L.F. Domingo“Diasporic spaces do not simply begin to take shape with the arrival of migrant bodies; it is more that we only notice the arrival of those who appear ‘out of place.’ The disorientation of the sense of home, as the ‘out of place’ or ‘out of line’ effect of unsettling arrivals, involves what we call a migrant orientation…. [It is the] lived experience of facing at least two directions: toward a home that had been lost, and to a place that is not yet home.” (Sara Ahmed, Queer Phenomenology)
"You cannot divorce yourself from yourself. You know you are the hyphen in American-raised. Your identity scrawls the length and breadth of the page, American-raised girl. American-raised Filipina. Because you have always had one foot planted in the West, one foot floating on the islands, and your arms have stretched across the generations, barely kissing your father’s province, the dreams your mother has for you.” (1/3)
“Because you were meant for the better life, whatever that is, been told you mustn’t forget where you come from, what others have done for you. Because all your life you’ve simply been told. Just told.” (2/3)
“Because a council of ancestors—including a few who are not yet dead, who are not even related to you—haunt you, you do your best. You try. You struggle. And somehow, when you stand in the center of a room, and the others look on, you find yourself acting out your role. Smart American girl, beautiful Filipina, dutiful daughter." (3/3)
(M. Evelina Galang, Her Wild American Self)
(M. Evelina Galang, Her Wild American Self)