Thoughts, Reflections, and Experiences

I'm holding back tears. I'm holding back anger. I'm holding back pain. Why? Because I see the wounds of discrimination, oppression, shaming, and blaming. The wounds of the words and overall implicit (and even often explicit) messages of brown people, my people, as inferior-- less than. I'm probably over-speaking, making too dark (what's the opposite of light) of the situation, but these are raw emotions, right? "I think I just feel inferior," "but we don't have much," "what will people think?" "I'm sorry that I haven't given you much" ... these words hurt... especially because they are spoken as she compares herself to white culture and people. But why the emotions? Why the anger? Because of what this represents. It's not the first time members of my family have felt that way, especially in relation to my white friends. You'd think that it would hurt me less and less to see the shame they feel, the ...

"Mr. Smith, Mrs. Jones...." Our examples for 'typical American names'. What do I think about that as a young woman with a last name no one can pronounce? Will the way our demographics are changing in the U.S. affect these names or will it always be "John Doe" ... what about Juan? Reminds me of this article . Not sure what I think, it's more of an observation. What do you think? Unfinished, raw thoughts... probably should get back to class.

"The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference" -Elie Wiesel I remember the first time I heard this quote. It was 7th grade English class. Our class was reading Night by Elie Wiesel, a story of a boy who survives the concentration camps at the height of the Holocaust, based on Wiesel’s own experience. Indifference,” I thought, “...it’s worse than hate?” ...  Click here to keep reading.

The pictures, the message, the stories. Click:  "Beautiful Stories Adorn a Metal Wall" --------- Oh, my heart longs for the day I get to move to neighborhoods like this. The day I get to use my education, life experiences, and God-given talents to positively impact and influence these communities. Their voices are spoken through images.

A good read. It can apply to Latino-Americans, too. "I don’t know if it’ll help you at all, but I feel like it’s a message I should tell you: with Jesus, there is no culture." These were the words spoken to me by a well-meaning church friend... Read Miki Gao's Story