Mabuhay

Mabuhay. Kamusta.
Good afternoon.
Magandang hapon.

“Speak English,” they say.
Okay. Sige. Pwede na man.
Yes. I can. I’ve been doing it all day.

It’s exhausting. It’s tedious.
I have to sound the words out
In my head before I say it
Just so that the vowels sound American
I have to push down that tidbit
Of my identity to appease a group of people who think that English
Is the best measure of intelligence

Will my accent change the value I hold?
If my t’s are more prominent, am I stupid?
If I speak like this, like the way I was taught, does that change the fact
That I study four languages?
Does it change the fact that I’ve pushed myself so that I could be on par
With the other honor students?

Hindi kami bobo.
We’re not stupid.
We have the same capacities
As those born in the US

For the girl who told my friend not to talk to her
Until she learned more English
I hope you know that she speaks a language
You do not know a word of.

–Lianne Caparas, Sophomore