Kehani+C.

Phase I: Who Am I? What's My Place?

My love of nature and the simple, intricate things that come with it. I believe that the most simple objects are some of the most beautiful things on Earth. Like the tiny veins that run throughout a leaf, those are breath taking. I'm avid about photography and writing and those are the essentials to who I am. I'm a member of my school's yearbook team, and enjoy every part of it.
 * **What really makes up your identity? **


 * **What really makes up your sense of place? **

Being from Hawaii, I feel the most comfortable when the people around me work well together. I feel the best when everything runs smoothly for others and for myself. Also, I love driving. Not the physical aspect of moving from point A to point B, but of the joy it brings me to see new sights. Or just having ocean air whip through the car while I drive by a beach with someone I care about.


 * **What roles do your identity and sense of place play when you work with others in a group project? **

I like to help out the members of my group when they're stuck with something, and I enjoy meeting different people just to get to know them and learn about their background (where they come from, their views, etc.).


 * **What are the qualities that you bring to the GLIP conversation that will help you make a contribution to your global group? **

I am an unbiased person who mostly likes to hear all sides of a point/argument, and often I like to play devil's advocate. While I keep my mind open to new ideas, I enjoy voicing my opinions as well.


 * **What is one local problem (where you live) that you believe needs to be addressed? Suggest some steps could you take to try to solve it? **

I believe that the attitudes of students around the Oahu should be changed. Many students, but not all, are disrespectful to adults or do not take their work seriously enough. Often, they concentrate on only the present and themselves, meaning that they don't try to think of the future repercussions that their actions could produce. I want to do multiple interviews with students from around the island and ask them what they think about this subject.


 * **Finally, some problems have been around for a long time. What qualities do you think a person must have to step up and try to solve them? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: 'lucida grande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">I believe that a person needs to remain calm and as unbiased as possible. When dealing with long lasting problems, a person should try to imagine all view points of the topic and converse with as many people on the subject as possible

Phase II: Sense of Place

Upload image (s) here:



This is a picture of the Koolau mountains and Kaneohe Bay. This picture represents almost everything that this island means to me, the beauty of Oahu, the only thing missing is the wonderful hospitality that the people here embody. Kaneohe Bay is always filled with friendly fishermen who are all good-natured and laid back.

At Castle High School our mascot is the Knight, often we refer to students who take pride in our school as having Knight Pride. Our football team is called the Black Knights.

Generally, Oahu is known for it's North Shore surf spots. Recently, though, skateboarding and longboarding have become big parts of our everyday lifestyle. This is the Bonzai Skate Park in North Shore.

What are your initial thoughts about how your image addresses the questions above? Later, you will be working with the members of your group to create a travel package that includes visits to each group member's home location (see Phase II)

Phase III: Identify Local Issue:

What is your local issue? A local issue we have in Oahu is Homelessness. This may sound strange, considering that we are considered "Paradise" to many Mainlanders, but it is a very big problem. A large portion of our residents are constantly losing their homes due to rising housing prices and the unavailability of homes in Hawaii. As more and more foreigners and mainlanders decide to make Hawaii their new home, many of our local residents find themselves being bought out of their houses or are being out bid on new houses or apartments. To add the previous problem, it isn't just the wealthy that decide to move to Hawaii. Homeless men and women from other states constantly decide that it would be better to be homeless in Hawaii. A homeless shelter in Honolulu usually has many out-of-state-homeless. "The shelters' resident population has increased 10 percent in the past year, and one-third of all the guests — 1,300 annually — come from out of state. [This is a quota from 2010]."

To read more on Hawaii's Homeless, read these articles: [] []

What can you do to be address the issue? I believe that starting a Help the Homeless program would benefit some of our homeless. A group would meet about once every month to bring supplies and food to the homeless. The supplies would include basic necessities such as toilete paper, bath soaps, shaving razors, women's hygiene products, and other things.

What is the global impact of your local issue? Hawaii is a major tourist location for many Asian countries. If we allow the homeless problem to get too out of hand, Hawaii might become unappealing to tourists thus stopping them from coming. If this happens, Hawaii's economy would fail, which would adversely effect America.

Add these thoughts to your Group's Discussion Forum on Local Issues