Hi I am Angel. I was born to a 15 year old in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Adopted two months later (my adoptive mother is White/Puerto Rican), I never knew who my father was, all I knew was that I looked Asian.

In grade school, I lived in a predominately Spanish neighborhood in New York City and I stuck out like a sore thumb.

I don’t look Puerto Rican, I clearly look Asian, and no one ever let me forget it. I got stares upon stares, smart remarks, etc.

Once I left New York to be with family in Southern Maryland, things got way better. I met my cousins! They are mostly adopted and of Asian decent too. It was great to finally fit in.

In New York, I only identified as Latina because I felt I would fit in better that way, and I didn’t know what type of Asian I was anyway, so I guess I felt it didn’t matter. My cousins that are Filipino kept telling me that they felt I was Filipino, and for some reason, in my heart, I felt I was too. So, I started to embrace it, and learned Tagalog.

I found out at 19 that my father is indeed Filipino. I met him. I have lots of family in the Philippines. So many aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters! Read More