kat

A video series (1 of 3) part of my undergraduate thesis (and ongoing) project where I investigate more into my Filipinx-American identity.

I'd visit home and ask my mom to help teach me how to speak Tagalog again within the timespan of making this; the gesture intended to represent my homecoming to a heritage I have pushed aside for so long in order to assimilate.

I lost my ability to speak Tagalog when it was my first language as a kid. My parents recall when I first entered preschool, my class nor my teacher had no clue what I was saying at all lol. From then on, I observed my growing inability to comprehend the Tagalog spoken to me while I made sure I spoke English to my best ability in order for things to roll smoothly (especially in a predominantly White town like mine).

I thank my mom so much for giving her time to helping me create this. I don't know if she fully understands the depth of why I'm investigating so much into our heritage but this work means so much to me as it reveals an even bigger picture of the complex immigrant/multicultural experience that needs amplifying more than ever.