Tagalikha Panel
oRGANIzATION: TAGALIKHA
PANEL: “Mahal or Mahal: is pursuing your passion worth the cost”
date: MARCH 2023
LOCATION: BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
Tagalikha is an organization focused on creating “community spaces for Filipino/xs to explore the culture of the diaspora and motherland through creativity.” Alongside two other artists, I participated as a panelist in a community event that explored the question: Is pursuing your passion worth the cost?
“Mahal” shares dual meanings in Tagalog— it can mean “expensive” or “costly,” or simultaneously mean “love.” Throughout the panel we explored our past, present, and future relationship with our respective crafts and how our families and cultures impacted our professional endeavors.
“This process of sacrifice has really been more of a process of surrendering. ”
When asked about what I was currently sacrificing I shared, “I am sacrificing the old versions of myself, shedding old beliefs and stories and identities that aren’t mine and remembering who I truly am. I am shedding other people’s expectations, particularly my family’s and the timelines that my friends are on.”
“This process of sacrifice for me has really been more of a process of surrendering. It’s accepting what is for me and what isn’t and it’s also a process of learning to trust myself and trusting the universe that I will have everything I want in my life, somewhere down the line.
Sharing my experiences in the architecture and art industry with fellow creatives was an empowering and humbling experience.
I give my thanks to the Tagalikha team for giving me a platform to share openly and honestly about the ups and downs of my career thus far.