Story seeking

Story seeking

So I’m a 17-year-old from Naperville, Illinois. In the summer before my sophomore year of high school, I attended the ACLU National Advocacy Institute’s high school program in Washington, DC. During this program, I had the chance to take part in a lot of different political discussions. And I remember this one conversation about the death penalty in particular. So back then, I wholeheartedly believed in this meaning of an eye for an eye. That punishment should be equal to the offense because, you know, that’s what I grew up hearing. And so I argued the same. I was, however, met with immediate opposition. My peers told me that the death penalty is state sanctioned murder and that it reinforces the very behavior that it’s trying to suppress. I tried arguing that the death penalty deters crime, but then my peers told me that in states without the death penalty, the murder rate is actually significantly lower. I then tried arguing that the death penalty brings closure for the victim’s families, only to be told that the length between sentencing and execution actually puts the victim’s families through an agonizing wait period. So by this point, I realized that this debate — Not going all that great for me. I realized that my perspective was inherited, and this is when I decided to stop trying to win the debate, and instead I just listened.

03:33

And in the months that followed, I took it upon myself to learn more. I pored over articles and data from sources ranging from the more liberal, like the Brennan Center for Justice, to the more conservative, like The Heritage Foundation. And I learned that historically, capital punishment has been disproportionately applied to people of color. And that the death penalty isn’t actually proven to deter crime. Slowly, my thinking changed. And this change only happened because I engaged with people who had opposing perspectives. You know, it’s hard to break out of your own echo chamber because most of the time we don’t realize that we’re even in one until we’re out of it. But this was my first step.

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So shortly after this experience, I started a nonpartisan initiative called Project TEAL to encourage and empower high school students to become politically involved. We discuss a lot of different issues like education equity, voter suppression, racial justice. And I’ve seen some amazing things happen when people just talk to one another. Understanding and accepting of our differences.

Story telling

So I was a very unconfident kid in past, I was very unfit and not happy with myself. In the past I used to eat chips everyday and was just not caring about what I put into my body. Then it changed when I met one of close friends in 2021 where he took me to the gym and showed me how to workout properly and have fun while working out. Before meeting my friend I was going to the gym and wasn’t consistent with it, I wasn’t having fun and I was kind of forcing myself to go. A crucial part of making the gym fun is going with people that are funny and keeping progress of your growth to see how far you have come. If you are not having fun going to the gym and you’re kind of just forcing yourself to go then you won’t have a good experience. My past-self wouldn’t imagine myself actually enjoying working out, compared to the past where I would be forcing myself to go, to now where I try to force myself not to go because some days I actually need rest. Overall I think everyone should give the gym a try, especially if your down in life and you are not happy with yourself, the gym would help with your physical health and your mental health.