Multiple Identity Crisis
Multiple Identity Crisis It was the summer before my junior year of high school that my life changed. My mother, along with my stepfather, younger brother, and sister had moved to Oregon. My older sister and I stayed on Maui, although it took a lot of convincing and persuading my mother that I could handle it she eventually let me stay. I originally lived with my Uncle for a few months. It was those few months living with my Uncle that I really experienced a change inside of me. My Uncle, Samson Harp, is renowned in the state of Hawai’i as one of the, if not the, best tattoo artist. He is also renowned for his place in the Hawaiian community. Contrary to belief, there are not a lot of people who withhold the knowledge of Hawaiian language and traditions.. When I went to live with my Uncle I learned how to understand the language as well as speak bits and pieces of it. My Uncle would bring me along with him to “Hale Mua” which is directly translated as “the house that moves forward”. Hale Mua is a “club” in a sense, while at the same time it is also a “dojo”. Hale Mua is a place where Hawaiians can learn their culture and traditions, language, history, fighting, and war strategies, for example. Being part of Hale Mua required me to be respectful, humble, selfless, and independent. Learning the language was hard because we weren’t in a classroom with teachers. The elders spoke it and if we wanted to understand what’s going on we had to catch on as fast as we could. Sentence structure, pronunciation, and spelling were completely foreign. I had to learn how to take orders, which I wasn’t very good at, and know when to submit and let go of my pride. It was a lot of hard work, to make such a big change but it was worth it. I had to let go of my old ways in order to become, what I now realize is, a better person. This was the start of a brand new me, I had grown and shaped a new “identity” for myself.
What is Identity? Identity is the fact
What is Identity? Identity is the fact