Personal Narrative: A Career In Hawaii

When I started writing this, I had no clue what it would be about. I was told “It has to be perfect.” “It has to explain you without you explaining yourself.” “You have to give it meaning without being asked for anything.” “If it isn’t good enough, admission officers won't give your application a second glance.” So, I put off writing it, pondering it over and over in my mind. I’m so glad I put it off, because until recently, I didn’t know what it was keeping me in Hawai’i. My mom lives in Oregon now, and I had the option to move with her because she still has custody. Something kept me here, though, and I wasn’t sure what. Through reminiscing and building more memories, I realized what it was. It was how much I love being Hawaiian. The food,

I am a licensed CPA with over 20 years of experience and for the past seven years have been teaching at Kauai Community College (KCC) as an Assistant Professor in accounting. As part of a dual credit program held in spring 2017, I worked with Kyla Bandsma as instructor of the Principles of Accounting I college course taught at Kauai High School.

When I think about the culture I come from, I immediately think about my Japanese and Filipino lineage. I also think about Hawaii, and how growing up there has shaped me today. This are only parts of the equation to my cultural identity. No matter what nationality or country you grow up in, each person is exposed to different ideals that mix in with their background culture. I would like to look at my cultural identity by looking at some traditions in Hawaii, the organizations I’ve been a part of, and my own unique personal identity. Each of these has played a role in shaping my own cultural identity.

White foam spreads across a carpet of clear blue. The carpet rises, and the foam curves off the back and crashes to the ground. It travels back across a desert of sand and repeats its actions. The morning sun meets the surface, bouncing off and chasing the reflection of the birds flying. Screams of excitement run past me, their bodies wading into the deep blue. Fiberglass skimming across the top, breaking the perfect surface. There was no looking back now. My heart jumps as i follow closely behind. My arms moving fast, diving deep into the warm liquid. Eager to get to the Hawaiian Dives. We start to slow, the sharp, brown rock, marks the bottoms of my feet as i run across. My hands grip onto the rock as i throw my body up to stand. You could see everything from up there.

I'm an established freelance writer based in San Diego covering environmental issues in the Southland and beyond. Although it's hard for me to

I was raised in a diverse environment. Being multiracial- Asian and Hispanic- and going to a school with predominantly minorities has shown me the difficulties that come with it. Minorities often face disadvantages because they have been discriminated against for centuries. Despite what any statistic may say, I believe that minorities are just as capable of making something of themselves. The culturally enriched school that I go to has vividly depicted this to me, allowing me to cross paths with some of the most brilliant students I have ever met. Being raised in an environment where students prove to be more than a statistic on a daily basis has fueled my interest in civil rights, a topic dear to me that I would like to see change in.

“Shawn have you ever heard of Hawaii?”, my father asked while we sat down for dinner. At that moment I already knew what was about to happen. My parents had been “joking around” recently about moving but I could tell that the jokes were progressively getting more and more serious, and this scared me. “No” I replied trying to avoid the subject. “Well it’s an amazing place, and your dad just scored a job transfer there and me and him are pretty set on it now.” I was distraught, I didn’t even want to think about leaving all of my friends and family that lived in texas.

This topic really stands out to me. The reason being, as a social worker it is extremely important to recognize the impact of diversity to better

it is nearly impossible to not come in contact with someone from another ethnicity and culture. Diversity society comes with many benefits; to take advantage of these benefits we still have many challenges and bias to overcome. We must take the time to work with our fellow Americans who have different backgrounds, colors, and ideologies. Our differences cannot divide us if we wish to improve quality of life in our country for all citizens. We must address our inequalities and misconceptions about each other to create advances, economic, socially, and culturally.

It’s May 11, 3029. There’s 2 days until my birthday and I’ve been planning my party for months. I moved to Hawaii a few years ago, so I’m having a beach party! I’m so excited! My mom called me downstairs, “ Hey Malooloo! Come down and pick out a kid!” I couldn’t decide between a surfboard cake or a lei made of cupcakes, so I called my friends Jojo and Lola over to help me decide. As soon as they walked in, they plopped down on the floor to pet my alien dog, Stitch. “ Hello there Mr. Stitchypoo.” giggles Jojo. Stitch is all blue with wide eyes and purple floppy ears. I adopted him last month after his spaceship from planet Stefano crashed into the library. Lola and Jojo ended up spending the night so we could go shopping the next morning.

It was an early morning in antioch california where I was vast asleep at my grandma’s house. Until my father suddenly woke me up and said “we have to go” and that's how it all started. So I got up and got dressed, ate little bit of cereal and hopped outside with my bags. “Oh my god” I said as loud as I could without waking anyone up around us. There it was A LIMO FOR ME I almost fainted until grandma said “this is just the beginning. We got in the limo and started our adventure. About a 2 hour nap later we arrived at the SFO airport around 8am. I got my bags and said goodbye to our amazing driver, then walked right through those electric airport doors with the biggest smile ever.

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a princess. A beautiful ballgown dress, a golden crown, and a perfect family. When I was a going through puberty, I was over working for a educations and wanted to become a housewife and be the leading woman in “Housewifes of Hawaii”. Ever since I was a child, misogyny has been ingrained in my mind, I’ve been taught to grow up to have the perfect life with a perfect husband and perfect kids. Growing up and watching Disney movies, Little girls are taught that they’re life isn’t complete until they meet a man who will rescue them whether it's from a towering castle, their wicked stepmother, or a curse that can only be broken from true love’s first kiss. Whatever the situation girls will always know that on a handsome man will come in and save the day, so there is no reason to fight for your fights just stay in the tower, or continue cleaning your floors, or wait everyday for your prince to come. Out of the thousands of years that humans have existed, not only has media convinced woman to follow their husbands and wait on them hand and foot, but the Bible says that woman will work under men and submit to them. Even our parents, who we look up to, have taught us that the men handle finances and the woman have to clean, cook, and take

Growing up in New York City and attending public school my whole life gave me the opportunity to grow up in a diverse environment which in turn has helped to broaden my perspective socially and culturally. These experiences allowed me at a young age to become friends with other immigrants and people whose culture, ethnicity, religion, and experiences were completely different from my own. Friends have taught me things like cultural norms and what is and isn't acceptable in other religions. Another experience that I that changed my perspective was taking the career pathway biomedical science because it helped me see academic courses in a different way. It showed me that school wasn't only tests, solving math problems, and writing essays. In

Many of the results from the interview varied not only based on race, class and gender, but also from individual to individual. No matter what race or gender you are, a friend or family member different from you can have the same opinions, or in this case, some of the same answers to general life questions. I believe that these interview questions should not just be based on the race, class, and gender, but also the individuals themselves. From these questions and answers, one can get a true sense of a human being’s personality. Through the questions that I asked, I believe that I was able to gain an understanding of who the person was based on their answers and not just their race and gender.

I want to be able to stand out and represent the ones who come from nothing, I don't want to looked at as just another african american man with a normal job I will not be satisfied until I stand out. During the 4th week of panther academy you called in all the gentlemen from panther academy in for a conversation and I was actually inspired by your words of encouragement. I hope to one day speak in a room full of young men that are so intrigued to what I'm speaking about. I have dreams of becoming a Data scientist sir a data scientist is somebody who is inquisitive, who can stare at data and spot trends. It's almost like a Renaissance individual who really wants to learn and bring change to an organization. Computers are a daily resource we use in today's time with their unique abilities it drew interest towards me and the reason why within Claflin I decided to take digital design. Coming to Claflin this summer and being placed in Panther Academy we were required to get all C's and better in the three courses we were placed in. Reading was a challenge but I manage to pull through and past. Music was interesting with the different types classical Operas, I also