was little to worry about. This was especially true for the outlandish cartoon worlds, where anything could happen. These fascinated me the most. They were such a bright, vibrant contrast to the darkness of the night that surrounded me in each and every place I called "home." As I grew older, I gained a greater appreciation for the people that worked on and created the wonderful worlds I could escape to. More than that, I wanted to join them. I no longer needed their content for companionship. However, I yearned to become the one that provided companionship to those that needed it. I did always enjoy drawing, but never thought I could live off of it. Thus, I did learn some more "practical" skills. I had an affinity for coding and really did enjoy it, in moderation that is. I found out that I could animate professionally and even write code for animations, but I was enrolled in a completely different major. Admitting, I was scared to switch majors. That is, scared of my parents not accepting it, being viewed as less intelligent, and being seen as only being able to do an "easy" major. Luckily, all that time alone and observing how my own mother was surviving on her own, gave me great independence and respect for my vision for my future. Thus, I am now studying electronic arts and working towards becoming an animator. I've even been working on personal animation projects that I work on whenever I can and I plan to continue this.

I was once alone and thought the caring, loving community I heard of was just a legend. I existed as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community who didn't know it existed. When I became aware, however, I enlightened those who weren't. Those who were unaware that an accepting environment existed outside of the media. These were the ones that needed the community the most to keep from isolating further. As it isn't just knowing that dissipates that, but the community itself that does. I was disappointed when my college and the surrounding area had nothing planned to celebrate Pride in June. I was finally in a space where I could be fully out and proud. However, there was no space, no events, and nothing; it was the same as previous years. This was quite disheartening until I realized that I could just plan an event for the LGBTQIA+ community myself. The idea was to have a simple picnic under the stars while watching an LGBTQIA+ film. I thought of screening a queer classic, like Rocky Horror Picture Show, but those films tragically forgot a few letters of the community. As this event was for all parts of the LGBTQIA+ community, a series of short films seemed more appropriate. I curated the films by carefully weighing my options, collecting feedback from the lesser-known parts of the community, scouring the internet, reading countless lists, and employing the aid of a lesbian, film professor. I was very thorough, to prevent misrepresenting those that I sought to acknowledge. Thus, I was met with joy for the diversification of the parts of the community that were represented. Even the speaker of the event, a gay professor and alumnus, expressed his gratitude and pride that his community was being celebrated where it was once abhorred. His pride was reinforced by the discussions between and after the films, where students circled him to hear his anecdotes of the old, underground gay scene. This wasn't exclusive to the professor, though, as the venue became a safe space for all to share experiences. I had gone from not knowing where or if the LGBTQIA+ community existed in my school to creating its safe space myself, even if it was just for a night. I didn't want more people to feel as lost and alone as I did, so I worked to grow the community at my school. The Pride Alliance Club at my school even got revived. I have mentored my underclassmen to continue and worked with the student government to make the LGBTQIA+ film night an annual event in June. Moreover, I had only just begun to create safe spaces. As this was just on a college level, there's room for improvement. I've contributed to the LGBTQIA+ short films of the world. I was re-editing them, as they showed progression from understanding to accepting one's sexuality. They also had a certain naiveté that I wanted to preserve to explain to those more uninformed as they figure out who they are. I am planning to add to this collection, animating what I couldn't film and putting more of myself into it. Though, most of my animations and artworks harbored a piece of myself. That especially included the LGBTQIA+ community, as they were such a huge part of my life. Thus, I was going to work on highlighting the subtleties and nuances of my queer projects going forward, to make them more obvious and simple for more uninformed individuals. I plan to continue my work in the LGBTQIA+ community by disseminating information in a fun and visually pleasing manner.

I would like to see the effects of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines fade away. I seek to return Filipino history, culture, and heritage to the community, especially the Filipinx American community that I belong to. As visibility is usually the kindling for discussions on cultures and the dissemination of information, in turn, it seemed obvious to start with the most visible of the precolonial Filipino traditions; tattoos. Filipino culture was extremely different before the country was "discovered" by the western world in the 1500s. The practice of tattooing was a particular aspect of the previous culture that had almost been eradicated. It used to be a ritualistic process that left an honorable mark on the skin. It was so ingrained in the culture that the Spanish referred to the island country as La Isla De Los Pintados, or "The Island of the Painted People" in English. Despite them recognizing tattoos as a defining part of the Philippines and its people, they refused to understand them. The Spanish projected their ideology onto the Filipino people instead. They called people with tattoos dirty and forced them to assimilate, so much so that the Filipino culture today has adopted the same opinion on tattoos. The continued ignorance and demonization of Filipino culture have just been accepted as normal among Filipinos themselves. I was a proud Filipina-American that fell victim to this as well, allowing traditions like the ancient art of Filipino tribal tattooing to be expunged from history. However, after discovering how my culture functioned without intervention, I took steps to spread this knowledge. I became a tattoo apprentice to learn how to tattoo and have been researching the symbolism in Filipino tribal tattooing. This had been building up to the point where I could eventually design and apply the tattoos myself. Additionally, tattoo artists were usually female in the Philippines, but the tattoo industry itself was so male-dominated. It was simply another aspect of Filipino culture that was fading more quickly than the knowledge of the Filipino way of tattooing itself. I would preserve it as my skills in the art of tattooing continued to grow. I had gotten the chance to tattoo a design I created in the Filipino tribal tattooing style, but I had been working on getting more experience in the practice to properly represent the forgotten tradition. I have gained access to the artist, tattooing, and Filipino communities. I have used this to make connections and talk about the Filipino tribal style in more casual contexts. The friendly interaction and connection made my talk about the tattooing style a lot more personable and worth remembering. Additionally, I have given some small presentations on the subject to these communities to continue to at the very least make others aware of this neglected part of Filipino culture. Furthermore, the Filipino style, along with other parts of Filipino culture, was ever-present in my artwork. This was how I began the conversation about the subject within artistic communities, specifically. In recent years, my artwork had become more animation based, so I was able to draw some attention with the movement of the pieces. I have also been working on some animations of just Filipino tribal symbolism to make the style more accessible to others not within the communities that specifically pertain to the subject. My efforts to revive old Filipino traditions began with tattooing and will continue to grow as I train and raise awareness. Most people should not be ignorant of the very culture they came from, and they should not allow xenophobic ideologies to continue to perpetuate that ignorance. Otherwise, the colonizers would've committed this sick act of revisionism with the support of the very community they debased.

I've known for quite a while that I wanted to go away for college. This meant not just getting away from my supposed "home" at the time, but especially getting away from the people that occupied it; my family. I use the word "home" especially liberally, as I suffered abuse from my mother that left me with PTSD in addition to the developmental disabilities I was born with. Thus, I did what I had to so that I could leave and survive without looking back. My savings started modestly with my first source of income: gift money. Since I started saving as a child, this was all I could do for a while. My extended family didn't really know what kinds of things I enjoyed, and my mother couldn't tell them either, so cash was often their go-to. I was fine with this, as I put every bit of what I was given for holidays and birthdays right into my bank account. I did contribute to my savings a lot more when I became of age to work. I worked every day, knowing that I needed the money and had to keep my ultimate goal in mind. That is not hyperbolic either; I actually worked 7 days a week as the sole worker of an ice cream kiosk. I was just an hour or two short of what would have legally been considered full time. I also had a second job, tutoring elementary schoolers a few hours a week. As one could imagine, I was constantly on the brink of exhaustion. After all, I still had to attend classes, maintain my grades, and volunteer every so often as well. To maximize my savings and make all my exhastion worth as much as possible, I only allowed myself to spend money on the necessities. This included gas, food when I felt too faint, and insurance. However, my main expense, as you could call it, was from my mother. She would take money from my account without telling me. I was still a minor, so I had to share a joint account with her. Thus, I hid what I could around my room, making sure to only put the checks into my bank account. On the academic side of things, I worked hard for my grades in order to earn more scholarships from the schools I applied to. I ended up going to the school that offered me the most financial aid and paid what I could out of my savings. I found little ways I could save money too, such as by getting the smallest meal plan and by refusing the school's own health insurance plan. I also rarely went out for food and didn't really do any activities that required money. Even now, I work a part-time job just to cover my rent, so I don't spend much on anything else. I don't eat much to begin with and don't really require much space. Actually, everything I currently have can be put into exactly four plane-ready bags. I plan to continue with the same kind of lifestyle I currently have after I graduate, just with a better paying job and in a different location. I really don't require much, and I actually prefer a minimalist lifestyle. Perhaps that will change once my debts are paid, but it may very well not. All I know is that I'll continue to do what I have to in order to survive and be happy with simply having a safe, clean place to rest my head.

Thinking a smart phone is one of the most inspirational pieces of technology in this modern world may be one of the most vehemently gen-z opinions, but that doesn’t inherently make it any less true. The smartphone has connected people across vast distances. This is especially important for people who are alone and feel isolated. They are able to find a community that understands them and shows them that they are not the only ones who feel and think how they do. As well as that, they are not the only ones to experience what they have. All in this little device that fits in your back pocket. It is such a normalized object to always have with you, so the kind of connections and support that they offer are almost always within arm's length. Furthermore, it is not just the ability to reach out to others that makes this technology so inspiring; it is also the ease of access to the internet and the vast library of knowledge that it provides. It allows people to learn things they never would've had the opportunity to otherwise. I myself have been able to explore many of my passions and interests because of this. I've been able to learn more about my Filipino culture and history, been able to read car manuals to discover their inner functionalities, and I've viewed artwork from all over the world by artists both ancient and modern. This is only a small fraction of what I've been able to discover with just a smart phone and an interest. This knowledge and connections afford many the opportunity to further understand their outgroups and even sway opinions in the opposite direction. I personally know people that have done just that. With so much power so readily available, it shows how most people do have a capacity for change. I aim to teach others more through this and try to lessen the impact of misinformation. One of the best ways to better the world is to simply teach how to do so or, at the very least, lower the amount of ignorance there is out there.

The Filipino connection to the western world started with the name "Las Islas de los Pintados," or "The Island of the Painted Ones." This was the world's initial view of the Philippines. A place so different from them—too different. Thus, they are stripped of that unique culture to this day. Even US-born Filipinos, including me, can feel this cultural degradation. I thought I grew up proud of my Filipino heritage, but it seemed that this pride was meant only for the superficial aspects that I was allowed to learn of. I know this was a type of protection, born of a history they didn't know of. Perhaps this was also a way to separate me from the statistics so I could receive a higher education. Unfortunately, this left me lost and fairly ostracized from the Filipino community, my own community. So I researched. I found many websites, people, and groups dedicated to preserving Filipino culture. I had myself been disseminating the information, but this was on a much larger scale. One in particular worked closely with tribes in the Philippines. They worked with a Filipino tattoo shop as well. There, they raised awareness for and preserved the cause of the Filipinos' original identity as "painted people" by tribal tattooing. I am currently working to earn the right to get tattooed with the traditional tapping technique. Furthermore, I have been working on raising awareness for this particular lost art. An important step in augmenting representation is simply to increase knowledge in order to foster a larger and stronger community. This has a lot to do with the visibility of it all. Filipinos are underrepresented, but underseen as well. This caused my particular interest in Filipino tattooing. I want to clearly show that I am Filipino and proud. This is also our chance to take advantage of the increasing popularity and acceptance of tattoos. This was such a large part of our culture, and I want to aid in reclaiming it. I want the Filipino community to be seen and known, and I will do what I can to make this happen.

My culture is my identity and community. It gives me a sense of pride wherever I go. Plus, it is always great to see a fellow Filipinx American succeed in just about anything, from music to movies, science to art. It gives me pride that they are succeeding, even though I don't know them personally. I have observed that I inherited this behavior from my elders, particularly my grandmother, father, aunts, and uncles, all thrilled to see a Filipinx succeed. This does not seem to be exclusive to my own family as well, as I have been on the receiving end of this. When I meet other Filipinx people and they are ecstatic to learn that I am, in fact, Filipina, it reinforces my sense of community. They applaud my accomplishments as if I were actually a part of their family. It is simply a joy that people of our own culture are able to live out the so-called "American dream," a dream pursued by many Filipinx immigrants for their own actual kin. That kind of support and community is what my culture has become for me.   A particular part of my culture that I have taken an interest in is tattooing. I investigated the significant cultural impacts that this ritualistic ornamentation had on my culture. That is, the ancient art of tattooing has roots in the Philippines. Everyone of age used to get tattoos for various reasons, as they differed between each tribe and region. However, it is clear that tattoos were once a point of pride. Unfortunately, the culture was forced to progress in a direction that disdained tattoos. Many Filipinx, especially Filipinx Americans, don't know how important tattoos used to be. In fact, people with tattoos are looked down upon now. I am aiming to bring more awareness to this and other nearly lost parts of ancient Filipino culture. I am currently working on joining a Filipino American tribe with a similar goal, and I plan to work to actually earn the tattoos of the Philippines. I know some elders discourage tattoos as criminal, but I want to walk proudly knowing that I have reached deep into my culture. This is why I will earn them, not just receive them. Thus, I have been spreading the word about Filipino tattooing among the Filipinx community. From telling my own family, to tattoo artists, to Filipino clubs, I am doing what I can and plan to continue to raise more awareness, learn more, and reconnect with my culture.   In addition to my own culture, I have also been learning how to understand, speak, and write in Japanese, specifically because there is such a great division and strife between the two island countries. This is historically rooted, but it still persists to this day, even in the very fabric of each culture. Thus, there are vast differences in the cultures and in how they speak of each other that I find rather fascinating and aim to get a deeper understanding of by reading native Japanese texts. However, the folklore of the two has surprising similarities, from what I can tell. I want to see if these similarities are simply a product of translations or a link in the cultures that are ignored due to the countries' history with each other.

My school requires that most of the students take one whole semester of classes over a summer, typically in junior year. Thus, about an entire class worth if students were on campus, attending school during June, pride month. This was the first time I could properly enjoy the month, as in fully out and fully proud of my sexuality. Naturally, I looked to my school and to the city for any events of celebration, yet I found nothing. There was simply nothing planned for the LGBTQIA+ community. I was disappointed and wondered if there were others that were experiencing something similar. I didn't know many other LGBTQIA+ students, so I couldn't even figure out if I was alone on this. However, I found that if no event was planned, I could just make one myself. I tried to make it very difficult to find a valid reason for someone to go against the event. I knew my school had a giant, inflatable projection screen and an open field that was lovely for laying down atop a blanket, which effectively would not cost the union or student council anything to put on. The plan was to have a picnic under the stars, watching an LGBTQIA+ film. I thought of playing a classic queer piece, like Rocky Horror Picture Show or Brokeback Mountain, but thought I could do something that encompassed more of the community. Instead of a whole movie, there would be a series of short films shown. In conjunction with a lesbian film professor at my school, the films were chosen and arranged. I made sure to include films of ace, trans/non-binary, and bi people, as they weren't typically, properly represented. I did not identify as some of these groups, so I made sure to ask for a review from the few people I did know that were. I did not want to misrepresent them or offend them in my campaign to include them. I found that this was the right choice when one of those reviewers expressed their immense joy that I made sure to include them. This was later followed up by a student that I was simply explaining the event to. At the actual event, I could see this reaction multiply as both students from all parts of the LGBTQIA+ community and allied with them immersed themselves in the experience. Even the professor (both gay and an alumni of the university) that gave the opening speech was included in this. However, the true magnitude of this community coming together was shown in the conversations. There were a few breaks between films, where we discussed them along with our own personal experiences. At one point, there was a circle of students just listening to the professor tell anecdotes about the old, underground gay scene. This was not from a place of authority either, it was from a place of understanding and familiarity. This was the sense of community and safety I was initially looking for, and I made it happen in front of me. I never knew I could find so many that were like me and that they would not just accept, but thank me for being a part of their community. It was such a bold departure from what I was used to and made me realize that I could actually do big things to ensure that fewer people felt alone, as I was.

I was seldom comfortable in my own skin. That was until I started changing it in increasingly permanent ways. This led me to tattoos, which allowed me to turn my skin into something that I could live in. I know many others have this same problem of poor self-image and discomfort in their own bodies. This could be attributed to a multitude of imperfections like scars (especially from gender-affirming surgeries), skin conditions, birthmarks, skin discoloration, and more. Tattooing can alter these imperfections so that the individual can feel less self-conscious about them and maybe even proud of what they have become. A tattoo can turn a place of insecurity into an actual piece of art, which is how I want to use my artistry. That is, I want to use my artistry in a way that allows people to become more confident in who they are as people. This I find to be pretty exclusive to the tattooing art form. It is such a queer art form too, which may be why it is not always regarded as such. However, it is a very old art form and tradition in many places, such as the Philippines. As a Filipina woman, Filipino culture has had such a strong impact on my life. This can be seen in my interest in tattoos. It was a tradition in the Philippines to be tattooed for various reasons, but many related to a person's standing in the tribe. Tattoos were so ingrained in the culture that the country was once dubbed "Las Islas de los Pintados," or "The Island of the Painted Ones." However, this tradition barely survives today, as it exists as a bit of an obscure subset of the tribal tattooing style. I hope to aid in its survival as I join a tribe whose goal is to keep this subset alive. The accolades and stories associated with Filipino tattoos have become a great inspiration to me in conjunction with the culture my grandmother instilled in me. I convey that in my tattoo work and will continue to do so as I advance. My Filipino culture and art are a big part of who I am. They give me identity and confidence in who I am. A confidence I will spread over people's insecurities and to other Filipino-Americans looking to reconnect with their culture. Furthermore, I wish to augment this through the use of animation. There are many other dying tattoo styles and ones that are not properly understood. In animating the tattoos, I could make the styles a bit more accessible and well known to the general public. I will tell the stories that the tattoos are meant to tell. Filipino tattoos can be a bit difficult to understand, as they often tell the story of the owner's family and heritage. I believe this may be one cause of the disrespectful copying of personal pieces. This phenomenon even occurs in more popular styles, such as Traditional Japanese. These tattoos usually tell the story of japanese folklore, and all the little details are essential. Many in western culture don't quite understand this. There are so many details that could change the meaning and betray the folklore that are often overlooked. Ignorance is a major cause of this as well. I want to tell these stories in a similar way that tattoos do. In taking the static tattoos and animating them, I aspire to make more people aware of this and prevent them from disrespecting cultures in the way they so often are in the western world.