Freedom in Education

My mother told me I would come home in a body bag.  My uncle told me I wouldn't make it back.  I couldn't hear them, all I could hear was the promise I would become wealthly.  The first realization I was not with ordinary people came when I stepped on Chinese soil and they were relaying a story of eating the brain of a live monkey in a restaurant.  We were there to be Los Vegas style entertainers.  I had practiced with a choreographer for a month and just saw the New York chorus line in my head.  It wasn't easy being away from home, but I just knew I had become famous the way strangers were so eager to greet me with 'nihow' or hello as I would pass the shops and markets.  I was so very alone, even next to the 15 women that had traveled with me.  I realized it was all falling apart when I heard her voice.  I can't see her face in my head anymore, but I can hear her telling me the management had called a meeting and collected everyone's ticket home and passport.  I felt suffocated by everything around me and asked the casino operator that had spoke to me on occasion to buy me a ferry ticket.  No one saw me slip out of the hotel into a taxi.  I left behind two large suitcases of belongings.  It was all about survival.  I tried to fight back by talking to an attorney, but his response left me afraid and quiet.  I survived, but to this day the fate of the other women is a mystery to me.  I wasn't a hero.  I quietly struggled with my fears and sadness.  I managed to get my degree and find meaning in work.  I can't turn away and be quiet anymore.  Twenty years have past and all is beyond the reach of justice.  I will talk through my art and find a way to create educational opportunities for others in my shoes.  My education freed me.