By Marcus Wang
Conversations across generations, the smell of spam musubi, and kids running around my legs—this has been the backdrop of my life. For as long as I can remember, this Temple has been my second home. At first, I didn’t always appreciate it. I’d sit through services staring at the clock, wondering when the Dharma Talk would end and the snacks would come out.
But over time, things changed—not all at once, but gradually. I started recognizing the faces around me not just as people I saw weekly, but as a community that knew me. A place where generations of my family had walked before me. Where people remembered stories about me that I’d forgotten myself.
I grew up here, even when I didn’t realize it. I made friends whose parents grew up with mine. I learned how to listen, how to lead without needing a title, and how to give back in small ways that mattered. Whether it was sharing a laugh, folding paper cranes, or just being present, I started to see the beauty in the traditions that once felt like routine.
There were moments that stood out, the shaved ice at Obon or one Sangha Day Picnic, in the middle of a water balloon fight. Keep in mind I’d managed to dodge every balloon thrown my way—until a little girl nailed me square in the face and knocked me straight into the dirt. I wasn’t mad — but I was actually pretty impressed.
This Temple is filled with moments. I know that little girl with the cannon for an arm will remember that for years. At this Temple, we are together intertwined in these moments that give us fuel to keep going.
Another time, I walked through the Sangha Hall, jumped to touch the doorframe like I always do, and noticed a younger kid doing the same. It hit me: I wasn’t the little one anymore. Somewhere along the way, I had become someone others looked up to—the same way I once looked up to the older teens when I was small.
That realization brought both pride and a sense of responsibility. I began to understand what this place had truly given me—not just memories, but values: compassion, respect, and a sense of belonging.
Today, as I think about the next step in life, I carry this community with me. The people, the memories, and the feeling of home I found here.
Now that I am graduating and looking ahead at who I want to become, I have to keep chasing that version of myself, the version who will always still be grounded and rooted from the people who shaped him within these walls.
Thank you for being part of my journey.
Marcus Wang