Mabuhay from Seattle!
Hello everyone,
My name is Armin and I’m happy to say that I’m one of the newest bloggers to join the crew here at Definitely Filipino. You can see my mug directly to the right, with my Philippine Flag New Era baseball cap. I’ve been blogging in one form or another since the mid 1990s and I’m proud to now be able to contribute to this blog with my unique and very heavily Filipino-influenced perspective. Since this is an introductory post, here are some quick facts about myself and my background:
- Born and raised in Seattle, Washington to parents that immigrated from The Philippines in the early 1970s
- Graduated from the University of Washington in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, specializing in New Media Technology and Policy
- Graduated from the University of Washington in 2006 with a Master of Communications in Digital Media
- Marketing Director during the normal work week, wedding and freelance photographer after hours and on weekends
- Hobbies/Interests include photography, modifying and showing cars, music, movies, sports, video games, and all things geeky
Now since that’s out of the way, I’ve had a bit of a tough time figuring out what to write for my first post. Should I just jump right into things with a serious topic, or keep things short and sweet? Well, I figured I’d want everyone to come back to read my posts, so going with a controversial or potentially sad topic right from the start probably wouldn’t be the best idea. Instead, I decided that I’d give a little insight as to what makes my outlook on things unique.
As I mentioned earlier, I was born and raised in Seattle. Being in the Pacific Northwest corner of the United States, the Seattle area is predominantly caucasian. However, in my case, not only was I raised in Seattle, but I was also raised in a predominantly caucasian neighborhood and went to predominantly caucasian schools. My parents were very much aware of this, so they made sure they instilled the Filipino culture in me from before I can remember. At the same time though, they wanted me to do well in school, make friends, and stay open-minded to different beliefs and cultures. Thus, my upbringing was quite the mix between traditional Filipino culture and values and the proverbial melting pot that is America. In fact, I didn’t even have any Filipino classmates until I entered high school, and didn’t have any close Filipino friends (outside of family friends) until well after college.
The interesting mix of cultures as I grew up undoubtedly influenced my view of the world, the types of things I became interested in, how I interacted with my friends, and ultimately what direction I decided to take with my life. It also wasn’t an easy road by any means, since often times my Filipino upbringing directly clashed quite a bit with the cultures and values around me. Nevertheless, with 30 years now behind me, I can confidently say that through it all, I’m still very much Definitely Filipino.
Now that you know where I’m coming from, I’d like to know what types of topics everyone would like to read about from me. More about growing up in Seattle? Maybe something about my photography? Perhaps talking about my show car and meeting like-minded Filipinos in the automotive scene? Or how about going the political route, talking about immigration and race issues here in the United States? Please comment below and let me know. Until then, maraming salamat po for reading!
For more about Armin H. Ausejo, please visit his website: ArminAusejo.com
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Thanks for the comments so far! I’m already planning my next blog to be on growing up here in the United States while retaining my Filipino culture, so please be sure to look for that soon! Any and all other suggestions are welcome and appreciated!
hi coblogger! really nice!
Hi Armin! I’d like to more about life there as a Filipino and what are the Filipino aspects your parents instilled on you and still retain now.
Hope to see more of your posts!
Thanks
Hi Armin, I read what you have written and I admire you for
your achievements, I like what you do it seems that you are enjoying life. But what I would like to know from you is that if you still have Filipino traits and values since you were raised there.
I will be glad to read some more of your blogs and see some of your photos since you are into photography.
Thank you if you could find time to reply.