One Year of…
One year. That’s 365 days of your busy schedule, emotional and emotional rollercoaster, and precious time. One year can mean so many different things from person to person. Rather than look back on what YBE has done within the past year, let’s celebrate supporter’s and community member’s achievements during this insane year of 2020. One year of love, adulting, resilience, Zoom calls, introspection, learning. What did you accomplish last year? Whatever it is, we hope that you feel proud because you rock.
One Year of Resilient Journalism
Andy Yamashita
He/Him/His
Seattle Buddhist Temple | Bay Area
“The biggest thing, I mean obviously with the pandemic it’s been hard to do anything. I would say my biggest achievement is probably I had a chance to be part of the sports journalism institute, which is a program to help increase the diversity of newsrooms across America, and through that, I had the chance to do my first real media internship with the Denver Post this summer. First time in my life that I wasn’t living on the West Coast, I knew absolutely nobody in the city. It was really hard, I’m not gonna front, it was legitimately one of the hardest times for my own mental health, just the isolation, I was living in the basement of the Features editor, and not meeting anybody, I was on my phone or on Zoom 24/7 pretty much. I was able to turn things around. That’s probably one of my biggest achievements this year, I was able to do this thing, and not only that but I got to tell some stories that I was really proud of. I did a piece on Michael Ray Richardson, who was the first player to be kicked out of the NBA on the three strike drug policy, what he’s done with his life since. I had the chance to tell a story about Japanese American baseball leagues in Denver that I was lucky enough to learn about and tell some other stories like that. I got to interview an NWSL soccer player. I had a couple of other stories about Japanese Americans. I wrote a story about virtual Obon, which was awesome that the Denver Post wanted me to write that story and awesome that the Denver Buddhist Temple had already reached out to me and we had been talking. I had the chance to do some really cool things, and those are probably my biggest achievements for the year. In terms of how to view them through a Buddhist lens, you know I’ll be the first person to admit I’m not, and I know Rev. Bob said there aren’t really good Buddhists and bad Buddhists, but I’d be the first to admit that I’m probably not what you would consider a good Buddhist. But you know, I’d like to think that my view on the world and how I interact with people is, and you know in hindsight when I reflect on it is very influenced by Buddhism. We talk in Buddhism all the time about how hard is it to be born into human life, you know, how hard is it to find a job in a pandemic, how hard is it to get experience as a Person of Color in a traditionally White industry. Before I had a chance to do Sports Journal Institute (SJI), my biggest fear was I was going to never have a chance to even show people that I could do this kind of work. I’ve never been afraid that I couldn’t do it or that it was going to be too hard for me, my biggest fear has always been that I’d never even get a chance to show people what I could do. When I was in Denver and I was really struggling, having a hard time like all we can do is roll with the punches, we can’t control anything outside of ourselves, so all you can control is yourself, and remembering that I was extremely lucky to be there and how many of my friends and how many of my colleagues would trade anything to be in my situation, those things were definitely huge in helping me persevere. I think also that the interconnectedness ideas of how I view things has helped me as a journalist a lot, it helps me see things from a bigger perspective. I think those are the two biggest things, but I think in general, living in the pandemic has made me reflect a lot on how Buddhism affects my view of the world. So much of our problems in America dealing with COVID have been a lack of understanding of that interconnectedness, a lot of selfishness. People who don’t see that a lot of time it's ignorance or a lack of compassion, which are all things I’ve been lucky enough to be exposed to through Buddhism. I think, if anything, 2020 has actually reaffirmed some of the things that I maybe didn’t realize in my life were impacted by Buddhism. 2020 and sitting in my house alone has made me contemplate some of those things - contemplate those decisions and think about why I made them and why I feel the way I do about different issues, and a lot of that does come back to the teachings that I received from ministers or from my family. I think that’s probably been the way Buddhism has impacted my 2020, probably in the same way it normally does, honestly, but I’ve just had more time to sit around and reflect on it.”
One Year of Trevor and Darby
Trevor Yokoyama & Darby Charest
He/Him, She/Her
Seattle Buddhist Temple
“Transcript of an interview between Trevor Yokoyama and Darby.
Trevor: Hello Everyone, my name is Trevor Yokoyama, and with me is my Girlfriend Darby. We have been dating for 1 year, long-distance, starting on January 5th, 2020. Darby goes to the University of Arizona studying Special Education Rehabilitation Psychology with a minor in Family Studies and Human Development. Typically, Darby lives in Tucson Arizona for 9 months out of the year to attend school. I live in Seattle-Washington so our relationship is long distance. Honestly, we see each other about the same even if there wasn’t a current active pandemic. Anyways, say hi Darby.
Darby: Hi.
Trevor: Ok, so this interview is mainly to gauge any achievements, thoughts, or insights during the year 2020. Additionally, we want to do this to celebrate 1 year of YBE. YAY. Ok, first question, “What have you achieved this year?”
Darby: Well, at the start of the year, I felt very confident in the goals I set for myself. Within the three months before the world came to a halt, I was cultivating deeper relationships with my college friends, excelling academically, teaching an undergraduate class while working a part-time tutoring job, and still finding the time to exercise and decompress. In a way, I look back and see that version of myself as confident, engaged, and filled with vigor. I was enamored with my life. I enjoyed my school days and nights getting to call you and catch-up. There were other plans that I had for 2020 such as traveling to Norway and adopting a cat, but those dreams were cut short when our school and the world announced that we had to go home and shelter-in-place. At this time, I had just come off a high from a spring-break trip to Puerto Penasco, Mexico. I was excited to get back to the classrooms and finish the semester strongly; at that time I had increasing ambitions for my school life such as starting up a new honorary. Yet, when our school President made the announcement it felt that everything I had achieved in those three months of the new year meant nothing. Rather, I was filled with grief. My ambitions were put on hold - I felt like I was put on hold. I even remember the heaviness of my grief as I landed back in SEATAC, lacking the energy to smile at my mom when she picked me up. I even felt remorse for lacking excitement to be back with family, to be back to see you. It took a month or so to adjust with being back in Washington, being back at home and sharing space with two working parents on the same WiFi, and back in my childhood room. Everything was frustrating and overwhelming. One insomnia-filled night, the posters and notes that cluttered my bedroom walls were overwhelming me, so I simply got up and started removing the anxiety-inducers from my wall. You see, I’m a sentimental person. I hold value and attach memories to seemingly useless things - and these things existed on my walls for years. With each thing I removed from the wall I felt a sense of release; I was letting go of all the things I yearned for or missed. Letting go is something that I have limited experience in practicing.
Trevor: Ah that was deep, I can definitely empathize with you in regards to the last year not going how I had originally envisioned. How can you view it from a Buddhist perspective?
Darby: Through my limited knowledge of Buddhism, I would say that I believe learning to let go has been my greatest achievement this year. I let go of the goals I had originally set for the year. I let go of ambitions of the past. Instead, I focused on my present and what I could do for myself and others day by day. I let go of the expectations of my 20th birthday, summer holidays, winter holidays, the fall semester. Letting go has allowed me to move forward and tackle a full-semester online and a relationship miles apart. I let go of the image of my ‘best’ self and focused on my true and present self.
Trevor: Thanks for letting me interview you. Happy 1 year anniversary for YBE, and also happy 1 year anniversary for us.
One Year of 52 Hikes
Sarah Pettis
She/Her/Hers
Tri-State | Denver Buddhist Temple
“I know this is pretty cliché, but I'll say it anyway: 2020 was an unprecedented year for us all. As the novel Coronavirus spread globally and Covid-19 cases spiked rapidly, our entire routines and ways of living shifted dramatically, and seemingly overnight. We had to transition to working and attending school remotely. Zoom calls and video hangouts became the social norm. The walls of our homes became almost too familiar as the "stay-at-home" fatigue set in. Varying degrees of social and economic struggle, of losing loved ones in different capacities have been felt in our communities. And now, as a sort of coping mechanism to the collective trauma we have been dealing with, we joke almost relentlessly about how 2020 was the worst year ever; good riddance, and thank goodness it's finally over. But really, 2020 was just the passing of another year. Seasons came and went, important holidays and milestones were celebrated, and we found a way to persevere and ride the waves of new changes. As Buddhists, we are taught the lesson of impermanence. "Everything changes; nothing stays the same." This past year, and what we are continuing to go through with the global pandemic, has really reminded me of the impermanence around me. It's important to be present in the everyday moments of your life rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future because, as we have seen, everything might change in an instant. This lesson and timely reminder have made me more mindful of the joys I have in my life and have helped me to practice holding my heart full of gratitude for each moment that passes. One such joy, and one thing I achieved this past year, is that I was able to spend time in nature doing a hobby that I really love: hiking. In 2020, I took on something called the 52 Hike Challenge - to get outside and hike once a week for 52 weeks. I completed my first hike of the year on January 1st and finished the challenge on December 31st with a sunrise hike for number 52. In my year of hiking, I was able to see the delicate changes in nature with each passing season. Some of my favorite hikes were in the Fall as the trees put on their colorful displays, and the beauty of the impermanence of those moments was evident. Completing 52 hikes also made me feel strong, and I felt gratitude not only for the power of my body but also for my own mental strength and resilience in surviving the highs and lows of the pandemic. 2020 for me will always be my year of hiking, and I’m glad that I was able to embark on the challenge and to find a way to appreciate the impermanence of the world around me.”
One Year of Adulting and Loving
Kayli Luke
She/Her/Hers
Seattle Buddhist Temple
“Looking back and reflecting on 2020, although it was a tough year, good things can come out of it, like it was a tough, tough year for everyone. Fortunately for me, I was able to become a homeowner and graduate. 2020 was a crazy year in addition to the pandemic because my boyfriend, Robby, and I bought a house together in Arizona in May, which was pretty exciting, and this past December I graduated from Arizona State University. Despite the madness of the pandemic, I was able to achieve some large milestones that I have had on my goals list for a while. My Buddhist perspective has led me to view life more mindfully. Reverend Castro always said this in his Dharma talks I was growing up in Seattle, “out of the mud grows the lotus,” and that’s what I took out of 2020. Mud you know, is so gross and so disgusting, and something so beautiful like a lotus can grow out of it. Being a homeowner is not easy, from what I have learned so far. I’ve lived with Robby since the end of December 2018, and although it was hard in the beginning because we had to acclimate to each other’s living situations, we were able to work together to make it work. We used to have roommates, where they had to adjust to our living situations and we had to adjust to theirs. We had this roommate that definitely taught me a mindfulness lesson. It was hard - really, really hard. Roommates are not for everybody. One year of being a homeowner, or one year of anything for that matter, just shows how driven you are. One year of being a homeowner, for me, shows a huge amount of growth. I learned so much more than what I knew when I was living with my parents, like bills and other things that need to happen around the house. It’s the simplest things, like spraying around the house for bugs. One year has made me and Robby grow as both individuals and together.”
