Holding on to Hope
Wish Kid Jamie’s childhood wasn’t like most young girls. Instead of drawing with her markers, she was making campaign posters for her favorite presidential candidate.
Jamie was only four years old the first time she “voted” – visiting the polls with her mother, carrying a sign she made to show her support. After pulling the lever with her mom, she stayed up the whole night, waiting to hear her candidate’s acceptance speech.
Jamie’s mom, Elisabeth, formed an interest in politics at a young age – something she passed on to her daughter. Politics were always a regular conversation topic in their house, something Jamie has immersed herself in over the years. But her favorite president served as an inspiration to her in more ways than one.
When she would object to doing her homework, Elisabeth would remind Jamie that her idol had the same struggles and feelings, but with the guidance of his own mother, he pushed through. She knew she could do the same. And more so, he made her believe that anything was possible.
“It’s important, as a person of color, to see that there’s someone you can look up to,” Jamie said. “It was good to see that a person of color could be president and could achieve a high-level office. It was so inspiring to me to see someone who was more similar to me than previous presidents have been.”
Jamie was born in Guangdong Province, China in 2003 and traveled to her new home in New York City with her mother Elisabeth the following year. Today, she is a history-loving junior at a private school in Manhattan, an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) advocate, an avid baker… and a cancer survivor.
Jamie was diagnosed with leukemia a week before she would begin her freshman year of high school. “It didn’t register for a while for me,” she said. “I don’t think I fully acknowledged it for a really long time. What made me sad was that all my friends were in freshman year and I was not.”
While her friends attended at a school assembly for freshman orientation, Jamie was in the hospital receiving her first treatment. That was when it hit her. It was the beginning of what would become a three-year course of treatment and a difficult road ahead.
“I was in shock,” Elisabeth said. “I’m usually pretty good at handling what life throws at me, but this was something I couldn’t even begin to process.” She was afraid of losing her daughter.
“I couldn’t talk to anybody,” she said. “She’s my most precious gift and I couldn’t even talk to people about what we were experiencing because I was so afraid I was going to lose her.”
While Jamie fought her own battle, pushing through treatments and trying to keep up with schoolwork, Elisabeth fought her own – trying to navigate her daughter’s treatment while being a single working mom.
“You don’t get a handbook,” she said, “You go from not having cancer to having a cancer diagnosis. You don’t get any time to think. You don’t know what to do, because it’s the unknown.”
Elisabeth found solace and comfort in her self-proclaimed “Mom Squad,” which was led by a close mom friend from Jamie’s school and her childhood best friend. They stayed with Jamie while Elisabeth was at work and Jamie was in home instruction, organized grocery runs, and helped out in any way they could. “We had all these wonderful people in our lives that helped us… that helped me take care of her. I couldn’t do it all by myself,” Elisabeth said.
Jamie returned to in person instruction for her sophomore year of high school, a welcomed milestone during treatment. However, Jamie stopped attending school days before it closed for the pandemic, because she was afraid of being attacked on the street for being an Asian American. Her fear of being attacked was just as great as her fear of catching Covid-19.
And that fear has stayed with her throughout the pandemic. It wasn’t until recently, when she met a friend in the park, that she traveled by herself for an extended period of time.
Recently, this fear has been part of what drives her to advocate for Asian Americans, but it stems from the innate pride she has in who she is and where she comes from.
“My pride as an Asian American comes from the rich history within the country, both good and bad, and the contributions that Asians have made. To see all this violence going on towards such an extraordinary group of people makes me sad,” Jamie said. “But, it does drive me to want to advocate more and fight more for my fellow Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.”
Last summer she interned with the Stop AAPI Hate Youth Internship, run by Dr. Russell Jeung of San Francisco State University, where she worked on a social media campaign, collected reports of Asian discrimination and feelings about the rise in Asian hate, and wrote anti-bullying recommendations for a policy report. This year, she’s interning with the NYC Commission on Human Rights as a member of their Youth Council.
Jamie also just became one of the co-leaders of her school’s Asian Culture Club for this coming year, a group that centers not only around celebrating Asian culture, but also advocacy. They recently lobbied with both Democratic and Republican congressmen and women to pass HR 908 – a Hate Crime Bill. They also launched a button making campaign at school, for fellow students to show solidarity with AAPI individuals.
“It makes me feel better that there are allies out there, that there are steps being taken,” she said.
Though her full path is undecided – Jamie is considering a career in law, history, or journalism – she knows she wants to do good and make an impact. “I want to have a job that’s going to help people or be able to help Asian Americans in some way that’s meaningful to the community.”
Jamie’s wish is being granted soon, and it was no surprise she chose to meet her role model and favorite president. She wrote a letter to him ahead of her wish, explaining the many reasons she chose to meet him for her wish, and the impact he’s had on her life.
“Not only did you give me hope that I could really be whatever I set my mind to, you also conducted yourself with dignity and confidence – traits that I try to channel in my everyday life,” she wrote.
The pair will get to have a virtual meet and greet this month. “I’m really just looking forward to being able to have a conversation with him,” she said. “You know, you see him on TV, I’ve heard his speeches, but I’m excited to have a one-on-one conversation and engage with him. I think that’s the coolest part.”
She’s both nervous and excited. “I’m nervous to sit in front of him and try not to cry, but I’m also really, really excited because it’s such a meaningful opportunity for me.”
Jamie plans to ask him for advice, but also explain just how much his career and his advocacy has meant to her, as a person of color. It will be something to launch her towards her future with optimism.
“Having someone of color who can achieve the highest office in the United States was a really heartening thing to see,” Jamie said. “I think just knowing people like him are advocating, not only for Asian Americans, but for all these other really important causes as well, it gives me a lot of hope.”