04 Dec 2011

Our America

As much as I enjoy my One Tree Hill marathons on the Soap Network, or episodes of The Vampire Diaries and Jimmy Fallon, I have so much respect for shows like Our America. Lisa Ling, an Asian-American journalist and host of the television series on Oprah’s network OWN, is someone that I have always admired. Aside from being a journalist that seeks to inform and give truth and insight into different ways of living, Ling is someone that strives to provide meaning to her audience by giving all of us a deeper view into the not so average people living in America.

The current second season of the series is one that shouldn’t be overlooked. This season has covered topics such as amateur porn like the videos you see on watchmygf.sex, extreme parenting, modern polygamy and sex trafficking – an episode that I just watched and was almost brought to tears. Okay – I cried at the very end. We know that these things – these extremes – these heartbreaking and depressing stories exist, but for most of us – we can’t relate them to our own worlds. If you’re from a small town, these types of situations are relatively unknown to you. I know for myself, in Seattle, I haven’t come across these types of things that Ling has brought up in the content of her shows yet I still find them to be eye-opening. In many of the essays that I have had to write this quarter, my professors have asked me the question of, “What do you hope to gain out of this course?” and each time I say – to apply the concepts I’ve learned to my life and my future endeavors. I’m inspired by Lisa Ling and many other journalists that have done the job that she has. For most of my life, I have hoped to graduate and begin a career in fashion, music or branding, but what I would love to do is to immerse myself into these cultures so different from the one I grew up in. I hope someday that I can help others the way that she has or at least bring attention to the types of stories that people have to share. I think that’s probably why I admire my friends Megan and John so much who volunteer through Jesuit Volunteer Corps. and Teach For America respectively. They both are helping others less fortunate than them and while I sometimes feel called to do that, I know that it would be difficult for me to follow in that path having been on my own path for this amount of time.

When you look at the bigger picture and realize how small you are in the world, you often times feel like you can’t make a difference. The first step, however, is awareness, right? The one piece of advice that I will always remember from Connie Wang in her graduation video is to learn everything. Read everything – books, blogs, magazines, newspapers – because you should always continue learning.

And with that, here’s a free viewing of the first episode from the second season of Our America with Lisa Ling.

Posted on December 4, in -