I grew up in a predominantly white city in Tennessee. When I was younger, I wished I were white so I could fit in. I was tired of being asked if I was Hispanic, Hawaiian, or Oriental (cringe). I went along with—and welcomed—Asian jokes to feel accepted, but I was ashamed of doing so.
It wasn’t until college, where I was exposed to more diverse backgrounds, that I became comfortable with my Filipina heritage. But, given my desire to go into journalism, I (usually) refused to publicly state my opinion about current events and stayed neutral.
I did the same this week, as #BlackoutTuesday took over the internet. Instead of posting a black square on Instagram, I drafted this blog post.
