{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-story-js","path":"/story/the-truth-c/","result":{"pageContext":{"data":{"id":"-64d07940-3fbe-581e-9309-feab51c3eba9","authorFirstName":"Coleen","storyTitle":" The Truth\t","photo":{"asset":{"url":"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/nr9digz2/production/b4e3473e164a1adbafb8dcd3b9d3e0162fa43b72-5568x3712.jpg"}},"audio":{"asset":{"url":"https://cdn.sanity.io/files/nr9digz2/production/1a39ee913136b19460f3632104d71ad2c0371649.wav"}},"secondLanguageAudio":null,"school":{"name":"Ka'u High and Pahala Elementary School","city":"Pahala","location":"Hawaii"},"tags":[],"_rawText":[{"_key":"dac89d74a503","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"502ee9efe9220","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"As a child I would envy my family back home, especially my cousins because to me it seemed like they lived a luxurious life filled with traveling, shopping, and dining at fancy restaurants. I would go back home to the Philippines every other year or whenever we had the opportunity or money to. Every year I went back, I always had the same thoughts of how lucky my cousins were to live in a place where they’re surrounded by people who share their culture and understand them. I often reminisce about my time in the Philippines surrounded by the warmth of my family and friends. I would often wish that we never moved away and just stayed so that I could live the same life my cousins do."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"0103471fdcd9","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"223f2b29722d0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"One summer day we were out at the local city mall to have lunch and called my cousins to meet us at a restaurant because it was their lunch break and their school was down the hill from the mall, no longer than a seven minute walk. When they got there my cousin sat next to me and I told her that she was so lucky that the mall was so close to her school and that she gets to eat lunch there everyday. She told me that she rarely eats lunch outside of school and usually goes to their cafeteria to buy lunch because their lunches were not free. After telling me that, she said that I was the lucky one but I looked at her confused because all those years I had the impression that their lives were so much better than mine and were the lucky ones. I proceeded to ask her how I was the lucky one and she told me that I didn’t have to pay for lunch at school, there was no need to pay for tuition, and I lived in America, a place people go to live a better life and get more opportunities."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"d47f6637bdbb","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"8dca30df08e70","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"When I got home I asked my mom why they decided to pack everything up and move to Hawai‘i because as a seven year old I didn’t understand that my family back home needed my parents help with money. I was still young and didn’t understand why my parents sacrificed everything to work from early mornings to late nights in America instead of living in the Philippines where everything seemed easier. My mom told me that we are lucky we get to live in America because we get to have the opportunities they never did and that we would have a brighter future in Hawai‘i. She then told me stories of her childhood of when she used to not be able to go to school because they didn’t have enough money to pay for tuition and school supplies."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"82b0172ca9fd","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"c3c704d0a9830","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I soon then realized that the only reason I got to travel to places, go shopping, and dine in fancy restaurants was because my parents worked hard for years to be able to experience those luxuries and help our families out. I only saw what would go on for those two months of summer and did not realize that I was the lucky one to be able to live in a place with a lot of great opportunities that I will use to help my family. I thought that it would have been easier to stay in the Philippines but in reality moving to America was one of the most life changing experiences for my family. Although I feel like I miss out on a lot of things in the Philippines, I appreciate the sacrifices my parents made to help ensure a better future for me and my siblings. This made me realize that I should be grateful and appreciative of the dedication that my parents have."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"}]}}},"staticQueryHashes":["3309388390","890781507"]}