Resilient: an adjective used to describe individuals who have endured difficult life events but have recovered. Through my lens, the word resilience has evolved into a pop-psychology term and has become overused and misused within the field of psychology. Specifically, this term has been used to conceal the systemic oppression leading individuals from historically marginalized populations to repeatedly overcome obstacles of racism, sexism, capitalism, ageism, ableism, imperialism, and colonialism. Similarly, “matapang” is a Tagalog adjective that was commonly used throughout my childhood as a way to describe individuals for being strong or brave when facing various obstacles in life. Now as a clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of San Francisco, my social-justice-oriented education has challenged me to reflect upon my narrative as a heterosexual, cis-gender, second-generation Filipina American. As a result, I have come to view the terms resilient or matapang as unhelpful ways of describing individuals who face adversity. In my perspective, using these terms within and outside of clinical settings does not equip individuals with the proper preventative tools to effectively develop and implement coping strategies when facing future obstacles. Born of two Filipino immigrants and raised in a multigenerational household, I watched my parents, aunts, and grandmother endure various obstacles while simultaneously holding space for moments of individual and collective joy. Although each member demonstrated their ability to experience and share joy, they also experienced countless moments in which hardship made it difficult to embrace peace and contentment as a person and family unit. For instance, my family members were often made to feel inferior by their employers, colleagues, or landlords for not articulating themselves proficiently in the English language. In response, my family persisted quietly and obediently in hopes of achieving the American dream. However, experiences of discrimination further contributed to the housing instability and financial insecurity that became our reality. Moving a total of 14 times across the Bay Area throughout my childhood made it more difficult for my family and I to experience joy as well as a sense of stability. Furthermore, due to the fear of negative consequences for speaking up against discrimination, I witnessed my family members turn to unhealthy patterns of behavior as an attempt to cope. Years later as a first-generation undergraduate student at the University of California, Davis, I learned about the impacts of acculturation on immigrant families like my own including substance use, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, I learned that silence made it easier for my family to navigate new systems without scrutiny. Moreover, I became cognizant of how individuals who continuously experience oppression may also gain skills in resourcefulness. For instance, my parents used different “home” addresses for my younger brother and I to access and attend public school education within an affluent community. Witnessing and experiencing inequitable access to resources and resulting trauma responses firsthand shaped my interest in pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. Now as a developing Filipina-American clinician and board-certified neuropsychologist, my clinical work and community-based research have been informed by my family’s collective experiences. More specifically, my family’s collective experiences of embracing joy while also being mislabeled as resilient and misusing the term matapang for enduring oppression. The stress my family faced while navigating unfamiliar cultural, sociopolitical, legal, and healthcare systems has also paralleled many of the stressors my patients and their families have faced. From indicating English as a primary language in order to receive an earlier autism evaluation for their Spanish-speaking child to learning how to access various mental and behavioral health services for the first time, navigating unfamiliar systems can be overwhelming and frightening. As a provider-in-training, my identity as a Filipina American has enabled me to deeply empathize and comprehend the challenges my patients and their families face daily. Moreover, it has helped me view my work as a form of individual and collective advocacy that emphasizes collaboration. By collaborating with my patients, various health-service providers, and local community organizations in Santa Clara County as well as other Bay Area counties, historically underserved populations gain equitable access to quality, comprehensive services regardless of their intersecting identities, background, and socioeconomic status. Lastly, my identity as the only Filipina American in various academic and clinical settings has motivated me to express the importance of reframing resilience amongst my white-identifying colleagues and supervisors by acknowledging the role systemic oppression plays in a patient’s emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal distress. Through my privilege of higher education as a first-generation college graduate and doctoral student, I have learned that silence does not equate to survival; rather, it can result in tarnishing joy and lead to distress. Moreover, when an individual or collective unit does experience joy, it does not diminish the harsh realities of ongoing oppression. My identity and experiences as a Filipina American have been pivotal to my growth as a social justice-oriented clinician. Engaging with my communities as an anak, tita, Pinayista scholar, mentorship co-coordinator, Students of Color board member, and peer supervisor has helped me develop a voice that is not afraid to challenge barriers to equitable mental and behavioral health care. As such, in my newly earned position of power and privilege as a future licensed clinician, I aspire to empower individuals and families by providing them with the tools and resources they need to navigate systemic oppression in adaptive and helpful ways. Overall, I aspire to uplift those labeled as resilient or matapang by facilitating systemic change to buffer the need for resilience within our society.