By Lynn Chong

Lynn is a Psychology student and a part-time gymnastics coach to little children. She loves animals because they teach you not to judge or hold grudges and to love unconditionally. She also loves talking to kids because they see the world through eyes that are so different from the adults around them.

Unity. What does it mean to you? To me, it means so much more than I can put into words. It means a world where everyone has equal opportunities; where nobody is better than the other simply because they were born into a certain situation or social standing.

Unity is a world where people can just… Be. The freedom to do, be, and say what you want without fear of judgment. Unity is the ability to see past differences, be it big or small and say “I accept you, you’re one of us.” To be unified is not to sacrifice individualism but to see the unique beauty in each component and how it makes the whole more beautiful.

Unity, to me, means strength. It is the feeling you get when you know you’re a part of something bigger than yourself. When you know that together, you can effect change. It is when you speak through a voice louder than your own and know that you can be heard.

We call our world beautiful, we name so many wonders, claim our universe is so unique, and yet there is so much ugliness beneath the surface. Hostility and hatred are simmering, blanketed by a mask of “togetherness” that can hardly be called unity.

What is unity to me? It is a world that may not yet exist, but one that I wish my children will know. A world of opportunity and beauty different from my own where they can be part of a whole and yet be free to express themselves in any manner they wish.

Pic credits: Unity – Inaz by Adi Arfan Mikhail and Happy Children 4 by C.K. Koay