My mother was born in Yerevan, Armenia; my family’s homeland for centuries. My grandparents were denied that opportunity when their parents had to escape their native country due to the 1915 massacres that were being committed against the Armenian population by the Ottoman Empire. I come from a world that is crying out for the recognition of the deaths of those one and half million Armenians.
Armenians have been fighting for decades so the world will recognize this atrocity against humanity and so we will prevent other people from suffering the same fate as the Armenian nation did.
Growing up, watching my family retell the stories of what happened to our love ones and seeing how the genocide is still not fully acknowledged, has shaped my hopes and dreams. This world from which I come from; my family, my culture and my history has inspired me to work in the furthering of the recognition of those lives lost. One of the ways in which I’m working towards my goal is through education. I am currently majoring in political science with a concentration in international affairs, in hopes of someday, being part of the United Nations. I know that a degree in international affairs is my passport into a world of knowledge, service and employment, where I will be able to intertwine the rich world from which I come from to a new world; a world filled with new languages, cultures, traditions and history. Most importantly, I will be able to grow as a human being and make a difference in the world.
The Armenian genocide is an issue that is very dear to my heart, but on a grander scale, genocides are still occurring to this day and this is something that has to stop. It is our responsibility to be protagonists of our own history and not allow injustices just to pass us by. I don’t want to be the kid on the sideline that watches their team players; I want to be on the field, doing everything I can to win the game.
Why do I do what I do? Because one voice has the power to make a difference in the world
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