To lola who spends her day marinating meats,

chopping vegetables, and washing rice,

Thank you for cooking me dinner.

 

To tatay who shines shoes for a dollar on the streets,

Thank you for making me laugh.

 

To nanay who goes to the night market every

Sunday to sell her renowned ube halaya

Thank you for teaching me how to speak

Tagalog when my parents refused to.

 

To kuya J who handles the family’s finances,

Thanks for tutoring me in math. You really

saved me from flunking out of school.

 

To ate B who worked at the beauty store in

the mall nearby,

Thanks for making me feel beautiful in my

own skin.

 

To tita who gives food to the needy,

Thank you for taking me in.

 

To the family that lives at the cyan blue

apartment down elm street

To the family that is not a stranger to

name calling, racial slurs, and insults

To the family that was thought of as

uneducated, unfit, ugly, and selfish

To the family that was robbed of their

dreams despite hard work and

determination because of their race

To the family that was judged too quickly

To the family that taught me you can still

be happy with your ancestry even if the

world tells you not to be

To the family that still laughs and smiles

as they hide their scars

To the family that had been given nothing

but has given me everything

Thank you

Thank you for teaching me that I should

not be ashamed of where I came from and

who I am

You shaped the woman I am today,

A proud Filipina who is not afraid to

speak up for others

who go through prejudices like you did

Many people have you to thank

And I am one of them

So let me be the first to say

“Salamat po”