It all started when my mom met my dad. My dad served his church mission in the Philippines and that is where he met my mom. They instantly fell in love and when my dad was done with his mission, they got married.
Fast forward two years into marriage and they were blessed with a baby girl, me!
They made me a mixed baby, half Filipino and half white. I am proud to be both, I love both cultures, but I will say, Filipino food is so much better than American food.
I always get asked if I was born here in the states or in the Philippines and the answer is I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. There are a lot of Filipinos in Utah and mainly on the west coast.
I grew up eating rice with everything and it is my favorite thing to eat. I grew up singing in Filipino contests and festivals, watched Filipino movies, and even visited the Philippines when I was five years old.
I was at one point fluent in Tagalog, which is the language of the Philippines. I love the culture and Filipinos, but I also love the culture here in America. I love country music and wearing my boots.
My favorite singer of all time is Miranda Lambert and I had the opportunity to see her in concert when she came to campus.
I take pride in the fact that I’m an American with a different ethnic background.
I love being different.
I will say that I take pride in being half Filipino whenever I can. I always get asked if I am Polynesian or a different ethnicity.
I also love that I am tan and I don’t have to try to be tan because I was naturally born with it.
I love who I am and where I come from and just because I am half Filipino and half white, does not mean I can’t have pride in both ethnicities.
Testimony of her real life by Heidi Banks Missouri State University
