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I was raised in a bilingual household... and I don't speak the language that the rest of my family does.

My mom immigrated to the United States in the 80s from the Philippines. English is considered one of their major languages and so it's not uncommon to meet other Filipinos who become fluent in it after living in America for only a few years. She met my dad, a member of the navy, and had me! My dad is a white American man and he speaks only English with a sprinkle of German. (I don't remember why he learned it but he doesn't remember most of it.) My mom and dad then work together to get my half-sisters (different dad than mine) from the Philippines over and they integrate themselves pretty well into the culture of the states. They pick up American English slang like it's nothing.

Besides a few pet names here and there, I'm raised speaking English and I recognize a few words to nod or shake my head in a conversation. Writing, reading, spelling and their subsequent "branches" are all my best subjects. My mom worked long hours as a nurse so I didn't want to bother her in learning Tagalog (the Filipino dialect of the region they came from) and my sisters had pretty bustling social lives when I was a kid so they didn't have the time. Eventually, I lost interest. I was interested in learning other languages like Italian, Spanish, and Japanese.

The language barrier became a point of contention sometimes because having older siblings, teasing comes with the territory. I think that also had something to do with it. Filipino culture is centered around family and social gatherings, so when we go to those and the people around me are speaking Tagalog, it's easy to feel isolated. I'm thinking of looking back into it when I have a chance.