Each Tiny Spark

In this section, videos continue to symbolize guidance and communication, as Emilia and Gus make a video about redistricting to help guide the students through the debate. They present several viewpoints, indicating that change, like people, is multifaceted. Mr. Jackson likes the idea of redistricting—it means his granddaughters can attend a school closer to home. The high-schooler Amanda doesn’t want to switch schools, explaining, “I’m going to have to start all over. I won’t have time to build relationships with teachers at the new school. I’m graduating in two years” (287). These varying opinions demonstrate the reality that activists have to be careful not to impose change on people. Change isn’t automatically beneficial, and activists must listen to those they’re trying to help—not everyone needs the same type of change. Amanda adds, “I think what we’re missing is giving kids a choice about their education. Is that a lot to ask for?” (287). Amanda advocates agency, embodying Embracing Activism and Change, and an activist should create environments where people speak for themselves. In creating the video, Emilia and Gus also embody Embracing Activism and Change, as their goal is to get the necessary information out there so that people can make their own decisions.

With a video, Toni guides Emilia through his feelings. In a war environment, he couldn’t embrace all parts of his identity. He tells Emilia, “I severed myself from my family so I could fight” (313). He didn’t feel like he could be a loving person and a competent soldier, so he stuck to the latter. Though the word never appears in the story, Toni alludes to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, when he tells Emilia,

You know how sometimes you have trouble focusing on one thought when there are lots of thoughts in your head? Like when you’re trying to do homework or take notes? Well, the same thing is happening with my feelings. I’m feeling a lot of things right now, and I’m having trouble controlling which feelings get out and which ones don’t. Does that make sense? (314-15).

Toni links PTSD to ADHD to connect himself and his daughter in a way he knows she will understand. The impact of continually being in a life-or-death environment has made it difficult to manage his feelings—similar to how Emilia’s ADHD makes it arduous to organize her thoughts. Emilia accepts her ADHD, and Toni implicitly accepts his PTSD. He acknowledges that it’s a part of his identity, but identities can change, and Toni wants to grow, telling Emilia, “[I]t’s not fair to you and Abuela and Mami. So I want you to know that I am going to get help” (315). Emilia has people who help her, and Toni will find people who can help him. Through their growth, Emilia and Toni come to embody the theme of Accepting All Parts of a Person’s Identity.

The motif of gender appears with Toni, Abuela, and Emilia encouraging Sue to take the job in San Francisco. She has the same opportunities as Toni. He didn’t forestall his career as a Marine, and she doesn’t have to put her budding tech career on hold. Yet Sue reinforces a simplistic gender dynamic when she says, “I cannot wait to shake up the tech boys’ club and bring a new point of view to the table” (298). Sue is accepting all parts of her own identity by expanding her career, knowing that her family will be fine and that she is able to provide support to her daughter and husband from anywhere, so long as they are connected.