As i contemplate my own definition for the word freedom, i pause. I think of all the ‘freedom’ i have received in my life and the opportunities that not many in Tibet could ever achieve. I think about my roots and where i came from, how i got here and.. I pause. The poor conditions i might have to live with… I pause. The freedom of speech that i would have never known.. i pause. The constant struggle of assimilating with the China’s oppression of Tibet… I pause… The sadness i would have felt in not being able to pray to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama… I pause…The The treacherous Himalayas i might have had to cross. I pause… The life i would have never known.

BUT I KNOW

I know i have the freedom to speak when i can, i know i have the privilege of being able to pause when i please. I know i have the freedom of religion that my constitution protects. I know i can write my thoughts and share them with the world.

I might have never known the life i would have led but i do know the life i currently have. In this life i carry the power to speak, breath, write, and carry the freedom my people in Tibet desire and deserve as any other human being in this world.

I refuse to be a victim. I am a survivor and i still remember. I am Tibetan. I will survive!