I Am Hopeful Because...

     I visited the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum with my father this Martin Luther King Day, on January 16, 2023. After reading, listening, observing, and watching how horrifying times were back then, one thing was clear. I was SO HAPPY I was not born back then and had to face it all. There I learned about four kinds of people. 1. Victims, 2. Perpetrators, 3. Bystanders, and 4. Upstanders. Victims are those who suffer because of someone else's acts or beliefs. Perpetrators are those who commit the acts. Bystanders are those who watch but don’t do anything. Upstanders are those who stand up to someone. When I read through the history of all the brave men and women who fought for freedom, education, civil rights, equality of opportunities, and universal access to education, I couldn’t help but feel hopeful and overwhelmed with gratitude and respect for all the upstanders in this world. I realized that I took things for granted to be living in the United States of America, a country founded on the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” said Thomas Jefferson. I finally understand what it means to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

Human ingenuity has been pushing the boundaries of technology. I am hopeful because I see myself as an upstander looking to make a positive difference in this world and leave it better than I found it. A recent example of that is Artificial Intelligence. AI can be a force for good when humans apply it in ethical and meaningful ways to solve challenging problems in medicine, robotics, and research to find new drugs and therapidics. The day before everything seemed normal. Sleepover with friends, going to the store, promising to do this sometime soon. The whole world didn’t know what was coming. On the Thursday of my spring break, my mom and dad sat in the living room without saying a word. The tension broke out from me. What happened? Why is this day so gloomy? Later, we stockpiled toilet paper, food, and supplies. The Coronavirus tormented me for 2.5 years of my life. Hand sanitiser prices increased by 53% during the pandemic! Who came to the rescue? The upstanders. The scientists, engineers, nurses, innovators, and doctors who worked tirelessly to help the vulnerable get past this crisis. Now, the pandemic seems like a distant memory.

The majority of our modern life is run by energy produced by burning fossil fuels. Be it for manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, electricity, etc. There is one thing we are not making more of, fossil fuels. It took Earth MILLIONS of years to create fossil fuels which we are consuming at an alarming rate. While the science is divided on the effects of burning fossil fuels, one thing is for sure we will run out of fossil fuels one way or the other. Then, we will have an energy crisis at our hands. How do we fix this? Time is running out. Scientists, innovators, engineers, and researchers have stepped up and are working hard trying to discover newer, affordable, non-pollution, renewable forms of energy. I am encouraged by all these upstanders to try out so many forms of energy. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” said Thomas Edison, (the inventor of the light bulb).

I’m a proud Bronco and currently a Mustang at Renner Middle School. I am hopeful because of my great teachers, coaches, and mentors in at Renner Middle School. They are preparing me with life skills for the future so I can be a force for good when I graduate and enter the real world as an adult. I’m very thankful to the Plano School District who have picked such a deep awesome topic! They have given me the opportunity to reflect on my life so far. I am hopeful for the years yet to come