Have you ever wondered how your parents met? Have you ever been curious about what their life as a teen was like? Two youth from The kNOw share the stories of their parents.
My Dad’s First Love
When my dad was younger, at the age of his early teens, he fell in love. He was in Laos at the time and was very poor. He fell in love and wanted to get married. Since he was poor, the girl’s parents would not allow them to marry. They were separated and she was forced to move away.
When I heard this story, I felt bad for my dad since he could not marry the one he loved, but I’m happy that he did not marry her, because if he did, I wouldn’t be here and he would never have met my mom. This was going through my head when heard this, but all I could say was, “Oh,” and I laughed. This was a very weird moment for me because I heard this story from my mom, but it was still a good story to listen to.
-Yee Leng, 16
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My Mom, The Bully
As I grew up, I would hear nonstop stories of my parents and grandparents. The one I would never forget is, well there are a lot, but if I would have to pick one, I guess I would choose all of them because if you tell one it leads to another one. It’s a story in pieces…
Growing up, my mom was a troublemaker. She would always get in trouble for small things but in a way it became a big thing. My parents met when my mom was around 10 years old, my dad worked for my grandpa. My dad liked my mom and he would always try to “get at her.” Ha… My mom kept saying “no” each time he asked. Finally, after the tenth time he asked her, she said, “yes” only so he would stop asking her. It’s sad because my mom never liked him, but now she loves him.
The point of this story is that my mom was a bully. She would kick people’s butts for small reasons, and if she got into trouble with the teacher she would get back at the person who told on her by kicking their butt when no one was watching. When she finished, she would threaten them that if they told anyone what she did, she would get back at them, but worse.
There are so many stories my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles have told me, many stories that I will tell my kids as I grow up or as they grow up. I will tell them that they came from a family with strong blood who doesn’t let anyone boss them around.
–Anna, 18
In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.
Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.
The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.
