The origins of my life

I would like to go back to the earliest moment of my life to think about this town, Davis, in a whole new way!

I was born in a happy family. My parents fell in love with each other when they were still very young and got married a few years later, and then they decided to pursue their graduate study in the U.S. It was tough for them to live in a foreign place with very little money, but their love for each other had not been worn out by the harsh daily life. The bond between them have been even stronger than before, because of what happened in the early 1970!

It was at the peak of anti-Vietnam war movement. There were always large demonstrations in the campus, because people were forced to fight in this war that was not only unnecessary but also unjust. My parents and their classmates from Taiwan were so passionate about the movement, because they were so touched by the courage and determination of these young people to stand up against the seemingly invincible establishment of the U.S. government in order to make this world a better place!

At that time Taiwan was still under the dictatorship of KMT, an exiled regime from China led by Chiang's family. There were no freedom and no human right at all. The left-wing thought from the anti-war movement not only made my parents and their friends realize that Taiwanese people were heavily oppressed, but also provided them a strategy to resist the oppression with peaceful but effective ways! Therefore, they decided to start a revolution to overthrow the totalitarian system and make Taiwan a democratic country with its sovereignty belong to all Taiwanese people! The spirit of revolution was so important to my parents just like their religion, because they put it in my name when I was born!

However, it was easier to say than actually do it when the life could be at stake, so at last only my parents and me were stubborn enough to still stay in Taiwan. Luckily they found the other allies who shared the same belief with them, mostly the young people just graduating from college. Together they united all kinds of different organizations in the social movements, such as the groups advocating for labors, farmers, women, mental and physical disabilities, human rights, and environment conservation... The union was getting bigger and bigger, and eventually it became an unstoppable force that led to the formation of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)! After a series of big demonstrations and civil disobedience led by the party, the government was pressured to abolish all the oppressive laws and hold free elections! and finally in the year 2000, DPP won the president election and became the ruling party of Taiwan! All my parent's dreams that people once felt unrealistic have thus all come true! Therefore, I always regard DPP as my little brother, because I have seen my parents spent so much time and effort to nurture him, and I am so proud of what he has accomplished!

As a result, I always think my childhood is a fairytale! Just like what happened in those Disney movies, my parents took me to the adventures in some mysterious places. It might be kind of scary, but I always knew that they would take care of me and always keep me safe! This kind of experience made me a happy kid, full of dreams for my future since I was little, and I hoped when I grew up, I would be just like my parents, finding my true love and working passionately together to change the world and make it a better place!


After I grew up, I came back to the U.S. for my graduate study, just like my parents. However, I found everything was so different from my expectation! All kinds of frustration and failure let me think that I had to compromise with the reality in order to make my dreams come true later, but when I overcame the challenges, I only found there were even more challenges waiting ahead of me! Therefore, I had been stuck in the never ending challenges of the reality, and I found that none of my dreams came true when I was not young any more! I did not know what was wrong in me, until I came to this miraculous town, Davis!

Davis is just like where I was born! The free spirit is so fresh in the air! So different from the stereotype of Californians driving cars all the time, the people in Davis insist to use bicycles as their major transportation, and they built a comprehensive network of bike lanes and made Davis one of the top environment friendly cities in the world! Another thing that really impresses me is the construction of Toad Tunnel. To prevent the frogs from being crushed by the cars, the city government built this tunnel for the frogs to pass from its habitat to the places across the road. I am so touched by how the life is so respected at here. Later on I also found a similar good place called California Raptor Center where many of the volunteers are there to take care of the injured eagles and owls. In addition, I was so surprised that the community church here would display a rainbow flags, welcoming people with different sexual orientation, such as LGBT, to join them! It just shows this city is so generous and so open-minded to embrace all kinds of diversity! Then, the most fascinating time of the city is the hippie style annual 3 day event, Whole Earth Festival: The vibrant color there just brought me back to the 70s when my parents were young, and let me revisit their dreams for social justice and living in balance with the Mother Nature!

What sounds like a dream for most people has become the daily life for Davis residents like me! A few years ago, the people in Davis voted against a land development plan that could bring a tremendous amount of monetary gain to this city! because they think environment conservation and the sense of community are much more important than the numbers of the economic growth! (Please see Covell Village) We can see this city has never compromised with the reality, but people here still live in happiness. Therefore, I just found that my thought was wrong before. If we are compromised to do the things that we are not interested, we can never really do it well, but if we stand up for our ideals, our passion will touch many people, and the things will be much easier to accomplish with their help!

I regard what happened to me in Davis is the most important redemption of my life! because I had a chance to visit my childhood experience once again, and think again about what my parents were dreaming for and their expectation for me! Then I just realized what is the most important goal in my life! Sometimes I think that the reason for me to come to Davis is not just a coincidence in my life, because if I kept staying in USC as I planned, I might never have a chance to look back to the deep meaning of my life that my parents have offered to me! (11/10/2010)



p.s. (1) This article was supposed to be published in October 2010 to remind people to vote against the Proposition 23 in California, because this referendum topic led by the petroleum companies could hinder our progress to prevent global warming if passed. However, I was too busy and the election was over when I finished my writing. It is lucky that Proposition 23 didn't pass!

p.s. (2) To know more about the anti-war movement that inspired my parents, please watch the musical movie "Across The Universe" (all the music was from Beetle's albums!)

p.s. (3) To know more about what my parents were facing when they went back to Taiwan, please see this great movie "Formosa Betrayed"