Welcome

Why “Coconut Island?” Well, it starts with understanding who I am. I am a 2nd generation Filipino. That means my parents came from the Philippines and I was born here in the United States. When my parents first came to the US, they received what they felt to be a lot of prejudice due to the fact of their nationality. It was shown in their ignorance of American culture and their heavy accents.

My parents did not want this for me.

So they raised me and my sister to speak English well, and to be relevant to the culture we live in – the United States of America. Because of this, I ended up being a guy who looked Filipino on the outside, but was completely American on the inside.

So why coconut?

I was actually first called this by another older Filipino who, when they first met me, started talking in Tagalog with me. When I politely informed him that I didn’t speak Tagalog (the Filipino national language) he laughed at me and said, “Oh! You’re a coconut, huh?!” Of course I laughed back with uncertainty and proceeded to ask politely, “Umm…what do you mean by coconut?” With a grin from ear to ear he said,

“You’re a coconut…Brown on the outside, white on the inside!”

So in short, “Coconut” describes me. Coconut Island is just a way to describe the place you’ve landed. The perspectives I share come from the collection of life experiences I’ve had.

Soli Deo Gloria