Good News

Days after the incident, I still get emotional when I think of how badly that mother treated her daughter. However, I had a chance to talk to an administrator the day after, and I feel so much better. First of all, the girl "D", has only minor injuries, she didn't even need stitches. When interviewed by the detective, she was articulate and they were able to determine who committed the crime. Furthermore, the school is now aware of the mom's emotional unstability and is taking steps to get the mom help. How would anyone have known that something was desperately wrong, if we didn't have the chance to see the mom display her brokenness for everyone?

I received my first rejection letter a few days ago. It's actually very, very early which is not a good sign. However, I am so glad that I am at peace. Three years ago, I think that letter would have made me cry and started anguished soul-searching and self-doubt. But instead I feel such incredible peace. If I go to the schools I want to, great. If not, great. No matter what, my life will be used to serve God, of that there is no question, and that fills me with incredible peace. I am so glad to have taken advantage of the opportunites I had, even though sometimes my academics suffered.

There's been a spate of articles on affirmative action/ white flight. Before I talk about that, I'd like to digress. So a few nights ago, this guy gave a talk on spiritual and physical hunger. And it made me mad. I was almost crying after he spent one hour going over statistics showing the utter poverty the world lives in. You know why I was mad? I felt like he laid the guilt on so thick. Maybe the average American needs to see tons of sad pictures and find out in grueling detail how billions are dying. But for me it was so painful. I already feel so heartbroken to know that my leftovers and trash would be valuable to people all over the world. Here's the thing. I don't want to continue feeling guiltier and guiltier. If I never eat again, how will it help the homeless child in Malawi? Instead of guilt, tell me what I can do now to make the situation better. Can I serve, can I give, can I do something? Because my guilt doesn't feed anyone.

There is one thing the speaker said that resonated with me. He talked about the difficulty of breaking the cycle of poverty. He also discussed how hard it is for most Americans to understand systemic problems can continue to keep people in poverty for generations. We think, if only they'd work harder and stop being lazy, they can climb out of poverty. But what do you do when you are born into a family so poor that you have to start working when you are 5 years old, to earn enough money just to stay alive. Even though you start working, you still don't have enough to eat, can't afford to buy clothes. Then a storm comes tears down your shack and it sets you back even further. If the playing field was level for everyone, maybe we could say that with hard work anyone can rise out of poverty. What I'm saying is, I think it's difficult for most of us to understand how the systemic injustices in the US continue to keep people in poverty. And that's why you continue to hear these arguments about whether or not these 3 hispanic people deserved to have stolen some spots from some well qualified white students. It is really a strange question if you think about it. I think what is hard for people to see is that there are certain privileges that certain socio/economic classes have. Until we understand that there will be deep resentment about affirmative action.

Apparently some white parents have chosen to take their children out of predominantly Asian high schools because it's too competitive and unbalanced. I don't buy that. I just think that whites are uncomfortable with balance of power and so they decided to jump ship. What I want to see, is if the demographics of who's on Fortune 500 list starts changing. Are we going to see more top execs, and CEOs who are Asian? Maybe. But I think it will take a very long time to happen.