TWO IN ONE

Through out high school, I choose to ignore my Filipino

side. The most important thing for me is to fit in-, wear the latest clothes, listen to

the coolest music, speak the slang spoken between

friends.

If anyone ask me my ethnic background, I

emphasized that I was half-white,

leaving out that I was half-Filipino

If prodded any further, I said that my mother

was born in the Philippines, but that she was definitely

mixed with Spanish blood.

. Somehow I had came to the conclusion that to be American Meant I should exclude my Filipino heritage.

To include it also might mean I wouldn’t fit in

with my teenager-I had never been to the

Philippines. I spoke only English, and I practiced

no Filipino customs.

Since I came to collage, I have been exploring the Filipino culture more as part of my family history than as my own culture.

This is a step toward true recognition of my Filipino

identity.

Though I have been raised in America and

have lived the “ American” culture, this doesn’t mean I

should deny that I am also a Filipino.

My Filipino heritage has a claim on me

that has been waiting to be

explored further-waiting to include

me-and in it..

.. Growing up as a mixed Asian and

American has made me aware that it

isn’t necessary for me to be 100%

American..

Now, as I begin to study Filipino history and culture through

research and from my mother, I integrate this new knowledge with my American

culture.

This process of integration bridges the

two identities that make who I am. Now, I no

longer say I am American or all Filipino, instead I can proudly say that I

am both.

Comprehension Check

1.What is the text all about?

2.What did the writer finally realize about the integration of different cultures in him?

• 3. Which culture, do you think, was predominant in him? Why do you think so?

• 4. What type of text is it? Why do you think so?

• 5. Who could have written it? Why do you think so?