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I was born in America, but I consider myself a Filipino.

When you look at me, you can't really tell what I am, but I'm black, white, Native, Spanish, and a little bit of Filipino.

I was raised in a dominantly Filipino family. I didn't know I was 'mixed' until I got older and started asking questions about my grandparents, the origins of our middle and last names. We were kind of textbook Pinoys. A lot of the Filipino stereotypes that were joked about by me and my friends rang very true with my family.

My mother is black and my father is Filipino. I got the best of both worlds.

It's in your DNA to be a Filipino; how can you just turn your back on it?

I'm part Spanish. My paternal grandfather came from Spain via Singapore to Manila. On my mother's side it's more mixture, with a Filipino mother and a father who was Scotch Irish-French; you know, white American hybrid. And I also have on my father's side a great-great-grandmother who was Chinese. So, I'm a hybrid.

People don't really assume that I'm Filipino. Of course, they're gonna think, 'Oh, are you some sort of Hispanic?' and you say, 'No, I'm actually not.' I get Korean or Chinese a lot.

All I know is that I'm proud to be Filipino.

I'm a quarter Chinese and three-quarter Filipino. I don't look Filipino; I look more Chinese or Korean. It actually works in my favor: in terms of roles, it gives me a broader canvas.

The Philippines, it might be said, is a country in search of an identity.