A major question our generations grapples with is who we are and I’ve thought about this question extensively, particularly during this pandemic and I’ve come to the conclusion that not only is the answer constantly evolving, but also, for the first time in my life, I’m ok with that. “Daniel Leka” as a person is someone who is outwardly defined by his artistic output and the connections he makes with other human beings. Yet as a concept, I hope to represent innovation, growth, and the idea of hope itself. As I’ve grown as a person, I understand that the things that drive me forward include the ideas of family, God, and seeds. To me, these ideas are important because they help me continue forward on my journey towards growing trees that I will personally never eat from. However, despite this, I know that my perception of myself is the most important thing and once I’m gone, the world will have my output to analyze and hopefully learn from.
As the question of who I am is ever-expanding, a crucial part of cultivating my own identity has been weeding out who I am not and what stands in the way of me embracing who I am. That being said, what does not serve me and what I’ve become un-associated with are labels and I refuse to be defined by them as well. Growing up, I would always be asked what I wanted to be but I seldom answered those questions. The reason being is because I knew that if I described a verb, the world around me would morph it into an adjective and at times box me in. This would make me feel uncomfortable and I decided from an early age that I would not be boxed into one profession. Yet, it wasn’t until I got older that I realized that the world and its people were going to label me whatever it deemed acceptable, no matter how wrong it was to me. Understanding this has allowed me to move freely and coexist with differing ideologies and archetypes. To be un-associated with labels has made life much more open and ambiguous, hence making life more enjoyable for me.
At a time such as this, of confusion and chaos, my faith has allowed me to understand things more naturally because I feel like it’s something that we can all resonate with. Before the pandemic, I found myself engaging in a self-loathing behavior, one that would often lead to cycles that felt seemingly endless. Yet, during the pandemic, I found myself grounded in the vast array that existed in my immediate surroundings and the present moment. Detaching myself from the extraneous things that came with a regular day-to-day schedule allowed me to analyze aspects of the world and why they were constructed as is. What resulted in these moments were more informed creations as well as a new perspective on faith. To me, faith resembles the grey area we as humans inhabit and is a suitable replacement for uncertainty. It was discovering this truth for me that allowed me moments of peace and content, particularly at the height of lockdown, and it now allows me the confidence and strength to continue onwards.
The greatest trial I have overcome is the grief following my father’s passing in 2019. It was during this time that a lot of my world views began cementing themselves and it directly correlates with what I aspire to do today. During this time, I discovered a truth about the world that I feel is seldom thought about. Essentially, when a monumental figure in our life passes away, the only records we have of this person are the memories and stories we shared with them. The world around us sadly doesn’t acknowledge these because upon one’s passing, life continues onward without a glitch or bump. Therefore, in understanding that the world doesn’t value all of our stories equally, I found it best to take my grief and make an archive of stories that exist around me for future generations to study. With time subjectively moving faster the older we get, I find that aspects of American life like the mid-life crisis are long gone and that period of indecisiveness resides in our 20s. Thus, the 20-Year Crisis. So the trial that I faced a few years ago is now the spark for what I do today.
If there is any message I would share with the youth and share with the community, it is not to be afraid to build a better future even if you cannot yet see the full effects of it. It’s about the kids and one day, we won’t be those kids that the world looks at us as. If we want to shape a “better” world, it’s important to lead by example and create something that benefits us all, not just a select few. It’ll be a concerted effort between old and young generations but understand that the old generations will perish and ultimately we all want the youth to be better off. All in all, it’s important to take those feelings of hope and empathy that are typically associated with the youth and pass them on. Have a code, stick by it, and always value the existence of everyone.
