This weekend, I went to an anti-war protest with my boyfriend.
My boyfriend was in the U.S. Marine Corp and got injured by a suicide bomber. Every day, his legs pain him, and he can't hear out of his right ear.
Nevertheless, he doesn't let those stop him. I didn't even know about this when we first met because he can run, walk, and bike like any of us, and even better than most of us. What I did learn though, as we started going out, is that his legs have chronic pain, and he is not able to stand for long periods of time. It pains me when I see him in so great pain everyday, and that war has given him this burden that could be avoided.
Yesterday, he was interviewed by NBC. To my disappointment though expected because war is not a popular topic right now, the media did not choose to air his interview, when this is such a critical issue. Many people are dying because of wars. Veterans come back scarred for life with images of war. I wish I brought my own camera and videotaped his interview, but I will try to tell you why he says we can't be in war. I know I don't do it justice, but I will try:
Many people go to war not knowing what they are getting into. Some do it because they want to serve their country. Some are pulled in because they have no other way to escape the pressures of life; for example, many people have no other choice but to go to war because of their financial situation. Once they get there, it is nothing like what they have been told. People are getting injured and dying. Millions of dollars are being spent on equipment that are unnecessary and can be destructive.
Instead of war, we can advocate for peace by investing in education. Following George Mortenson's model in Three Cups of Tea, the way to root out terrorism is by making education more accessible in those countries so that the people are able to rise up and not be pulled into groups they don't want to get into.
His visible scars around his body are a reminder to us of the costs and destruction of war. Seeing the scars, he can't stand another person to go through the same pain and scars for life, and this is why he is calling us to action to stop the war.
I am very proud of him, and love him very much. He has a big heart, and is very caring.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
An Observation
Today, before class, a classmate and I were doing some light chatting. I asked her where she lived, and she was explaining to me where she lived. She said she lived 15 minutes away from school.
I asked her, "How do you get to school?"
She responds, "By driving, of course. I can't walk to school."
For most people, the bus is not an option one would come up with when one needs to get from point A to point B. Not until I was forced to heavily rely on the bus system did I ever think about it either. When I lived at home until high school, I was lucky that I had my dad to drive me around with a driver's license.
I just found it interesting today, how the bus is the answer to all my transportation needs, and how it is the norm now for me, when it isn't for others. I could have never imagined myself taking the bus daily, and spending so much of my time on them when I was in high school.
And just to release some energy even though it doesn't go with this post, I hate the public transit system. It just isn't fair that we must be stuck on the bus for so long, often times 2-3 hours to get from one place to another. I wish our system was better, because I would most likely stick to public transportation even if I were able to have the privilege to drive if only our system was better. I used to live 5 miles away from school, and it took me an hour to get to school by bus. That is ridiculous. No one should have this added stress.
So, on February 28th, our bus system changed it's times and schedules, and, I'm not surprised, more reductions. Disappointing. Instead of curbing our gas addiction, we make it worse and promote more cars on the streets instead of making public transportation better, so that people can actually take advantage of it. If only they did this, we wouldn't see such a class difference inside the bus. Less CO2 emissions. Less traffic. The answer to the problem is not reducing the frequency of the bus, but increasing it, so that it is actually convenient to use, and the people who can't afford cars or can't drive won't be screwed. How sweet that would be. How is it that many countries are getting this right, and we can't?
I asked her, "How do you get to school?"
She responds, "By driving, of course. I can't walk to school."
For most people, the bus is not an option one would come up with when one needs to get from point A to point B. Not until I was forced to heavily rely on the bus system did I ever think about it either. When I lived at home until high school, I was lucky that I had my dad to drive me around with a driver's license.
I just found it interesting today, how the bus is the answer to all my transportation needs, and how it is the norm now for me, when it isn't for others. I could have never imagined myself taking the bus daily, and spending so much of my time on them when I was in high school.
And just to release some energy even though it doesn't go with this post, I hate the public transit system. It just isn't fair that we must be stuck on the bus for so long, often times 2-3 hours to get from one place to another. I wish our system was better, because I would most likely stick to public transportation even if I were able to have the privilege to drive if only our system was better. I used to live 5 miles away from school, and it took me an hour to get to school by bus. That is ridiculous. No one should have this added stress.
So, on February 28th, our bus system changed it's times and schedules, and, I'm not surprised, more reductions. Disappointing. Instead of curbing our gas addiction, we make it worse and promote more cars on the streets instead of making public transportation better, so that people can actually take advantage of it. If only they did this, we wouldn't see such a class difference inside the bus. Less CO2 emissions. Less traffic. The answer to the problem is not reducing the frequency of the bus, but increasing it, so that it is actually convenient to use, and the people who can't afford cars or can't drive won't be screwed. How sweet that would be. How is it that many countries are getting this right, and we can't?
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Undocumented Asian-Americans
The Collegeboard Conference was really great today. It was really cool to see so many educators wanting to hear our voice to see how they can meet our needs.
One thing I noticed was that the three of us speakers were all Asian and women, and that was really cool. It is pretty uncommon to see three Asian undocumented students in a panel. Often times, when I am in a room with undocumented students, there are usually only a few of us Asians.
There should be more Asians than that, though, because about 40% of AB 540 students in the UC system are Asian.
I know that being Asian and undocumented is really hard. Dealing with family is just so much more harder, because we are taught to keep something like this issue to ourselves. What needs to be changed is that immigration for Asians is seen as something unacceptable and embarrassing.
It must be known that it is not our own fault that we are undocumented; it is the system. Being undocumented does not change the type of person you are; you are still human.
It is important for Asians to stand up too so that our voice and needs as a society are heard too. We need to voice the Asian struggle. We need to show America that immigration is not just a Latino problem.
Also, not coming out is much harder than coming out. Life was so hard and depressing when I was not ready to come out yet. There is something very relieving in coming out. The support from people is just tremendous and I appreciate it. I do not want any undocumented Asians to face this struggle alone, because we should not, and cannot. Emotionally, that is just hard. It was a hard life not being able to share your deepest concerns with the people you hang out. There is a sense of lightness gained when one comes out, because it strengthens friendships, creates a deeper trust, and you know that you will have people with you to guide you. We all need to band together, so that our voice is stronger; only then will we be heard.
One thing I noticed was that the three of us speakers were all Asian and women, and that was really cool. It is pretty uncommon to see three Asian undocumented students in a panel. Often times, when I am in a room with undocumented students, there are usually only a few of us Asians.
There should be more Asians than that, though, because about 40% of AB 540 students in the UC system are Asian.
I know that being Asian and undocumented is really hard. Dealing with family is just so much more harder, because we are taught to keep something like this issue to ourselves. What needs to be changed is that immigration for Asians is seen as something unacceptable and embarrassing.
It must be known that it is not our own fault that we are undocumented; it is the system. Being undocumented does not change the type of person you are; you are still human.
It is important for Asians to stand up too so that our voice and needs as a society are heard too. We need to voice the Asian struggle. We need to show America that immigration is not just a Latino problem.
Also, not coming out is much harder than coming out. Life was so hard and depressing when I was not ready to come out yet. There is something very relieving in coming out. The support from people is just tremendous and I appreciate it. I do not want any undocumented Asians to face this struggle alone, because we should not, and cannot. Emotionally, that is just hard. It was a hard life not being able to share your deepest concerns with the people you hang out. There is a sense of lightness gained when one comes out, because it strengthens friendships, creates a deeper trust, and you know that you will have people with you to guide you. We all need to band together, so that our voice is stronger; only then will we be heard.
The Happiness High
There are many days when I feel very very lucky. I feel lucky everyday with what I have, but there are some days when I feel really lucky. I just can't help but dwell on how extremely lucky I am, when I know that a million things could have gone wrong, and I would not be where I am today.
I was having one of these moments last night. Last night, I found out that I was going to a Collegeboard Conference to talk about my immigrant experience. The audience were mainly counselors, educators, and teachers from the western region of the U.S. Though I have talked about my immigrant experience before, I was suddenly feeling really lucky last night. I think about all the people who have gotten me to where I am today, and how if it weren't for them, I probably would not had the chance to speak at this Collegeboard Conference earlier today. Would I have been strong enough to be able to do this if it weren't for the tremendous support I receive? Would I be in school right now, if I did not know of the resources AB 540 students can use? I feel so empowered that I am able to do this, to expose myself for the betterment of the movement and help us all. Looking back to where I was just even a year ago, I never thought I would be able to share my story. I never thought I would risk sharing my status with anyone. I felt lucky today that I was contributing to the movement, that I was about to tell our stories and struggles to these people who can help us, and will make a difference for us and future undocumented students. I think about how our voice saves the lives of younglings, and how we encourage each other to stay positive and pursue an education.
Everything I am doing today, I never thought I would be able to do it. Sharing my story can shake me up, and I often shake and tremble, because of the traumatic experiences I have had. But here is why I do it:
After the 2-hour workshop today, several educators came up to me and a fellow AB 540 student, and shook our hands. I cannot forget her words. There were about 25 educators in the room, and she walked to our table where we were sitting and told us: "I just wanted to personally thank and say to you, that even though there weren't too many people here today, I will make sure that many people will hear your voice. I will take this back to my campus, and will educate a room of 2,500 people. You guys empower and motivate me. Thank you for sharing. This workshop really helped a lot."
Others came up to us saying variations of that.
Whenever I do AB 540 workshops on weekends to high school students, parents, community members, it feels like I have won a million dollars when parents come up to our group and thank us for doing this and that it really helped them.
I am happy when I get random e-mails from people asking me if we are able to do a workshop for them. I also love meeting new people who are curious about my volunteer work.
I can't help but feel happy when a new person joins the movement and feels empowered with the work all of us undocumented students and allies have done.
When I attended a Student of Color Conference last year, we broke off into groups that we identified with. There was an AB 540 group, and Allies of AB 540 students group at the conference, and our rooms were right next to each other. I can't help but feel happy when there were only about 20 students in the AB 540 group, but the Allies group had probably about 60 peeople in there. I can't help but feel the change we are creating by educating our fellow friends, and how humbled I feel from our allies' support that we have built up.
I love going to community and AB 540 meetings and seeing how pumped up everyone is. The energy is so strong, it's contagious.
And this is why I get involved. I experience a feeling I call a "happiness high". It feels like I'm producing millions of endorphins that just make me so relaxed and content. Knowing the fact that I am making a difference is one of the greatest feeling I have ever experienced. Every incident like this reminds me that we are saving another AB 540 student, we are sharing our hope, our strength and our courage. We are uniting, erasing racism one bit at a time, reminding people of the importance of helping our communities and alleviating everyone's pain. This is why I am lucky, to have experienced this acute happiness, because of the people who gave me hope and courage to stand up. I feel honored to be able to pass this on to humanity.
I was having one of these moments last night. Last night, I found out that I was going to a Collegeboard Conference to talk about my immigrant experience. The audience were mainly counselors, educators, and teachers from the western region of the U.S. Though I have talked about my immigrant experience before, I was suddenly feeling really lucky last night. I think about all the people who have gotten me to where I am today, and how if it weren't for them, I probably would not had the chance to speak at this Collegeboard Conference earlier today. Would I have been strong enough to be able to do this if it weren't for the tremendous support I receive? Would I be in school right now, if I did not know of the resources AB 540 students can use? I feel so empowered that I am able to do this, to expose myself for the betterment of the movement and help us all. Looking back to where I was just even a year ago, I never thought I would be able to share my story. I never thought I would risk sharing my status with anyone. I felt lucky today that I was contributing to the movement, that I was about to tell our stories and struggles to these people who can help us, and will make a difference for us and future undocumented students. I think about how our voice saves the lives of younglings, and how we encourage each other to stay positive and pursue an education.
Everything I am doing today, I never thought I would be able to do it. Sharing my story can shake me up, and I often shake and tremble, because of the traumatic experiences I have had. But here is why I do it:
After the 2-hour workshop today, several educators came up to me and a fellow AB 540 student, and shook our hands. I cannot forget her words. There were about 25 educators in the room, and she walked to our table where we were sitting and told us: "I just wanted to personally thank and say to you, that even though there weren't too many people here today, I will make sure that many people will hear your voice. I will take this back to my campus, and will educate a room of 2,500 people. You guys empower and motivate me. Thank you for sharing. This workshop really helped a lot."
Others came up to us saying variations of that.
Whenever I do AB 540 workshops on weekends to high school students, parents, community members, it feels like I have won a million dollars when parents come up to our group and thank us for doing this and that it really helped them.
I am happy when I get random e-mails from people asking me if we are able to do a workshop for them. I also love meeting new people who are curious about my volunteer work.
I can't help but feel happy when a new person joins the movement and feels empowered with the work all of us undocumented students and allies have done.
When I attended a Student of Color Conference last year, we broke off into groups that we identified with. There was an AB 540 group, and Allies of AB 540 students group at the conference, and our rooms were right next to each other. I can't help but feel happy when there were only about 20 students in the AB 540 group, but the Allies group had probably about 60 peeople in there. I can't help but feel the change we are creating by educating our fellow friends, and how humbled I feel from our allies' support that we have built up.
I love going to community and AB 540 meetings and seeing how pumped up everyone is. The energy is so strong, it's contagious.
And this is why I get involved. I experience a feeling I call a "happiness high". It feels like I'm producing millions of endorphins that just make me so relaxed and content. Knowing the fact that I am making a difference is one of the greatest feeling I have ever experienced. Every incident like this reminds me that we are saving another AB 540 student, we are sharing our hope, our strength and our courage. We are uniting, erasing racism one bit at a time, reminding people of the importance of helping our communities and alleviating everyone's pain. This is why I am lucky, to have experienced this acute happiness, because of the people who gave me hope and courage to stand up. I feel honored to be able to pass this on to humanity.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Stories from Route 41
I love Route 41. Here are some stories that are important to me that happen because of Bus 41.
Once upon a time, around August of last year, my friend was on route 41. He was doing homework, and an awesome girl noticed his DREAM Act button pinned to his backpack, a pin valued more than diamonds to dreamers. She approached him to ask him about the DREAM Act; it turns out that she was also affected by the broken immigration system.
I receive a call from my friend, and tells me to call this awesome girl. I called her at a time when I was helping organize a march to Feinstein's and Boxer's office, and planned to meet that day. She told me she was going to take the bus to the location, and because I have such strong dislike for the bus, I offered her a ride, even though I risked her thinking I was crazy since we had not met yet. I was glad she said yes.
My parents pick her and her sister up, and we started our friendship great! We went to the march, I introduced them to some people. Then, we go to UCSD to pick up my friend's keys (the same friend that had the DREAM Act button also riding bus 41) to his apartment, and we chill there, sharing our stories. I knew after that day that we were all going to be great friends.
Turns out, that she is also friends with my boyfriend!
School starts, and I helped start an AB 540 group at the community college I attend. They are now part of the group, and are very awesome!
New Story:
After one of our meetings, we all take Bus 41 to my friend's apartment (guy who was approached by girl about the DREAM Act pin he wears). For some reason, the bus took almost an hour to get to our stop, so we play ice breaker games. Gladis (pseudonym). She is awesome, and funny, and helped me a lot in getting the AB 540 group together. She can be a bit crazy, but in a good way :) She always has really great ideas, and is young at heart. Gladis's car broke down, so she had to take the bus home that day with us. We go to DREAM Act button guy's apartment and relax and chit chat a bit. Then DREAM Act button guy gives us all a ride home, and I made it home before my 10pm curfew.
This was probably not a very exciting read, but it was a fun day, and so I decide to document it.
Story #3:
I bump into DREAM Act button guy a lot on the bus, and it is always a nice surprise, but sadly, I never bump into his roommate, who I always almost bump into but not quite :P We always seem to miss each other, but we used to see each other so much more often. He is also super cool.
Story #4:
On the first week of school, I receive a text from my boyfriend saying that he was thinking of me. I get off my stop, and I see him across the street. We did not mean to bump into each other, but it's always a nice surprise when we do. :D
Story #5:
One rainy day, DREAM Act button guy's roommate, my boyfriend, and I take route 41 to go to one of our meetings. It was raining, and we walk in ponchos. A few stops later, DREAM Act button guy and pigeon (pseudonym) get on the bus. They also just bumped into each other on the bus stop. We take up half of the back of the bus. It was funny that 99% of the people attending the meeting was on that bus to go to our meeting.
These stories may not sound so funny and cool because I did not explain much, but it's one of those things where you just have to meet these awesome AB 540/allies group to fully understand why they make me so happy, and why these memories stick with me.
Once upon a time, around August of last year, my friend was on route 41. He was doing homework, and an awesome girl noticed his DREAM Act button pinned to his backpack, a pin valued more than diamonds to dreamers. She approached him to ask him about the DREAM Act; it turns out that she was also affected by the broken immigration system.
I receive a call from my friend, and tells me to call this awesome girl. I called her at a time when I was helping organize a march to Feinstein's and Boxer's office, and planned to meet that day. She told me she was going to take the bus to the location, and because I have such strong dislike for the bus, I offered her a ride, even though I risked her thinking I was crazy since we had not met yet. I was glad she said yes.
My parents pick her and her sister up, and we started our friendship great! We went to the march, I introduced them to some people. Then, we go to UCSD to pick up my friend's keys (the same friend that had the DREAM Act button also riding bus 41) to his apartment, and we chill there, sharing our stories. I knew after that day that we were all going to be great friends.
Turns out, that she is also friends with my boyfriend!
School starts, and I helped start an AB 540 group at the community college I attend. They are now part of the group, and are very awesome!
New Story:
After one of our meetings, we all take Bus 41 to my friend's apartment (guy who was approached by girl about the DREAM Act pin he wears). For some reason, the bus took almost an hour to get to our stop, so we play ice breaker games. Gladis (pseudonym). She is awesome, and funny, and helped me a lot in getting the AB 540 group together. She can be a bit crazy, but in a good way :) She always has really great ideas, and is young at heart. Gladis's car broke down, so she had to take the bus home that day with us. We go to DREAM Act button guy's apartment and relax and chit chat a bit. Then DREAM Act button guy gives us all a ride home, and I made it home before my 10pm curfew.
This was probably not a very exciting read, but it was a fun day, and so I decide to document it.
Story #3:
I bump into DREAM Act button guy a lot on the bus, and it is always a nice surprise, but sadly, I never bump into his roommate, who I always almost bump into but not quite :P We always seem to miss each other, but we used to see each other so much more often. He is also super cool.
Story #4:
On the first week of school, I receive a text from my boyfriend saying that he was thinking of me. I get off my stop, and I see him across the street. We did not mean to bump into each other, but it's always a nice surprise when we do. :D
Story #5:
One rainy day, DREAM Act button guy's roommate, my boyfriend, and I take route 41 to go to one of our meetings. It was raining, and we walk in ponchos. A few stops later, DREAM Act button guy and pigeon (pseudonym) get on the bus. They also just bumped into each other on the bus stop. We take up half of the back of the bus. It was funny that 99% of the people attending the meeting was on that bus to go to our meeting.
These stories may not sound so funny and cool because I did not explain much, but it's one of those things where you just have to meet these awesome AB 540/allies group to fully understand why they make me so happy, and why these memories stick with me.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Updates
I wish I could write more, but not having the luxory of having a laptop when I feel like writing just doesn't happen, but for now, I do have one to use. I have been well, for the most part. It's only the second day of school, and I like all of my classes. I am really excited for this semester, and not really sure why. I am taking a chemistry class, so that makes me happy, along with Bio and Spanish.
And yay, for saving a lot of money on books this semester! I have almost all of my books by getting by with renting from libraries, chegg.com, and from friends.
Looking back..looks like my last update was about rockclimbing. So, here are a few new things going on in my life.
--Yay, I moved out. And I think my emotional health has been a little better. But now, I need a home. I thought a lot before I decided to take on this action. Being away from my relatives was so stress-free, but leaving means extra costs. Though it all is still hard, I think moving out has definitely made me feel happier, and I like the feeling of not feeling that dreaded feeling of going home everyday. I feel more relaxed and just good.
--My boyfriend knows about this blog. I am deeply in love with him, and he makes me really really happy. Everyday seems to get better every time we are together. One of the best trips we had was going on a roadtrip to Norcal during the thanksgiving break. I will never forget how cool those trees looked.
--I've always loved trees, but I have been looking at trees more closely. My bf's mom gave me a book on trees that will help us identify trees by looking at them, and it's pretty cool.
So there ya go. I hope I can post soon again.
And yay, for saving a lot of money on books this semester! I have almost all of my books by getting by with renting from libraries, chegg.com, and from friends.
Looking back..looks like my last update was about rockclimbing. So, here are a few new things going on in my life.
--Yay, I moved out. And I think my emotional health has been a little better. But now, I need a home. I thought a lot before I decided to take on this action. Being away from my relatives was so stress-free, but leaving means extra costs. Though it all is still hard, I think moving out has definitely made me feel happier, and I like the feeling of not feeling that dreaded feeling of going home everyday. I feel more relaxed and just good.
--My boyfriend knows about this blog. I am deeply in love with him, and he makes me really really happy. Everyday seems to get better every time we are together. One of the best trips we had was going on a roadtrip to Norcal during the thanksgiving break. I will never forget how cool those trees looked.
--I've always loved trees, but I have been looking at trees more closely. My bf's mom gave me a book on trees that will help us identify trees by looking at them, and it's pretty cool.
So there ya go. I hope I can post soon again.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
To Awesome Activists I met this weekend
This weekend was a great weekend. I went to LA for the movement building training, where I was happy to bump into some of the bloggers I follow. El Random Hero was the only blogger I was expecting to meet, but it turns out I also bumped into United we Dream and Documenting Me.
I am too tired to go into detail right now, but just that I had a great time with everyone. To all who were there, thanks for making it great!
I will try to share more of the cool things that happened this week another time. But I really did have a great time, thanks to you dreamers for being there like family!
I am too tired to go into detail right now, but just that I had a great time with everyone. To all who were there, thanks for making it great!
I will try to share more of the cool things that happened this week another time. But I really did have a great time, thanks to you dreamers for being there like family!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)