Green, in support of Iran, the people of Iran
My family's story is one of escape. Escape from persecution, escape from ideas, escape from society, escape from daily life, escape from the mind. My father's story is a story of escape from China, from ideological tyranny. His journey to the United States, like so many, is one towards freedom, hope, and opportunity. His family, under the government of Mao, was purged during the Cultural Revolution. No, he decided. He will not live under communism. He will live in a country that will allow him to do as he wishes, to be free from censorship, free from fear, free from want. He dreamed of success. He passed the dream to me. And here I stand a socialist, a believer in reform with distrust in the status quo. He wanted a doctor, a lawyer, perhaps even an accountant. I will be a journalist. I will leave this city, this great city, and I will travel the world. I will fight for the lost cause, like a Chinese-American Mr. Smith. I will bring down the vices of the world and champion the cause of the common man. In a sense, I have not moved away from my father's dream. I've just modified it. And provided for my own escape.
Answer to the question:
"Does place matter? How did your environment affect your sense of self?"
40 Monroe Street
