Just last week I was honored to co-host Vanessa Hua's appearance on campus. Ms. Hua known for her many accomplishments focused on one of her short stories as well as the esteemed novel "A River of Stars". However, her presentation provided much more than an in-depth analysis of her works, but rather a deeper insight into her own goals and writing processes. She started off the evening by introducing one of her short stories based on a Student who falsely claimed acceptance to Stanford and attended the university for a short period of time. With this, she brought up an important question I'm sure all artists and writers struggle with: Wheather or not they can depict or tell a story outside of their own experiences. Ms. Hua described her focus on ensuring a story is as accurate as possible, especially when it's not created from her own experiences. This led directly into a major focus in her writing which is being mindful of how much her writing appears to speak for entire cultures. In addition, Ms. Hua articulated how it's not the author's job to explain foreign concepts to the reader, but rather on the ownest of the reader to demonstrate an interest in areas outside of their own experiences. This was demonstrated quite often in "A River of Stars" in which Ms. Hua included many mandarin words with little or no explanation of the meaning of the word. All of this, however, falls into Ms. Hua's own personal goal of furthering a different narrative that gives way and motivation for others to share their own experiences. The main takeaway from this presentation was understanding that just because something isn't mainstream doesn't mean it shouldn't be. Nobody should feel uncomfortable sharing their experiences, especially if they differ from the main narrative, which is something she works hard to do on a consistent basis. Overall her presentation was very insightful and we were honored to have her.
Poly has had the privilege of having Mr. Pond speak on its campus twice in the last four years. While I, unfortunately, was not present for the first, I was enthralled at being able to attend the most recent one. Pond is someone who can be presented as a role model for just about anything. He started off the night by sharing some details from his past and revealing many of his experiences to the audience. As someone who has survived a horrible atrocity, the fact that Pond is able and willing to share his experiences is inspiring in it of itself. He focused on his survival of the Cambodian genocide and the bullying that ensued after he arrived in America. His own experiences were a true testimony to how powerful stories are, an idea that he has been trying to teach for some time. However, what particularly struck me, was what Pond was doing in his communities. This side of him which takes what he knows and puts into action concrete solution is even more inspiring. He mentioned some work...
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