I had the privilege recently to attend a campus event in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I came for a one-hour event in order to satisfy certain obligations. I stayed the entire 3.5 hours for the outpouring of emotions and new ideas, both wonderful and bitter. I’ll start with a little bit of background about myself. I will say that this article is structured around what I know and believe. I don’t mean to be narcissistic. I simply believe that we can only ever talk and write about what we have experienced and what we know to be true.

I am currently an American national of Chinese descent. My parents immigrated to the country when I was 4-years-old. In my life, I’ve lived in Shanghai, Singapore, New York City, Pittsburgh, some rural areas of Connecticut and the suburbs of Boston. The places where I have lived have left an imprint on me. I cannot always be sure how, but it's there. Still, what has left the greatest influence is probably a mixture of my experiences in the Boston suburbs and my inescapable Chinese heritage.

Recently, I spoke with a close family member about the presidential election. I described my own opinions on the election, limited as they were, and proceeded to ask what he thought. The response was simple: “does it really matter?” This was always the type of experience I had growing up with, particularly in relation to politics. The mentality was always that you are the only one who determines your life; just keep your head down; work hard and get ahead. I don’t mean to be presumptuous and generalize from only my own experiences; however, given the recent outpouring of opinions from Asian-American writers regarding the “model minority” I have my doubts that I am alone in this experience.

So how does all of this relate? Well over the course of these events, as I said before, I felt a sudden rush of emotions and ideas. I tried to gather what I could; But like a small net in the ocean, I knew that there was only so much that I would be able to reel in. Regardless, what I did take in was very meaningful to me, enough that I felt the need to splatter a page full of words on the subject. Those who know me understand that it takes a lot to make this geeky science-math kid take even an approach at the humanities. Anyhow, one of the things I really loved was the opportunity to learn. I had been taught a philosophy of "keep your head down and work hard," and for most of my life, I have executed this idea. The solution for me had never been found in emotional expression, simply in work. A life philosophy completely centered on unfaltering, emotionless hard work is rather extreme, and in my experience, most extreme viewpoints tend to fail. In keeping my head down, many ideas and even recent news have fallen on deaf ears. I had no knowledge of these issues. To say that I have now suddenly become knowledgeable of various campus issues would be an incredible overstatement. But I am appreciative of at least possessing an awareness that these problems exist. I appreciate that I can be aware of the anger and despair that so many have.

So how do we solve these issues, and this anger and this despair? Though I enjoy being a pragmatist, I would say your guess is as good as mine. Well, to be honest it is probably better. But one thing I really was able to take out of the event, was the need for catharsis. The need to express one’s story. The need to hear another’s story. I have always loved stories, in particular short stories. Recently, they’ve become more of a necessity to me rather than a hobby. At the end of the day, my hope is that we can share a little, listen a little, then think and learn and understand.