A Night of Freedom: A Night of Inspiration

Writer: Jessica Pham

This weekend LiNK members came together to attend the "A Night of Freedom" GALA hosted by the LiNK headquarters. The GALA started off with an energetic MC. The tone quickly shifted through the night as videos and stories were shared. Some stories made me feel empathetic, some sympathy, some anger, and others hope. My favorite story of the night was Noel Kim's. Noel stated, "...because I never lived a life of freedom, I could not freely write." Noel through out the night gave off a particularly radiant, joyful, and energetic energy, it is hard to believe that she had previously endure so much hardship and escaped North Korea.

As a college student myself free writing is a basic exercise we do in almost every course and in every level of our life K-12, college, and beyond. To hear that Noel at an age range of her 20s not knowing know to write freely was flabbergasting for me. Although her escape was back in 2010 in appears as she has never forgotten her country and the people that have not been able to escape. Her heavily involvement and her will to be a better self to help other refugee was inspiring to me. What feels unreal [in North Korea] is actually happening abroad everyday although we may not see it. It made me think about what I wanted to achieve in my life time and what more could I do everyday to acknowledge the struggles that North Korean people go through everyday.

The night of Freedom GALA gave me great insight for my own passion and ignite my motivation to continue working to make changes with LiNK.