YBE Reflection

Kenny Le | He/Him/His | Seattle, WA

When I think about this past year, there’s one statement that accurately describes it — that 2020 keeps on giving. In the context of this year, the statement is meant to describe how objectively more wild the year keeps on getting. This year has included fears of an impending world war, massive wildfires, the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently the ongoing civil unrest in response to police brutality, and more broadly, systemic racism in the United States. While these are very much defining events of 2020 that have caused disruptions in our regular day-to-day lives,

I tend to reflect on these events not as things that have taken away parts of my life but rather given me an opportunity to participate in things that I would never have the chance to.

In particular, 2020 has given me an opportunity to participate in the YBE Book Club — something that I believe has had a profound impact on my life in many ways.

I came to know about the YBE Book Club when one of the hosts, Emily, asked me to join the group for its second round. I was interested in joining because of the chosen book — The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander — yet I was hesitant to do so not only because of how busy I usually am when school begins but also because I didn’t really know anyone else who would be in the book club; I tend to only participate in new things when I’m doing it with my friends.

However, one thing that I realized during quarantine is that life is too short to not try new things and experiences despite not knowing anyone when coming in.

I went ahead and signed up and a few weeks later I was in the first of many Zoom meetings that we would be having. Quickly I found myself forgetting about my fears and worries about joining a new group when I was met with a warm and welcoming environment. Not only did this help ease my anxiety but also helped me open up when we started to discuss the heavier topics in the book, such as the ways our lives have been directly or indirectly affected by the current system. As a result, I started to look forward to all of the book club meetings and now reflecting back on the book club, I can say that I’m really glad that I did join. This book club was a great way for me to learn more about mass incarceration in the United States and its role in the ongoing issue of systemic racism, but at the same time, a great opportunity to meet new people and make a few friends along the way as well.