Why I'm Felicia: Common Application Essay Prompt 1

Felicia Asbury

The number one question that I get asked on the daily is, “ Wait what are you, no, no like what's your nationality?” and then when I tell them I'm German, African American and Filipina, they think I'm lying. No joke. Then they try to make sense of it in their head, saying to me, “Wait, were you adopted because your mom looks Spanish,” or “but your brother doesn't look Asian so that means you aren't,” and then comes the overflowing amount of questions and statements that follow. “ Prove that you're Filipino by speaking it.” And then when I say something in Tagalog they act like my head just blew up. Most people just assume I'm half white and half black…it's slightly more complicated than that.

My grandfather on my mother's side was German. He was fighting in the war as a U.S Air Marshall, which is why I guess I find history interesting. One day while in the Philippines, he and a few friends stopped to grab a bite to eat… which is where he met my grandmother; she was a waitress there. After a while, they got married and moved to the States. My grandfather went to work one day a year later to find my grandma hiding in the closet. When he asked what was wrong she responded, “There are angels falling out of the sky and I don't know what to do! Is this normal in America?????” Of course it wasn't really angels falling out of the sky…it was snow. Just snow. Because she had lived in the Philippines her whole life, she had never seen snow and no one had ever told her what it was. What's ironic is that winter in my favorite season. My grandparents taught me a lot, but what was most important is being yourself is key and you don't have to change for anyone. If anyone had a problem with that, it wasn't me who had to fix it.

My grandfather on my father's side is African American, and he married his high school sweetheart. He was such a big influence on me. He always said to me, “How do you expect to be successful if you never try?” This always popped into my head whenever I was nervous about trying something new. We would always go to the car races together and then he would be so into it that he would mindlessly tell me everything I'd ever need to know about cars, so of course I was pretty much brought into liking cars. Whenever i wasn't with my grandfather, I was with my grandmother. She would teach me how to make and try...try to teach me how to sew. So, all in all, I wouldn't be the person I am today without those people in my life. They all have shaped me into the person I am today.