Nihil desperandum.

In junior year, my English teacher made us interview our relatives about their lives. It was one of those lame assignments that was supposed to demonstrate who you are and where your roots come from. Anyway, I interviewed my grandparents who were visiting us from China.

When I went back to visit them a few years ago, my grandmother said to me, "You have to have courage." Now, I could be thinking, okay, you crazy old lady. Easy for you to say. No one's making you climb those slippery steps of the Great Wall (which is really not that safe, in my opinion). I'm not trying to get all Amy Tan on you, but there's a certain mysticism to a Chinese legacy.

She's knows what she's talking about. With old people, they hold that certain vulnerability that age will eventually give you. Sometimes it will deceive your loved ones into thinking you're just harmless and old. You'll never know about all that amazing, eye-popping stuff until you ask.

I was forced to ask.

I hope we all remember the Rape of Nanking. I'm from Nanking (now it's Nanjing). My grandmother was 14 when the Japanese invaded Shanghai. I guess the misconception is that the Rape of Nanking only occurred in Nanking. It was happening everywhere. She was a lucky one who took shelter at the American Embassy back when America was still out of the war. From the embassy, she could see the rape, pillages, and murders.

My grandfather (my other grandfather) was a commander in the army that fought against Japan up in the north. My parents are the children of the Cultural Revolution who toiled in the countryside and lived through the years of near-famine. When the troops were coming around, my grandmother hid a gold coin in the foundation of our house. That house was seized by the government a few years ago. The irony.

Now China is flourishing again after years of instability. Life isn't that different from life here in the U.S. But I guess the old nations know that wars, suffering, and violent times will come and go, but it will always be there. It is not the prosperity and power that defines a nation. It is not the government, the policies, or relations. Those will always change. It is the integrity of the people who build the foundation of a strong nation.

I'm sure Britain knows that in this time of tragedy. Panic is unnecessary when experience and, well, balls are present.