Giving Thanks

It’s that time of year when we give thanks, when we look back and reflect. But this year, like most recent years in this decade, feels precarious. Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Artsakh and Armenia: all of these conflicts are far away. They’re also affecting us right here at home. I represent the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia and Los Angeles’ Jewish community is the second largest federated Jewish community in the United States. Our Ukrainian and Russian populations are also sizable.

Like so many of our neighbors and community members, I have friends and family directly impacted by these foreign wars. And we are hurting because of it, even while we are safe. It is truly a gift to wake up in the morning to the peace this country affords its citizens. This country was built by immigrants and it is still the country that the world’s war-torn children look to for refuge. There is never a day that I am not grateful to call the United States home.

It is a gift to represent a country and district I love every day in the California State Assembly, which leads me to the next thing the last few years have really hammered home. I am so grateful for our democracy that has proven both fragile and resilient in recent years. We face challenges here at home not seen since the Civil War that once tore this land in two. Jan. 6th was a reminder that democracies must be continuously upheld. They are, at their heart, a social contract between the people and the government. I believe in that democracy, in the protections this country provides. It is one of the core reasons that I have dedicated myself to public service and what galvanized me to run for higher office. I’m grateful that I get to represent this community and that my constituents put their trust in me to fight to make our state a better place for us all to call home.

And I’m grateful for everyday gifts. I have the best group of friends – loyal, thoughtful, funny, always there – friends. We’re all busy with crazy work lives and families, and yet we all still somehow find time for a phone call while driving or having dinner together. My family lost two friends this year in close succession to one another, both in the prime of their lives, both lost to cancer. We were all devastated, grieving, but never have I seen my friends drop everything to come together to be there, always present, not only for our ailing friends but also for one another.

While I am giving thanks, I must mention my parents. My mother lives nearby and is still one of my best friends and my closest confidant. Sure, she occasionally drives me up the wall, as only a parent can, but she is always there when I need her – the first to volunteer to babysit, to help with holidays, to cook and to spoil my daughter the way only a grandparent can. My father lives further away but he too is still here, still healthy, still ever present. I also have the best sister anyone could have and two brilliant, beautiful nieces.

Most of all, and as always, I have Guillaume, the best and most supportive husband I could ever have dreamed of having, and our wonderful daughter Rachel. Being an elected official means my days are often a whirlwind but my Guillaume is always here, right at my side, always ready to dive into the next adventure with me.

My daughter turned 10 this year. She’s smart, vivacious and, thanks to her father and Benjamin Franklin Elementary, fluent in French. Like every parent, I want to leave the world a better and kinder place for my daughter. The issues that I work on, the legislation I author, is my role in improving the world for all of our children.

This time of year always reminds me that it’s important to stop and be grateful for the small things and the big things, because life really is beautiful. Thank you for letting me share what I’m thankful for this year.