Here is a person coming to grips with all that she is: a child, a sensitive being, a Raised Pinay, a culture-bearer, a seeker, a naturally curious mind, a whisper among many voices, and another link to a long chain of steel.

Many like me are trying to find root, to understand who we are and where we come from, to affirm ourselves as descendants of strong people who have been resilient throughout our colonized history of trauma, displacement, and migration. We are writers of a narrative that has long been at the hands of outsiders, but now we hold the pen like an Eskrimadora, ready to strike truth into the earth.

I have yet to accept this power from within. But I know that this is not a lonely battle. I have community, I have Sisterhood, I have ancestors, I have breath that extends all the way from the motherland to here.

Pinay Ako, Pinay Tayo.

[Featured accessories: Zig-zag scarf by Twinkle Ferraren. Philippine flag medallion by Tiffany Freeman of Conscious Centers. Sili pepper necklace from Bicol region. Yellow shawl from Beautiful Tibet (NYC).]