Low Ga Lu
It's my time, 1968-present
A brief history on me.
They were brought over by missionaries to be educated, they came in search of gold, they came in search of a better life, they built the railroads, they developed new crops, they fought in wars, they did it all, and we are still questioned as to where our loyalties lie. Eighteen sixty five is the year the Chinese were hired to build the Trancontinental Railway. Nine tenths of the workforce was Chinese, yet at the driving of the golden spike in Promontory Summit, Utah, they were not included.
Depending on the sociologist or anthropologist, some consider me a 1.5 or 2.5 gen x'er because I was born from an immigrant father and a native mother; growing up in the Visitacion Valley District of San Francisco from 1968 to 1977. In a home, on Holyoke Street, across from Woodrow Wilson High (now Philip Burton), my two sisters and I did our best to please our parents. Because of Papa's work, we only saw him during the weekends...the "graveyard shift" made him a stranger. Maybe that is why he is someone we used to fear and love at the same time.
When I think about who raised us, I say, it was Mom. Dad had much to do with it too, but because of his work he mainly provided a monetary support. We all went to mother when we hurt, laughed, and puzzled. She was amazing because in those days mothers worked, cooked, cleaned, and so on without much respect.
When 1977 rolled in, a brother came. Our parents decided we needed a bigger house, so we moved to the Richmond District of San Francisco. Many other Chinese folks moved from Chinatown and other sections of "the City" to the Richmond or the Sunset. The westside of San Francisco has become the unofficial new Chinatown.
In the Fall of 1988, I ventured to southern California to pursue a college degree at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). I completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology, but it was the other experiences that added to who I am today.
Therefore, I owe much to UCLA's Samahang Pilipino (SP) for sharpening my political and social consciousness. For introducing me to SP, I thank my best friend, Howard C. Through protests, cultural performances, academic achievements, community outreach, relationships, and self-reflection, I have become more aware of who I am, what I'm about, and where I am from.
The pioneering spirit still lives in me because there's more that I wanted to experience. I had never been to the eastcoast of the United States, so I applied to graduate schools out there. I was accepted to The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. By May 2000, I completed all requirements for a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology. Although I still have aspirations of returning to SF, I guess I've made my home in the Washington, DC area from 1997 to now.
During my post-baccalaureate studies, I continued to be involved with community level activities. Peer-counseling Asian children adopted by non-Asian families every summer at Camp Mabuhay, providing behind the scenes support at the Filipino/American Youth Dialogue, and volunteering on the National Task Force for Hepatitis B Immunization Focus on Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Through a good friend, I have been inducted into a group of down to earth folks. We unofficially call ourselves the Toledo Lounge Collective (TLC). The Toledo Lounge is a bar located in the Adams Morgan area of DC and the collective is a bunch of people that became friends because we share similar political and social views. In our work, volunteer or paid, our main goal is to empower the community and pursue equality and justice for all and at the same time drink and have good times.
"Life is full of choices and love is one of them."