Follower Fridays is a series of profiles highlighting members of Gaysian Third Space to showcase the diversity of gaysians in the Community. This week’s featured member is @nelljohn.

Who are you?

Due to the nature of my blog, I try not to publicly associate my identity too much to my Tumblr, but you can call me “NJ.”



I am a cis queer 1.5 generation Pilipinx person. I am an alumnus of UCLA, where I learned a lot about my queer/gay and Pilipinx/AAPI identities. I have an ENFP personality, so I consider myself talkative and social, so please feel free to reach out!

Where are you from?

Where am I from… Geographically, I have been raised in varying amounts of time in Belgium, the Philippines, and Southern California. I would call Long Beach/Lakewood/562 my home, but I don’t really have a permanent sense of “home.” I am currently living in SF right now.

What do you do?

For now, I work in the pharmaceutical industry. I have a double major in Biochemistry and French, so I figured I should do something in one of them. Outside of that, I try to get involved in dance, having spent more time in ballet but trying to branch out into other styles. I like to read articles (because books are hard to finish, given my busy schedule and short attention span), as I am preparing to go to graduate school. What else… oh! I play Pokémon Shuffle and I like to cuddle.

What are you passionate about?

I am very passionate about the exchange of knowledge. This can be in the big context of education, or in the intimacy of a conversation. During a course that I facilitated in college, I realized that I really felt satiated whenever I went in front of a class to teach them something. It wasn’t so much the fact that they considered me to be someone who was more intelligent that appealed, but it’s more so the sincerity of the light bulb “AHA” moment you could see in their faces. I am a firm believer that knowledge is not something to be stored in one’s head as wealth, but a treasure to be shared with others. I like to talk to others and get to know them on a deep level, so to reach that point when you can start to delve into their values, their experiences, their beliefs, because I do believe that humans truly define our point of view. It is this humanistic desire of mine that compels me to pursue a higher degree in education in the future to work with people within my Pilipinx and LGBTQ+ communities.



What is your dream job (real or fantasy)?

My dream job would be to become a professor. I would love to teach someday because I really like to inspire and motivate others to succeed. Also, I’d like to be able to work globally and internationally. If you thought my commitment issues were bad, I have a hard time staying in one place for too long. Plus, I think as our society continues to expand networks and to connect more people, an education that is designed for an international audience is needed.

If you could change the world with one idea, what would it be?

“Neither you nor I know more about how to be human, but let’s be human together.”