This post is going to be kind of a contiuation to my “Representation Matters” post.

In said post, I mention about not having a strong connection to my culture until college and a huge part of that is due to representation. Not only in media, but in my environments as well!

I am a full Filipino male and I grew up in predominantly white communities. I had spaces where I could connect with other Filipinos/Asians (i.e. my high school Fil-Am club [which I ended up serving as Vice President of]), but my main connection to my culture was the food that my mom cooked.

Even with my high school Fil-Am club, the main way our members (and our student body) connected to Filipino culture was food. We would sell lumpia at the school’s annual food faire.

After having the shared space of the Fil-Am club in high school, I decided to join the Fil-Am organization in college. This was such a great decision for me looking back. I not only was introduced to a large network of Filipinos (people who were just like me), but I also learned so much about my own culture.

I felt a real connection to my culture because I was learning so much more about it. I was learning about different things pertaining to my culture like: cultural dancing, the different languages, traditional attires and fashion, and literally so much more that I couldn’t even imagine learning growing up.