Dear reader, my name is Tessa Sophie Sommerauer, and I want to share with you my story of who I am and what made me that way.

 

          I was born in Belgium, as an expat child. Two weeks after I was born, my parents flew me to Israel and I lived there for the first five years of my life, then came New York, then Kenya, then back to Israel before finally moving to Los Angeles. As you can tell, I’ve seen a bit of the world. Now I’ll let you into a little secret about us expat kids. It doesn't matter how much of the “best education in the world” we’ve had from all different types of countries; this will forever be the hardest question for us to answer, “Where are you from?”. Now I usually answer Belgium, since that is the easiest answer. However, the truth can be answered by my favorite quote: “I'm a mosaic of the people I have met and the places I’ve visited.” I’ve created my own culture, with traditions from all around the world and most importantly, I take the best meals from every country I’ve lived in.

 

          Now you might be thinking, Tessa, why on earth was that important? Well… let me tell you.

 

          Ever since I was little, I’ve loved photography. There's something about being able to freeze a feeling with something as simple as a camera that fascinates me. Another thing I like to do to defy time is writing; writing allows me to explain exactly how I feel in that moment, exactly what happened so I never forget it. One hobby I’ve developed recently is debating. I say recently but I’ve done this my whole life; I just never put a name to it. What I love about debating, especially in Model UN, is that it’s (usually) a respectful way of exchanging ideas and perspectives on a topic with others. With Model UN, I’ve learned that communication is a key component to being able to have a proper debate and make sure that no one feels as though they are being disrespected.

 

          My interest in politics began the second time I lived in Israel, when I experienced the war that started on October 7th. Ignore your political beliefs for a moment while I explain what that's taught me. Please try to really understand what I mean before you judge me just because I’ve lived through something controversial. Living though that war was very supernatural, because during the day you go to school, to the beach, hang out with friends. Yet at night, you take your shower before the night falls and make sure there's a clear path from your bed to the door so you don’t trip over anything as the sirens turn the night into a reminder that safety is a privilege in this world.

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          Every time we would rush into our bomb shelter in our basement, hearing our entire house shake as though it were nothing more than a deck of cards. I would think of how unlucky the inhabitants of the countries in the Middle East were. They didn’t deserve this. Everyone should be able to sleep through the night without one eye open and not have to jump at a car door slamming shut. This I still do to this day, although I have been out of the country for months now. These types of things stick with you; they stick with everyone. This led me to rethink everything the usual media has shown me. I learned how to think for myself, where to look for the right information and most importantly, that nothing is every as simple as “good guy, bad guy”.

 

          My biggest influencers are my friends, who, despite being insulted and talked down to, are able to say what they think, what they believe. Some of us have lost friends because of this war, people we feel like are just a phone call away, yet we will never hear them speak again. My friends speak up for them, they speak for all the people who have been told that they should keep quiet, that they are too young to know about the real world. Let me tell you something: there is no such thing as being too young, and Catalyst will do anything in its power to get you informed, give you the real news.

 

          My goal is that, through Catalyst, the community of teens we create will be able to write articles that inform youth in a clear, balanced, unbiased, and accessible way to everyone around the world.

 

          Your voice means something; we aren't the future, we're the now. We need to act, and in order to do so we need to stay informed. Catalyst can’t do this without you.