Writing POC 101

Filipino-American Characters - @wonder-lost

Hello everybody! My name is Lara and I'd like to talk to you about Filipino-American characters! I just want to thank @talkthepoc for this opportunity to talk to people about my culture; it's really important for people to understand that there are people who need to learn to accept that there are people unlike them, and we need to accept the people around us!

As a Filipino-American, I was born in the United States and have lived here for my whole life. Few things to tell you all:

1. Not everyone speaks their parents' language.

Both of my parents were born and raised in the Philippines, in different areas, but nonetheless, still in the country. They both came to America and they met here and fell in love and had my siblings and I. My parents speak in Tagalog (the official language of the Philippines) at home, when they're talking to each other, and sometimes to my siblings and myself. My sister understands a good portion of the language, and my brother and I know a very small portion. None of us can speak it even half fluently. Sure, we know a few words, but our knowledge of the language is only to a tiny extent.

We always regret not learning at a young age. Now, it's very difficult for us to try to learn the language, as much as we try.

2. Nearly everyone is proud of our culture.

If you know a Filipino, they are usually very proud of being one. I don't know one Filipino

that isn't proud of our culture. It's a very diverse culture. There's so many things to talk about our culture. It's different from the usual Asian cultures ( we are considered Asian, not Pacific Islanders!! just a little tid bit for you all ) because we have Spanish influence, it's different from any culture as any culture has its own differences. There are Christians, Catholics, Muslims. The Philippines is a huge melting pot, it's huge on culture.

3. Filipinos are not a combination of being "Chinese and Mexican," or any other Asian.

I can't stress this enough. I have a Spanish last name and I live in a town where the population is predominantly Dominican. I actually know of 3 other people in my town that have the same last name. I feel somewhat awkward about it, to be honest.

The second thing is that people firstly assume that I'm Chinese at a first sight. I'm sorry sir, I didn't think all Asians look alike.

I look different from a Chinese person. A Chinese person looks different from an Indian person. An Indian person looks different from an Indonesian person, and so on.

4. It took our parents hard work to get to where they were.

My parents moved to America, my mother to New York, my father to California, before they met in New Jersey.

Like many people, Filipinos always want their children to surpass them. They look at America like it's a holy land, a holy grail. They'll earn more money, have a better living for themselves and their families.

My mother once told me that when she lived in the Philippines, she worked at a mall. She always saw this different store at the mall that sold leather items, like shoes. She said that "her mouth watered" at the sight of the shoes sitting in the window. Her salary at the time was equivalent to $60 a month. A good portion of people earn over that amount in a day's work. The shoes that she wanted were over a thousand five hundred pesos (1,500), which is around $30.

Some Filipinos go to a certain extent that they will come to America illegally. It's absolutely difficult for people who need the money and come into the country illegally. They're doing it for their families back home. They want their families to be proud of them. There's a TV show that was on TFC (The Filipino Channel) called "On The Wings Of Love" and it was about a woman who essentially did the same thing, but instead married a person for her green card to stay in the United States.

Alright, that concludes my little "essay" on Filipino American characters! I'm very proud of my ethnicity, and I think it's time for other people to know that Asia isn't just all Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people!

If you're writing about a Filipino-American, or even a Filipino character, include these things:

● we are hard workers

● food is very important to us

● family is very important to us

● God is second to none

● balikbayan boxes are everything when it comes to sending things back "home"

● we always want to make our families and relatives proud

To conclude this, I'd like to enclose my favorite quote from Glee, spoken by Brittany S. Pierce, when asked what her favorite color was by Artie Abrams:

"What's your favorite color?"

"Filipino. they're very hard workers and family is very important to them."

Thank you all, Lara (@wonder-lost)

P.S. - if you all need help creating or writing about a Filipino American character, I am here to help! I can't say I can help much with Filipino characters themselves, but definitely Filipino Americans!