UC Prompt #1

    My grandfather and I are going through a box of faded photographs, worn at the edges.  I touch them gingerly, as if not to disturb the people living in them.  I look at these individuals, some of whom I never knew and some, like my grandparents who have played a vital role in shaping the person that I am.  I realize that those who have come before me have started me on my life’s journey.  The direction that this path will take me is now up to me.   

            My  Papa was born in China of Russian heritage, then because of the immigration quotas in the United States in the 1920s, his family moved to Uruguay and then finally to the United States.  As a result of this journey, Papa was forced to deal with prejudice, disappointment, and uncertainty.  “Why do you look different?” “Why do you sound different?” Yet he learned, as he has taught me that you must never lose sight of who you are and what you want in life.  So when I was on the receiving end of religious intolerance, I reminded myself of those pictures I so cherished- photos of Papa in China, standing out like a sore thumb, different from all the other children, then I flash forward to a photo of Papa in his judge robes as a judge in Los Angeles.  If Papa can do it, then so can I.  Added to Papa’s lessons on perseverance and self-respect, my grandmother and my mother have set me on the path of community involvement.

            “Here I come, Super-Friend of Animals, ready to save all homeless dogs and cats!”  I come across a photo of me, age four, in a Superman costume with a dog and a cat on the chest.  As Super-Friend, I  led the walkathon to raise funds for Friends of Animals Foundation, a shelter for homeless dogs and cats.  From this auspicious start, I have continued working with my family to call attention to those who cannot speak for themselves.  As president of Interact Club, I am a vocal advocate for community service, implementing activities working with the Special Olympics (coaching basketball), homeless and abused children, and the environment.  I still felt that something was missing on my journey.  That missing facet of my journey turned out to be the world of political awareness and involvement.  I immersed myself in the political world along with a myriad of young people as a result of the 2008 presidential election.  I became president of Junior Statesmen of America, founding president of Teen Democrats and a Boys State delegate.  Still I searched to expand my involvement outside the confines of El Segundo and California.  So I became an eager volunteer with the Obama campaign in 2008.  “Why couldn’t you have had me earlier so I could vote in this election?” I asked my mom.  Despite being too young to vote, I participated in the democratic process upon which our country was established- free choice and free speech. 

             “Grammy and Papa, look at these photographs!  These are photographs that my own grandchildren will hold, looking at their grandfather who witnessed the inauguration of Barack Obama.”  Now it is my turn to show my family the direction that my path has taken.  I have never felt as alive or energized as when I stood, in freezing cold, witnessing history.  Within this mass of humanity, differences and troubles disappeared, replaced with hope for a better world.  Despite body searches, being pressed against fences, and bone shattering cold for this Californian, I realized that my journey towards this very moment was possible because of the journey that my family had taken from all corners of the earth.  “E pluribus unum,” out of many, one.  So thanks to those who came before me, it is now my turn, to take their wisdom, their hopes and dreams, and direct my own path, to make my own decisions, my own mistakes, and my own accomplishments.