Niki Waters, 32
Filipino-American
California
This piece is a love letter to all the Filipinos who leave the Philippines to care for their family that they leave behind. "Balikbayan" is a service that provides shipping of goods from foreign countries back home to the Philippines - it's a service that OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) use to send gifts and supplies back home. But the best gift OFWs ever bring is their own return to family.