In 2007, while Barack Obama was signaling a new era at his NYC rallies, I was staging a debut of my own—chilling in a NICU in Rosario, Cavite, after an eight-month "captivity" in my mother’s womb.

Hi, I’m Akira. My name can mean "bright" or "intelligent" in Japanese, which is fitting because I was reading before I was three. I’m currently an 18-year-old senior at Great Bridge High School, and yes, I am beyond excited to graduate. I’m ready to leave my IEP behind and prove that I can navigate the world on my own terms.

My heritage is a whirlwind—a mix of Filipino, Austronesian, European, and Middle Eastern roots. I spent my first two years in the Philippines before moving to New York, where I was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Life was a blur of therapy sessions and self-teaching through TV shows like Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba.

After a few years of back-and-forth between the U.S. and the Philippines—including a special education journey funded entirely by my mom's hard work—I finally found my voice at age six, speaking both Tagalog and English. Following the loss of my grandmother, I returned to the U.S. for good. It’s been a long road of transitions, but it’s made me who I am today.