YouTube hit Judy Travis: ‘Being Filipina is about family and giving’

Judith and Benji Travis with daughters Julianna, Miyako, and Keira. The Seattle mom has more than 4 million YouTube followers. CONTRIBUTED

My name is Judith Gutierrez Travis. I’m married to Benji Travis and a mother to my beautiful daughters, Julianna, Miyako and Keira. My parents are both first-generation Filipino, and my father came to this country as a sailor in the United States Navy.

I was born in San Diego, California but my family frequently moved until we finally settled in Seattle, Washington, where my father was stationed at the Everett Naval Station until he retired. Moving around so much because of the demands of the military was difficult; however being part of a Filipino family, it always seemed there were some relatives nearby to make us feel as if anywhere we went was home.

Being Filipina is something that I’m very proud of. It’s a pride that is not forced on me or was even taught to me. It is a feeling that comes naturally with such a family-oriented culture. Before anything in my life, family was always the occasion.

Weekends were for family. Vacations were for family. The culture I was raised in naturally taught me about my heritage. Even though we didn’t have a lot of money growing up, my parents made it a priority for my sister and me to visit the Philippines. I’ve been back many times since I was a child, and my last trip was to celebrate the life of our Nanay back in the end of 2014. Now that I have my own children, I feel so blessed that again I have family around all the time to help teach my girls what it means to be Filipina.

My profession is on YouTube. I’m what you would call a “YouTuber” and I create videos for people to watch every day.

WATCH: ItsJudyTime on YouTube

I started by sharing simple beauty tips on my first channel “ItsJudyTime” and since then have made two more channels; “ItsJudysLife,” my daily vlog and “ItsMommysLife,” my mommy channel where I share with other “to be” Moms and current Moms my experiences in parenting. It’s not something I have to force, but naturally my Filipina comes out in many if not all of my videos. Especially my daily vlog.

My videos give my audience a chance to see me interact with my parents and extended family a lot. We are often attending Filipino events or family get togethers (which my husband loves because of the lumpia).

Now that I ponder it, “being Filipina” isn’t something I really state in any of my videos when describing myself because I feel it comes out so naturally through my actions and daily activities.

One of the most important lessons I have learned from my parents is to give back. Especially giving to family and giving beyond them as well. My parents are always buying, saving and packing things to bring back to the province where we are from to give to the people back home. That spirit of supporting others has been greatly instilled in me.

We live our lives (my husband and I) to support our families with any blessing that we gain in our careers. Beyond that, we also want to help the world through charitable causes. Every year we put on a fundraiser in the month of December where we raise funds for a cause of our choice. It’s called “Dancember.” We’ve been able to raise over $250,000 over the last four years and are very proud of the many viewers of our YouTube channel that made it possible.

This year we are proud to support the cause “Convoy of Hope.” Its goal is to “Feed the World” through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreach and disaster response. This is a cause that is dear to my heart especially with three little ones of my own. Another reason this organization is important to me this year especially is that they specifically serve the Philippines as one of their focus countries.

When we ask our audience online to help donate to our cause, we are always mindful to pick global initiatives or charities. This year will be that and a way to give back to the country that helped make me who I am.

Being Filipina is simple to me. It’s about family and giving. That’s it. I’m so thankful to my parents, Albert and Nini Gutierrez, for raising me to understand this. Also to my extended family who is always there to support me.

Judy Travis, also known as ItsJudyTime to her 4 million-plus followers, is YouTube’s #1 Millennial Mom (ranked in the top 1 percent of “Beauty” and “Family and Children’s Interests” by YouTube) and considered one of the industry’s top social media influencers. Her total channel views surpass 600 million, drawing more viewers than most prime time network shows.