"What Was It Like?" Esther Lian, 2026 Juneteenth Essay Contest
- BCTRHT Team
- 20 hours ago
- 4 min read
The 2026 Juneteenth High School Essay Contest invited high school students in the Battle Creek area to respond to this year's prompt, rooted in the theme Rooted in Culture. United in Freedom.
"Juneteenth reminds us that freedom was delayed, fought for, and passed down. The roots go deep. Who or what in your culture has shaped your understanding of freedom, and how does that connect you to the people around you?"
This year we received 18 essays from students across the Battle Creek area. Esther's essay placed first.
What Was It Like?
Whenever I see an elderly person, I find myself wondering what stories they are carrying. Not the stories everyone knows. The hidden ones.
I wonder what they were like when they were my age. What made them laugh? What scared them? What moments changed the course of their lives? Sometimes I look at an elderly person sitting quietly and think about how they could be carrying an entire lifetime of memories while everyone around them walks by without knowing a single one.
I have always wanted to ask.
That curiosity comes from my culture.
I am Chin Burmese, and some of my favorite conversations have always been with the elders in my family and community. Growing up, I constantly asked questions about their lives. What was it like growing up in the mountains? What did you do for fun? What was school like? Did you have electricity? Did you have a TV?
Usually, the answer to that last question was a laugh.
The stories were never told as if they were extraordinary. They were simply memories. One elder would talk about waking up before sunrise to walk to the fields. Another would describe fishing in streams using baskets woven from bamboo. The basket would hang at their side as they walked through the mountains, ready to be lowered into the water. Someone else would tell a story about carrying supplies along mountain paths or gathering with neighbors at the end of the day.
To them, these were ordinary details.
To me, they were fascinating.
The more I listened, the more I realized that every elder seemed to carry an entire world inside them. A world of places, experiences, and memories that I would never have known if I had not asked.
Over time, those conversations taught me something much bigger than what life was like in the mountains.
They shaped my understanding of freedom.
When many people hear the word "freedom," they think about rights, laws, or opportunities. Those things matter, but the elders in my culture taught me another meaning. They showed me that freedom is also the ability to hold onto your history and pass it on.
Juneteenth reminds us that freedom was delayed, fought for, and passed down. The phrase "passed down" stands out to me because so much of what I know about my culture has been passed down through stories. The elders in my community carry memories of places, traditions, and ways of life that might otherwise be forgotten. Every time they share those memories, they keep a part of that history alive.
I never met my grandfather. He passed away before I was born.
Sometimes I think about all the questions I would have asked him if I had the chance. I wonder what his childhood was like. I wonder what stories he would have told. Most of all, I wonder how many stories disappeared with him because nobody thought to ask.
That thought has made me value the stories I can still hear today.
The freedoms I enjoy now did not appear out of nowhere. They were shaped by generations before me. Because of the choices they made, I am able to grow up in a country where I can pursue my goals, express my ideas, and imagine a future filled with possibilities. Yet the elders in my culture remind me that freedom is not only about moving forward. It is also about remembering what came before.
Their stories connect me to relatives I have never met, mountains I have never seen, and traditions that existed long before I was born.
They also connect me to the people around me.
Because of them, I have learned to look at people differently. When I see an elderly person, I no longer see only their age. I see a lifetime of experiences hidden beneath the surface. I see stories waiting to be told. I see someone who has lived through moments that shaped who they are.
The elders in my culture taught me that every person carries a history worth listening to.
That lesson has shaped the way I understand freedom. Freedom survives when people are able to preserve their stories, share them openly, and pass them on to the next generation. Like roots beneath a tree, those stories keep us connected to where we came from while allowing us to continue growing.
So I keep asking questions.
Every answer is a story. Every story is a piece of freedom being passed down.
And one day, I hope someone asks me, "What was it like?"
The High School Essay Contest is led and coordinated by the Battle Creek Coalition for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (BCTRHT) as part of the Juneteenth Planning Committee's annual celebration.