What does it mean to be a witness? And how do witnesses relate to World War 2? 

     A witness isn't just a man or a woman who stands up in front of a judge, and then answers question restating what they viewed. A witness isn't just an observer. A witness isn't just a person caught in the right place at the right time. 

      A witness is a man or a woman with power. Millions of people were witnesses to the Holocaust. There were millions who were not fighting, or being attacked, or forced into submission. Millions around the globe  were  just  witnesses. Witnesses who held power, and had potential.

     Imagine if every one of those witnesses spoke up and protested. Not just a few here and then, or even a large group. But every witness, and every bystander. 

    When we visited the Museum of Tolerance and the Japanese American Museum, my take on what it means to be a witness completely transformed. I realized that many people were witnesses to the Holocaust. They were bystanders to the camps in Europe and in America. They were bystanders to cruel and unfair events. And even when some thought it was wrong, they remained silent witnesses. But being silent and voiceless isn't what it means to be a witness. 

     Imagine how the world could change even today, if every witness to evil spoke up for good. Imagine how life would change if every bystander became a fighter, a fighter for something better. Imagine if being a witness meant having power, the power to change the future. 

Imagine that witness is you.

What if you had a time capsule, and you could only pick four things to put inside of it? The four objects would only be able to represent your childhood, heritage, accomplishments, and legacy. And then what type of container would you put your items inside?

If it were me, I would put a sand dollar to reflect my childhood. Every summer on the sand, collecting sea shells, and watching the waves. A photograph of my great grandmother, who changed my mother's life, to represent my heritage. I would put my mission to mars medal in, an accomplishment. Lastly I would put a picture of my family, to represent the people I leave behind. Those I love and will carry on the legacy of my generation. 

I would put all of my items in a glass bottle and fling it into the ocean, because the sea represents me. Rolling and changing, I wouldn't want to know where my time capsule ends up. 

Has there ever been a symbol that occurs repeatedly throughout your life, reflecting something important to you?

In the book, The Glory Field, many motifs transpire throughout the tale, which have meanings relating back to the characters. But sometime those motifs mirror in your own life story. A symbol relating back to my own would be the idea of: new earth, dirt, and harvesting. To me, this also means starting over and building up a new life. Similar to what the generations throughout the years had to do in the Glory Field. 

After we moved, we began building a new house. A new life. I think that relates to lives the characters had to grow from the soil in the harvest. The motif of new earth, and building again is really an important symbol, that appears in the lives of many who have ever hoped for a better future

If you think about it, about it, a little over a hundred years ago, the Western United States was pretty wild. 

Except for the Natives who lived there, the land was relatively untouched. When the United States bought the remainder of what is now the US, and everyone kind of wanted to know what we had purchased. Slowly over time, pioneers and settlers started moving West, beginning new homesteads and towns in this unexplored region. 

This brings about that idea of Children of the West. 

I have lived in California my whole life, and I feel this identifies with me. But I have family spread all across the country, so where do I actually belong?

Honestly, I don't think it actually matters. You can be a Child of the West if that's what's important to you. Our ancestors may or may not have been pioneers of the West. But this is where I (you) am now. 

So being a child of the West isn't based on facts, or where you were born, or even who your ancestors were. It's a personal identity, and you deciding where HOME is.

Has there been any moment in my life where you have felt grown up? That one day you become a woman, or a man.

That moment for me was one night, a few years ago. My brother was staying at a friend's house, and my parents were going to dinner. That evening, my mom told me to make sure to lock the house, feed the dogs, make dinner, and watch over my little sister. Because I were pretty young, that was the first night my parents had trusted us to stay home alone. Everything was going fine, until about an hour later when the power went out. My little sister was extremely frightened, but I remember lighting candles, bringing our dogs inside, and turning the television on, to help her feel more comfortable and safe. The power was still out for a while, but the as the TV blared, I remember feeling a sense of accomplished. My parents had trusted me, and I had kept their trust that night. That was one of the moments I grew up.

How would you want future generations to remember you?

I'd want to be remembered as someone who did something more than the average human. Do something great that extends farther out then myself. Be remembered for making a change. 

I don't what that goal involves yet, but I want to achieve something for future generations, and make a difference in the world.

What is IDENTITY? And how do I define myself?

SISTER: I have a younger sister and because I go through life with her, it has influenced me to look out at the world differently.

PERSISTENT: I never like giving up on anything. Never ever stop working, striving, pushing towards 100%.

VOLLEYBALL: I love athletics especially volleyball. It's just fun.