On the morning of June 10, I nervously looked up at the sky knowing well that I would soon fly out to sunny California. I have never been to this state before and the thought of being far away from home scared me. As my mom drove me to the airport, she told me to be careful and cautious when in California. Even though I was scared, I was excited at the same time. As I made my way to the airport and through security, I only had one thing in mind - a new adventure is awaiting me.
After three to four hours in the airplane, I finally landed in LA, California. The first thing I saw when I stepped out of the airport was giant palm trees and sky scraper buildings. It was a sight that I will never forget because I have never seen palm trees before, since they do not exist in snowy Minnesota. Sometime later, I arrived at my airbnb and unpacked all of my belongings before exploring Koreatown. During my last few days before my internship with CAUSE started, I ate a lot of yummy food and practiced taking the metro bus.
Finally, the morning of June 13 arrived and I was on edge. I kept rehearsing in my head how to introduce myself to my fellow cohort members. When I set foot into the office, I ran into Steve Lin (one of the program managers) and Pisith Keo (one of the cohort members). Initially, I thought Pisith was one of the staff members but turns out he was one of my fellow cohort members! We both shook hands and introduced ourselves to each other. Afterwards, I met the other cohort members and we all got along well. Many of us had similar interests and values with each other. The feeling of being on edge soon disappeared and was replaced with feelings of relief.
The following day, Retreat started and our very first activity was Life Maps. Essentially, one had to draw or write down five to six things about themselves. They also had to explain how these things impacted them in their life. For my Life Map, I drew out various things that impacted me from high school to college. Some examples included me taking AP Government and how my teacher back then impacted me to pursue a major in political science. I then shared my Life Map to everybody in which they all actively listened and asked questions after I finished presenting.
Overall, the activity was interesting and fun because I got to know my cohort better. I also think this activity is important because it helps me understand where they are coming from since many of people’s values and beliefs are impacted by what they were taught growing up. In fact, one of my cohort members, Nicole Iwamasa, stated, “having the space to talk about our identities with people who have experienced such similar yet different lives has created a kind of comfort ability I haven’t experienced before.”
I agree with Nicole because the Life Map activity definitely helped me and others feel safe, as well as included. Even though we all come from different backgrounds, our experiences and values are similar in a way. Ultimately, the retreat itself has helped me feel more grounded in California as I was able to get plenty of advice on where to go in LA, places to eat, places to avoid, etc. The best part was making new friends and knowing that I now have a support system in California. I can definitely say for sure that this new adventure was worth it!