Half

Hi, I’m AJ and yes, I’m Filipino

The same introduction every single meeting

The same “Are you half?” with every single greeting

Half white, half Asian

Half French, half Japanese

Half white, half Chinese

Half this, half that

“I am full Filipino”

“No, you must be half”

I guess I’m a liar.

I guess my features are deceiving

Is it the brightness of my skin?

My evident lack of melanin?

The curliness of my hair?

Because I don’t speak Tagalog?

Or because when I do try, I have an accent?

Is it because my skin is white

When my relatives are brown

Yet they still call me beautiful with an upside down frown

But I grew up in this culture

And you can never take that from me

Just because I don’t fit your perceptions of Pinoy

This culture is more than skin deep

I eat rice 4 meals a day

With my hands to my teeth

Rice grains in my nails

My surname’s a Spanish trail

I’ll beat you 1on1 with tsinelas on my feet

I greet my elders with their hand to my head

I’m apparently related to every Filipino we see

You or you

It doesn’t really matter who

Ang kapamiliya ko

It doesn’t matter if it’s true

I have Titos and Titas that I didn’t know exist

Get the ice cream from the freezer

It’s leftovers, probably fish

We sing karaoke every single gathering

And every single gathering looks like the break room for hospital staff

See the rosary swing in my rearview and people still want to say that I’m half

My blood runs pure

Please put this half talk to rest

Pilipino Ako

I wear that badge proudly on my chest

Meet the Author: AJ Salvador is a Computer Science major with a Finance minor graduating in May 2027 and is proud to be Filipino!