Melissa transferred to Evergreen this September after attending Whitman and The College of Idaho. Before the school year had even started, our mutual friend Aly, connected us over Facebook messenger. So before classes had started, we were well on our way to becoming good friends.

Melissa is a special person who is soft-hearted, ready to learn new things the world has to offer, and change in response to it. I have enjoyed how fully she has been folded into our community here in Olympia because of her intentionality to meet with people and get to know them deeply.

I have been encouraged by her relationship with God and hearing her story about how she was gifted freedom from depression through her relationship with God. Her love for worship and deep connection to God through nature is beautiful to see.

We have had many conversations looking ahead to becoming teachers and I am so excited for all the students that will have Melissa as a teacher. She is a protector, deep listener, advocate, and always ready to laugh.

Here’s to you Melissa! Congratulations on graduating and I am looking forward to your next year of growth and wellness.

I came across fresh tamarindo (shout out to the Winco in Lacey)!!! I ate so much tamarind that my tongue was wrecked…

Tamarind tastes like sweet, sour, pucker, childhood, Asian market snacks, laughing, legacy, connection to my mom.

In the Philippines, I came across a huge tree and sprinkled around it was little pods, some of which were cracked open. I thought that it might be tamarind even though I had never seen what it looked like. While it’s probably advised to not eat random things off the ground in countries you’re not familiar with, I cracked open a pod and the sweet and tangy smell swirled around me, mouth already watering. I put some in my mouth and felt the connection to the land, to my home. The good memories when I was a child eating tamarind candy met my first time meeting my extended family in the Philippines.

Family, food, connection.

side walks and parking lots

are where I feel at home.

crouched down, filipino squat style,

sitting on the headrest of the car parking spot.

the concrete that has held

my tears,

the lettuce spills from jack in the box tacos,

my knee scrapes,

the formless thoughts rolling through my brain.

having homes in different places around the globe,

united by the solid grit under my toes.

My best friend is getting married!! More images to come but these two people are so beautiful and reflect God’s goodness, actively going out to serve and connect with other people, showing who Jesus is in their lives. I am so excited to see how their relationship blossoms as they learn how to love people well together with each other. Also, look at how gorgeous they both are!!

Zion National Park, UT

Zion National Park, UT

Here I am, starting my third consecutive quarter of taking 20 credits. Needless to say, I am exhausted and my 10 week sprint is only just beginning.

It’s times like these where pursuing higher education can seem really pointless to me. I am trying to fit all this knowledge into my brain, pump out essays, stay on top of deadlines, and impress my professors all while trying to find out what living a balances life means, exercise at least 3 times in the week for my mental health, supporting my community around me, grow in my friendships, pursue a relationship with Jesus, and work, coordinate an on campus club, and plan for my future.

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Luckily, I am learning again and again how my identity is in Jesus and I am not defined by my accomplishments, work, or being busy but I am defined as cherished and adored by Creator. I dropped a 4-credit class I was taking which caused me face underlying fears of being a disappointment and recognizing that I am not as strong of invincible as I want to be. I am so thankful for my community that is constantly encouraging me to be good to myself and helping me envision a life that is full of who God says that I am and not following the patterns and pressures that our society has given us. Let’s change the world! (by sleeping and eating good food, which will allow us to be able to support each other better!)

Taken in SFO airport on a envy flip phone for top picture quality. This face also describes how I feel about writing essays and sitting for too long.

Functioning on less than 1 hour of sleep plus a 3 hour time change.

3/30/18

Just your sun burnt scallywag here, probably farting freely, drinking a kale smoothie because the SFO airport is bougie and even has places to sleep which seems unheard of. While the rest of the airport seems to be walking around in a fashion show, my blood shot eyes will covet their clothing from across the aisle, as I squint in confusion at the screen trying to make sense of 3 planes leaving from the same gate at the same time.

As tiredness overtakes me, I hope no one that knows me will see me slouch into a chair, letting my mouth hang open for an unsatisfying and disorienting nap among strangers.

I feel like I have only showered in the ocean for the past week and my hair is full of sand and salt. This is me, living my authentic self.

(written on 1 hour of sleep)

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Update: When I got home from the airport, I slept for 19 hours which was wonderful and took me back to my baby days when I would literally sleep and eat all day.

In other words, I miss the shapes of the leaves on O’ahu, the friendly and unique fish, powerful coral reefs, aloha spirit, making connections with family friends, and being in the warmth of the sun. Until next time.

I can’t focus and my essay is due in 12 hours….

There was some point in my life that I realized that other kids did not eat chicken adobo or have a Lolo or hear stories about the land of the Philippines, so distant yet so close in the descriptions of the flavors and sounds. But I was also stuck in a middle ground, hearing people casually throw out jokes with Asian American’s being the point of laughter. I would hear people say “you are white” as if I didn’t know the pigmentation of my skin is indeed white and as a challenge as if I had to prove that my Lolo came from the Philippines. I am still exploring this place I stand in, being white and being Filipina. Advocating for my people and learning my history and actively dismantling white supremacy and recognizing my role as a white person.

My name is Breanne and I am made up of my family and friends and places I have been.

Current ponderings include navigating the balance between the worlds of being culturally Filipina and being white, and what does it mean/what is the process of developing other white people to understand their own racial identity and culture of being white.

(from the “About Me” page for a blog I kept as part of a Evergreen program called “Asian/American: Pop Cultural Crosscurrents”)

I decided to take a dip in Heather Lake (because heck, I would either be coming back to my car dripping with sweat or lake water) and an trio of three older hikers who were enjoying a picnic lunch nearby found enjoyment in my swim. We conversed, our voices traveling over the top of the water and bouncing off the rocks at the waters edge. Before they moseyed on, one of the ladies snapped a picture of the lake and I.

I hope I look like the loch ness monster in the picture.