Autobiography
Born in the city and quickly relocated to the woods outside of a small town in Washington, I spent my early years reading, running wild in the forest and stomping through mud puddles. My eyes were opened to the greatness of the world outside of my own when I entered fourth grade and was inspired by a very great teacher. If pouring over National Geographic had not already convinced me of my need to explore the world, this class certainly did. I was fortunate enough to have the same teacher for a total of three years and then went on to a rather uninspiring few years of Junior High despite the fun I had in science class.
Rascal was born and I met my first boyfriend all within one year. (Rascal being my recently deceased but eternally beloved cat.) A few catfights later, I reached high school and blissfully sailed through on the wings of marching band and long distance running. Other highlights of my high school career include all of my English/Literature classes, a few poetry classes and a wonderful Oceanography class by, again, another inspiring teacher.
Ah, college...College was less smooth sailing with some serious rough patches that brought my first major heartbreak and also a new sense of self-awareness. I had big things to do with my life and, a few months after graduating, moved to the big city of Los Angeles to realize my potential. Unfortunately, the only thing I realized was that I was not ready to live in Los Angeles and was actually seeking a more fulfilling life goal. After three months I was back in Washington.
I decided that I had had enough of the business of making money and applied to be a volunteer with Americorps*VISTA. Out of many applicants, they somehow chose me and I moved to New Mexico that August. Gallup is in many ways inexplicable. Those who live there love it. Those who don't, well, don't. Whenever I told people who knew of Gallup that I lived there, they would respond with a look of confused disgust and ask, "Why?"
On the edge of the Navajo reservation (hence "Fry Bread" in the title of the website), Gallup is one of the most unique places in the United States. It is a place struggling to maintain its traditions while also trying to keep to pace with the modern world. Alcoholism and domestic abuse are all too common but there are also a larger number of non-profit organizations than one would expect for a community of Gallup's size. People truly want to help each other there and bit by bit they are succeeding. It is a place that will remain forever with me and maybe I will even return to live there someday. Something interesting about the sky of the high desert plain in New Mexico is that it looks just like the sky in the grasslands of Tibet in the summertime. It's the most beautiful sky I have ever seen.
Although sometimes I wish I had stayed in the Land of Enchantment, I did not feel like I was any closer in my quest for my life path so I decided to come back to China (I studied there for a semester in undergrad). I had hoped that I would figure something out about my life. I knew that I wanted to help people and possibly get involved in politics to be a part of changing policy. I had considered many ways to do this but was timid to choose one, in case I was unwise in my decision. I wanted to be sure.
Before coming to China, I went to visit my brother in Japan. We had an amazing time traveling around the country and meeting all types of wonderful people. After hitchhiking off and on, we met a very kind sister and brother pair who let us stay the night in their beautiful house with their parents and grandparents. They then came with us for a small part of our climb up the third highest mountain in Japan. After we parted ways with our new friends, my brother and I trekked on, getting lost in the dark and surviving a close encounter with a bear.
By the next day we were exhausted. We had climbed up and back down and our legs were shaking something fierce. By the time we finished the hike, it had started to rain and I nearly passed out. It started to get dark as we attempted to hitch our way back and we thankfully found a nice Japanese family willing to give us a ride. They drove us much farther than we had expected and invited us to stay at their house to boot.
As I sat in this strange house, watching the Olympic marathon on TV (a Japanese woman won), I was struck by decisiveness. I am going to be a lawyer. It actually did not happen as quickly as it sounds. I had been tossing the idea around in my head for years and it is actually one of the reasons I majored in Anthropology (long story). As we hiked up that mountain, I thought about many things, how I was tired of moving from place to place with no direction, how I wanted to help people and be a part of something big, and the conversations I had had with a friend in law school just a few weeks prior to the climb. I had never thought I could be a lawyer. My grades were mediocre and I was unsure of my ability to commit to something so fully. But here I am today, more committed than I have ever been in my life.
Where do I go from here? Still unsure. I hope to update the website once I've made my decision. I hope to go into something involving Human or Civil Rights and possibly Tribal/Indian Law. I'll be the first lawyer in my family. I really don't know anyone who is a lawyer other than a few high school classmates. I will make the best of my next few months in China. It has been a rough ride but it was worth it. China is a different place than it was even four years ago, but it still maintains that special charm. My students are wonderful, the weather is getting warm again, and I have enough free time to read to my heart's content. But no puddles to stomp around in...
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