By Kylie Uyekubo
For as long as I can remember. I have absolutely dreaded giving speech. I would sit down in the pews every single year whispering to my friends about how glad I was that it wasn’t me on this podium speaking in front of the entire Sangha. However, as I got older, especially now having ended my senior year, I have found myself dreading this speech for an entirely different reason. Yes, I still hate public speaking and that has not changed. But in a year full of so many lasts, the last day of school, the last rally, the last basketball game, I have realized that I’m approaching a lot of lasts here at Temple too. The last YBA meeting, the last time I’ll share pits and peaks during Dharma School, and the last Nakayoshi Gakko session.
Temple Has Impacted My Life
At every stage of my life, this Temple has been a place where I have made memories and found a sense of belonging in such a welcoming community. From when I was a little Dharma School kid sitting in the front rows, to a middle schooler sitting behind a computer for online service and zoom Dharma School, to the person I have become today. For years this campus has become like a second home to me. There are sometimes I’m here so often I think it would be more efficient to just sleep over. Over the span of my life, the lessons I have learned have exceeded that of just the Dharma Talks. The lessons I have learned from the Sangha and absorbing information about the teachings of the Buddha from watching all of you has had an insurmountable impact on my life.
One of the most important lessons that I have learned at the Temple is the importance of putting yourself out there and embracing all opportunities you are offered. Going into High School and joining YBA, I was encouraged to step outside my comfort zone and volunteer to lead projects and run for leadership positions. As a freshman, I was hesitant to speak up, still a little unsure of what I was supposed to be doing or what I was supposed to be saying. As the past four years have gone by, I have grown into myself as a person, I’ve volunteered to chair Spaghetti Dinner and made my voice heard by contributing to conversations. At every step of the way, there was always someone there to support and encourage me. This community has formed me into the person I am today who is more responsible, more confident, and more willing to take risks because of it.
Giving Back To The Community
I’ve also learned the impact giving back to the community can have. No matter how small the action may seem to me, I’ve seen how the small sacrifice of time to volunteer or help out can make a huge difference when everyone comes together to help each other. Watching the Sangha dedicate countless hours to the Temple has helped me realize that nothing would be possible without so many people willing to care for something bigger than them. It has taught me the value of kindness and selfishness that I continue to take with me.
Another thing from Temple that I will always take with me is the importance of building relationships with the people around me. And not even just becoming friends with peers who are my own age, but also making connections with the entire Sangha. Whether that is in the form of serving tea during Keiro Kai, learning how to sew and understand a car engine from ABA (which I now sort of understand), or playing with the younger kids after Dharma School or during Nakayoshi Gakko. Even if I have never spoken to them before, this Temple has fostered such a friendly and supportive environment where everyone gets to know each other and support each other in some capacity. The relationships I have made, especially here, have helped me in so many ways. They have shown me how to find fun regardless of the situation. Through the long conference weekends, a game musical chairs to the tune of K-pop demon hunters that got so competitive people were thrown to the floor, hours in the Polish Dog Booth during Obon, and scrambling eggs (or trying to scramble eggs) for Hawaiian Breakfast, the friends I have made here always manage to make me laugh and are the reason I have so many amazing memories here. Throughout everything going on outside, if I’m stressed about finals, AP testing, college applications, I know I can always come here on the weekends.
Thank You to Everyone
I would like to first thank Reverend Mukojima for all of your amazing Dharma Talks, I’ve picked up more from them over the years than I have even realized. I would also like to thank the entire Sangha for your support, along with all of my Dharma School teachers and YBA advisors for all of the support and guidance they have given me. Finally, I would like to thank my family. Thank you so much for all of your unconditional love and support, even when I’m not the easiest. You have led by example and taught me how important showing up for the people you care about is since you have always shown up for me no matter what in every single way and I am so incredibly grateful for you. Everything I am is because of you and I love you so much.
As I move into college, I will carry everything that the Sangha has given me into every chapter of my life moving forward.
Thank you!