Shauna Woo 2

I like church. I like singing in church. There's so much sorrow in Christian songs that I like to sing them. Sometimes I feel so close to crying that I can feel a tear form. I try not to sing too loud and I try not to stick out in any way. I'm like anyone else, nothing different about me.

Jesus was different. He almost completely disowned his family although his brother became a disciple. James. Jesus went away from his family far into the desert, far into his own loneliness to discover who he was, the Son of God and the Son of Man. He saved all of mankind with the truth. He alone could save mankind because he was God and Man. How great was his love that he saved all of mankind, at least those who would receive his gift of salvation. Humans can only save single individuals whom they love, maybe families or small communities. Humans cannot save themselves. How great is Christ's love! How great is his love!

I wanted to step out of my family and discover my truth:

-Shauna?

-Yes Pastor Min.

-Why are you throwing this chance away? Your parents sacrificed so much for you, and they love you so much. Now, you're throwing your life away because you want to see life? Isn't that very selfish of you? What do you expect to see in life, anyway? 

Pastor Min was a very good person. I could not complain about him either. When I was about 16, I met his son. My mother had fixed us on a date. Pastor Min's son would not say one thing on the first date. Later, I learned that he stopped talking when he was seven. This was my mother's joke on me. I had been interested in dating, and she fixed me up with a mute. Amazing! After 3 dates, I was about to call it off. But then something happened. He brought a friend of his along, and I thought he might be some type of pervert or something. That wasn't it at all though. The friend explained that they would be going out for the evening, and I would be paid 20 dollars. They would drop me off at a Barnes and Noble and then pick me up later that night. I understood. Pastor Min's son was gay. They liked each other. Every Friday Night, I would pretend to go out with Pastor Min's son while, in reality, I was studying at Barnes and Noble.

Were my parents so good? Weren't they selfish in wanting me to go to a good school and succeed? I had hear them brag to their friends about their daughter going to Yale. They were so happy to say Yale. It brought so much joy to them. They didn't have much of a social life. My dad had spent his free time teaching me math and my mother had read books to me. BUT something annoyed me about the fact that my life had been so placid and drama-free. I thought about my teenage years, and I hadn't really rebelled nor hung around other girls. Boys had never really interested me, and I puked the first time I drank and NEVER drank again. Maybe this was my puberty. This was my rebellion.