Growing up in my 92% White majority hometown, I was often classified as "other". I only knew of two other Filipinos in the whole school. To me, race was always something you weren't supposed to talk about. To further separate yourself from the whole was social suicide. Don't draw attention to yourself and you can save yourself from the trouble that comes along with being an outlier. Assimilation is a tricky game because it promises you things. It promises you that if you just carve certain parts of yourself away, you will be whittled down into the acceptable mold. That you can finally be like everybody else, that you will be entitled to the American Dream, that things will become easier. It says if you pretend those parts of you don't exist hard enough, you can blend in. You can dissipate. This is a lie. Assimilation is a never-ending race for a medal you will never receive. Assimilation not only makes you resent your own very being but isolates you from those who could help you to learn to appreciate those parts of yourself. It disconnects you from the living breathing organism that is community. To be cut off from this is to not know yourself. Moving from my hometown to Tampa, at Florida's top university for international students with a club entirely dedicated to promoting Filipino students and their culture, made me realize what I lacked. At USF, I have been immersed in a culture that accepted me wholly. It's given me access to parts of myself I didn't know I could love. My silky black hair is from my father. My hands are from my Lola. My voice is from my Tita. Having access to this newfound community has taught me that when you think of yourself as only one, singular unit, it is a disservice to yourself. I am made up of whole and disparate parts of all that came before me. Learning community meant learning myself and I wish everybody could have that opportunity. I want to expand my knowledge and set up more resources for people in those hard-to-reach areas. No school of mine has ever taught me any Philippine history or Tagalog. I truly believe my purpose is to change that. We all deserve the right to know ourselves and where we come from, so we can claim it with pride.