KAT MARQUEZ

I’ve always appreciated my family’s Filipino culture. The first piece is a block print representing Kamayan, the traditional Filipino practice of eating food with your hands. This practice is significant as Filipinos believe food is best enjoyed spread across banana leaves on tables and eaten alongside a community. Family and friends would then gather around, eating the food straight from the table with their hands, using their fingers to grab the food, and then using their thumbs to guide the food from their four fingers into their mouths. I remember how the older members of my family — usually my Lolas, or grandmothers — asked if we had eaten already, and even if we did, they would be sure to provide food for us to eat and take home. "Kumain ka na ba? / Have you eaten yet?" is a common phrase in many Filipino homes, including mine. Thus, the phrase "Ingat ka / Take Care" is emphasized by how much care is associated with food and community in Filipino traditions.

The second piece is the representation of how I have felt supported by my community. As someone who has anxiety, it is hard for me to trust my own voice, and I get stuck in my head. I feel distant from the rest of the world, stuck in the past, with the fear that I have missed opportunity after opportunity. However, with my community – the world of collective support – I am reminded that care is a constant stream that goes beyond my internal strife. The bottom half, the final grasp, is the reminder that with every outstretched hand or every door closed, I have friends and family that will check in and care for me.