Before I could even say “America”, I was a conservative. When I possessed the capability to choose a set of political views, my strong religious upbringing led me to choose the right side of the political spectrum. Even though I had a basic understanding of the issues such as abortion, stem cell research, and government taxation, my ignorance of the left prevented me from making educated political decisions. So, for eight years, I was navigating through the deep wilderness of...

This essay talks about my initial struggles adjusting to American life after moving from Manila when I was nine years old.

I never knew how different I was until I was thrust into a completely different world. For the first ten years of my life, my entire world was defined by the city limits of Manila. I was the same as everyone else. We all had brown skin. We all loved to eat adobo. We all were Catholic. I was no more unique than a stranger on the street. “Foreigners” were rarely seen in Manila so I had little to no...