Too often I think back to the first night we metAnd how scared I was when you hugged me from behindI struggled to gasp for air as you noticed I couldn’t think straightBut really I reflect because I knew I would run away from youAlways running from anything that feels realNow all I want is someone to make me feel aliveNot realizing everything I seek is within always and forever  I always feel sa...

23 and me  Here’s an idea: a little bit of my spit will determine what language I could be speaking, what food I should be eating, what box I will be ticking. I have:Borders pre-coded into my skin, I have passportstattooed into the marrow of my bones, I have ancestral whispers twisted into the drumbeat of my heart, stories and smells and soundspassed down in skin cells, from warriorswhose bodie...

This piece talks about the identity being kept secret behind bars of an American flag. Instead of wholeheartedly accepting our origins, we replace our heritage in order to fit into the society we live in. In this case, a Filipino is behind the strips of American flag that symbolises the different aspects of our life that is replaced with American traditions. 

I heard you the first night I migrated near the fields You shook me Scolded the enemy Stroked your wings Magnified with a loud clap I felt your presenceNo It was the scent before it rains that gave it away I heard stories about you, but never was a witness That night, I watched you closely As you flew over me for hours You screamed Broke the sky Made the fall The drought was ending due to your ...

“The White Man’s Burden,”I read it like irony. What a privilege,I realized,to not know he was talking about me:The Bastard Child of Imperialism.The Amer-Eurasian-Africanbirthed and murderedby the hands who killedthe hands that raised me.Genocide or revolution etchedin the crevices of my skin?We witness the racismour ancestors endured,and learn of the racism our ancestors had within.Not enough o...

I dreamt of youwith lipstick-stained teeth,begging me to tell you you looked pretty,When in truthyou were a desperate doe-eyed disaster,Aimlessly recordinga moment in timewhen you felt like your body wouldn’t kill you.  

Why are we all competing to be somebody we are not? Are we losing our self-identity in mind of an ego? 

Confession of a 42-Year-Old Writer: From a Literature of Frustration to the Literature of Overcoming    Alexandr Kan As with people, objects oftentimes become sources that arouse particular memory of one’s past. Strangely, though, objects seem to hold still the past, present, and future of a person, unlike memory of people which is subject to constant change. I tend to treat all my personal b...

Hello, We are John Panganiban and Jazlynn Pastor: two artists inspired by creativity in culture. We would like to submit to you a set we call "Identity Through the Decades". This set showcases the cultural identity of Jazlynn as a Filipina American. Jazlynn is shown wearing clothing inherited from her grandmother and great grandmother. These pieces show the significance of sharing stories of he...

TRANSITION”  responds to relationship with the body that we nowadays have or not have, it become my own visual observation and research of the subject, as well as my personal self-therapy based on creating it in collaboration with strangers.. It’s about the attitude, the distance and account of the body.