Change Michelle Ong

In middle school, my favorite song wasn’t Imagine Dragon’s Radioactive, but Matthew West’s 10,000 Reasons. I didn’t know who celebrities like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie were, but I knew who Jeroboam and Rahab were. I didn’t have a phone or iPod, let alone Instagram or Snapchat, but I had a Bible. I didn’t watch Modern Family, but sermons that aired on TV. In sixth grade, when my teacher planned a movie day, my dad refused to allow me to watch Hunger Games after looking up the summary online. Yet I could watch The Passion of the Christ. My parents sheltered me from everything they could think to shelter me from. In their eyes, the world was a sinful place that would corrupt me and drag me into the darkness.

But my ignorance went further than just the latest celebrity gossip or movies. I was ignorant to the outside world as well, specifically politics. To my mind, my parents were always right. Their views became my own.

In middle school, my dad constantly complained that Barack Obama was a bad president and switched the channel every time he came on TV. When I asked why, he told me it was because “he was a Democrat.” I didn’t question further; my mind subconsciously associated Democrats and liberalism with being bad. When my...