Julia+A.

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

What makes me who I am is my family and my friends. Growing up my dad always taught me that hard work requires a lot of time and dedication and that that I should never let anyone get in the way of doing the things I want to do, while my mom taught me love, compassion and following my dreams was what I should always do despite my doubts. I’m stubborn like my dad, and sweet like my mom. My family and friends make me the happy person I am.
 * What __really__ makes up your identity?

The place where I can be myself is in my business academy classes. I can feel smart, mature, and no one can tell me what to do because in that one moment in time I can be me with absolutely no limitations. Everything just makes sense to me because I understand what I’m doing. I don’t have to be something I’m not because being a business academy student is who I am.
 * What __really__ makes up your sense of place?


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

Because apart of who I am is stubborn, I will never give up. I have so much self motivation and dedication to get things done even when I feel like it is impossible. Because I have so much love and compassion for others, I make sure I get things done to help find solutions to the problems they’re facing in their community and in our society.

The qualities I bring to the GLIP conversation is my hard work, effort, and dedication. I will not only be able to help come up with ideas and solutions, but also actually try to put them into action. I am a hard worker and will always do what it takes to see a good change happen in the community I live in and the communities my group members live in as well.
 * What are the qualities that you bring to the GLIP conversation that will help you make a contribution to your global group?

A local problem that’s happening where I live is the cost of living. Hawai’i is a beautiful place for people who visit, but unfortunately it’s not the same for people who live here. In my Retailing and English class I actually have been in some class discussions where we talked about why the cost of living is the way it is here. In Retailing my teacher discussed about how the cost of items effect the amount of mortgage homeowners have to pay, while in English I learned that one reason prices for products is going up is due to credit card debt. I took a second to think about it, and realized that prices go up for products due to irresponsible credit card owners. Those prices also set mortgage prices to go up which causes inflation. I’m not so sure to why the price of products affect the cost of mortgage costs, but I’m determined to look into it more.
 * 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?

A person must have a lot of patience because problems like the one I’m facing here takes time to fix. Determination and dedication is needed as well because these problems effect other people as well not just ourselves. Self motivation is needed because there will be some days when we feel like this is impossible, and need to push ourselves to get back up and try again. Lastly, we also need to have team work skills because we cant do this alone.
 * 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?

Phase II: Sense of Place

Upload image (s) here:

Use these questions to help you determine which picture shows someone else why your “place” is so special to you.
 * Does a scenic picture represent the beauty you believe that your town has?
 * Does a picture of a group of people represent and show a warmth and friendliness that your town has?
 * Does a statue or building convey the feeling of history that makes your place important and unique?
 * Is there a cultural event that represents the values of your home location?

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)

This picture represents the reality that Hawai'i is. It's busy, there are alot of people, Hawai'i takes everything in with acceptance and compassion, and shows the trouble everyone here faces. Even though there are alot of problems here in Hawai'i, everyone always manages to some how smile. The people in Hawai'i are what attract people to visit here, because they provide the happiness and warmth Hawai'i provides. Because Hawai'i has a lot of diversity it allows us to experience other cultures and understand others more. Buildings here do show importance because it shows how much Hawai'i has grown. Even though the buildings are important, what really makes Hawai'i a unique place is the people that live here. Hawai'i's a very diverse place. There's not just Hawaiians, there's also people who are Asian, Pacific Islanders, African Americans, American Indian, Hispanic, Latino, and Alaska Natives. This picture is important to me because the first time I went to tantalus, I saw Hawai'i in a way I didnt ever consider to think about before. I used to think that Hawai'i was just made up of problems because of everywhere i looked. I saw homeless people, I saw problems on the news, problems at school, and I even saw my own mom struggling to make ends meet...but when i went here i saw the mountains, and the buildings. It made me realize that even though Hawai'i has alot of problems it will ALWAYS be beautiful through all the suffering and difficulties.

Phase III: Identify Local Issue:

Hawai'i is an amazing place, but sometimes it feels like living here gets harder and harder each year making some people feel like living here isn't worth it. I've been doing some research and discovered that the cost of food here in Hawai'i costs 30% more than it would in the mainland because we arent as close to our food sources so the producers have to work harder to make sure Retailers dont leave any empty shelves in stores. Growing up I've lived in an apartment that costed $1, 700 a month for two bedrooms and a cottage that costed $700 a month for ONE bedroom. I know it seems OUTRAGEOUS, but it's what people here have to put up with in order to survive. Housing and apartments is one of the main reasons people here work multiple jobs just to barely make ends meet. Alot of people go through welfare which is supplied from tax payers, which causes a tax increase. In the mainland rent for a four bedroom house is around $900 which is cheaper than renting an apartment here. One connection to high mortgages and rent is credit card debt. Products, rent and mortgage are priced so high to make up for the people who dont pay their credit cards on time or at all. This causes inflation. Here is an article that lists some other reasons the cost of living is so high: [] Here is an article describing the cost of living in Hawai'i: []

“Since it's gone up we definitely have to spend way more money on gas then we usually have to.” -Chelsey Cabais ("Honolulu inflation on the rise") I chose this quote because gas is apart of the inflation that is happening here. Many people who live in Hawai'i have cars, and the price of gas is where alot of their money is being put towards.

“If you’re wages have not gone up, then a two percent increase in inflation is like a two percent decrease in pay.” -Sumner La Croix ("Honolulu inflation on the rise") I chose this quote because alot of the funds the government pays for or supports, such as food stamps and welfare, gets taken out of the tax payers money, and many people here, such as teachers, don't get the pay they deserve.

Article: []

What is your local issue? The local issue that Hawai'i is facing is the cost of living. It is a difficult thing to address, but I feel so strongly about this. I want to keep on researching to find solutions to help fix this.

What can you do to be address the issue? I can help address this issue by talking to people I know (such as my friends and family) about wise credit card spending and how it effects the way we live. Even though my friends dont have credit cards they can still teach adults and other credit card owners the responsibility of owning a credit card and how to buy things based on the status of their living situation(s). Also to start buying more locally made products and food so that we can keep money flowing in our economy better, and tell my family and friends about it as well.

What is the global impact of your local issue? The global impact of inflation in Hawai'i has an effect in more than just Hawai'i. Even though credit card debt happens here, it happens everywhere else as well. Hawai'i just happens to have other problems that add up to inflation. This effects our economy because it takes away money from the people who live here, which causes people to work double jobs just to try and support themselves and their families, and also can lead them into homelessness because they are unable to pay their bills and even eventually lose their jobs. It makes people unable to pay for food, mortgage, clothes and other tangible items necessary to live here in Hawai'i which slows down the flow of money that goes into our government due to the decrease of money that is going in.

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