When I attended summer school at UCLA, I worked at the calling center where I basically called alumni every single day to ask for donations. One of the alumni happened to be a journalist. And during our phone call, we fortunately got sidetracked and spent a majority of the time talking about the field of journalism. If you read the ABOUT ME tab above, I provided a more detailed reason on why I started this blog. But basically, today marks a month of blogging and I wanted to give you all an update on what has happened in the past month.
While most people have a niche for their blog, I basically Write about everything- from fashion, to college, to life hacks, to important social movements, etc. And one day, I decided to write a post called "Why #blacklivesmatter MATTERS to Asian-Americans". This post received a lot of positive comments from my peers, so I randomly decided to email this to Huffington Post- inquiring if I could contribute my Article to their blog. A few days later, Ariana Huffington (OMG!!) replied and set me up with a username/password to become a contributor. They incorporated a few quotations, added it to their “Voices” section, and changed the title to, “What #blacklivesmatter Should Mean to Asian-Americans. (Click here to read the full article)
This was an exciting step for me. It had only been a few weeks of blogging and one of my article was already published! However, what surprised me the most was the love I received from my friends, family, and the forensics community. Professors that inspired me had taken the time to read and repost my article. Friends from high school that I haven’t talked to for years shared the article. And even #blacklivesmatter Facebook Groups had reposted the article for others to read. Within a month, the Huffington Post article garnered over 750 shares- which is truly incredible.
Okay, it’s now time for a disclaimer. So the main reason I decided to write this post today isn’t to brag (okay, maybe a little. Because I’m honestly still overjoyed/ ecstatic), but to share the importance of using your voices. After posting my article on Facebook, one of my high school friends messaged me and told me, “I am so incredibly happy to see someone from Wilson actually take charge of this issue.” But- what’s interesting about this comment was that I had actually contemplated for hours prior to writing this post. I didn’t want to share my opinion because I wasn’t an expert on the movement. In other words, I didn’t think I was smart or well-versed or “qualified” enough to be able to write a solid article. I simply had an opinion, was passionate to be a part of this movement, and wanted to share my thoughts. But, I’m glad I ended up ignoring those negative thoughts on not being “smart enough” because many of my friends who read my article had told me that I persuaded them to finally be a part of this movement. The point of this is that you don’t have to be an expert on something to write about it. If you’re passionate about anything at all, I encourage you to use your voice and share your opinions with others. I personally know how it feels to think that you’re not “smart enough” or “a good enough writer”- but we really can’t enact change if we never use our voices. And I hope that reading my post can help convince some of you to start being more vocal about important social movements.
Being published on the Huffington Post, and changing the perspective of my friends was already an amazing experience. It feels incredible to be able to share your voice with others and for them to understand where you’re coming from. But, surprisingly, the story gets even better. Right before I left to Taiwan, I was contacted by a TV correspondent who asked to feature me for a story they were producing on the BLM movement. And I can honestly tell you, I was shocked. Even till today, I can’t believe that I had the opportunity to share my voice and represent the Asian-American community on national television. For those of you who are interested in learning more, I’ve provided the video below.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/video/asian-americans-join/3041918.html
To sum it up, it has only been ONE MONTH of blogging and I can already tell that this will be an incredible journey. I’m so thankful to the alumnus who had inspired me to start this blog and I’m so thankful to you all who take the time to read my blog. (Side Note: If you want to get updates whenever I post, you can subscribe by email). And of course, I’m so thankful for God – as I believe that this was part of his big plan for me. Thanks for reading this lengthy post and I hope you follow along my blogging journey.
This was an exciting step for me. It had only been a few weeks of blogging and one of my article was already published! However, what surprised me the most was the love I received from my friends, family, and the forensics community. Professors that inspired me had taken the time to read and repost my article. Friends from high school that I haven’t talked to for years shared the article. And even #blacklivesmatter Facebook Groups had reposted the article for others to read. Within a month, the Huffington Post article garnered over 750 shares- which is truly incredible.
Okay, it’s now time for a disclaimer. So the main reason I decided to write this post today isn’t to brag (okay, maybe a little. Because I’m honestly still overjoyed/ ecstatic), but to share the importance of using your voices. After posting my article on Facebook, one of my high school friends messaged me and told me, “I am so incredibly happy to see someone from Wilson actually take charge of this issue.” But- what’s interesting about this comment was that I had actually contemplated for hours prior to writing this post. I didn’t want to share my opinion because I wasn’t an expert on the movement. In other words, I didn’t think I was smart or well-versed or “qualified” enough to be able to write a solid article. I simply had an opinion, was passionate to be a part of this movement, and wanted to share my thoughts. But, I’m glad I ended up ignoring those negative thoughts on not being “smart enough” because many of my friends who read my article had told me that I persuaded them to finally be a part of this movement. The point of this is that you don’t have to be an expert on something to write about it. If you’re passionate about anything at all, I encourage you to use your voice and share your opinions with others. I personally know how it feels to think that you’re not “smart enough” or “a good enough writer”- but we really can’t enact change if we never use our voices. And I hope that reading my post can help convince some of you to start being more vocal about important social movements.
Being published on the Huffington Post, and changing the perspective of my friends was already an amazing experience. It feels incredible to be able to share your voice with others and for them to understand where you’re coming from. But, surprisingly, the story gets even better. Right before I left to Taiwan, I was contacted by a TV correspondent who asked to feature me for a story they were producing on the BLM movement. And I can honestly tell you, I was shocked. Even till today, I can’t believe that I had the opportunity to share my voice and represent the Asian-American community on national television. For those of you who are interested in learning more, I’ve provided the video below.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/video/asian-americans-join/3041918.html
To sum it up, it has only been ONE MONTH of blogging and I can already tell that this will be an incredible journey. I’m so thankful to the alumnus who had inspired me to start this blog and I’m so thankful to you all who take the time to read my blog. (Side Note: If you want to get updates whenever I post, you can subscribe by email). And of course, I’m so thankful for God – as I believe that this was part of his big plan for me. Thanks for reading this lengthy post and I hope you follow along my blogging journey.
She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. Proverbs 31:25
