Culture

I think people should be a little more open to experiencing other cultures and respecting them. I grew up surrounded by Hawaiian culture, and in school it was part of my whole day, along with Hawaiian language and culture and history classes. And I'm so grateful I did and that's where I come from because I can't imagine growing up without that. Especially since Hawaiians are such a big community and we are all family and supportive of each other. I really can't imagine growing up without that feeling of like knowing everybody and being somewhere where even if we aren't blood related, everyone is part of my family. That's also a big part of Hawaiian culture, family doesn't have to be blood and blood doesn't have to be family. As a sign of respect to our elders, everyone older than you is either Aunty or Uncle, no matter who they are to you. I don't entirely know where I'm going with this, I just think that the whole world should be more educated about all types of cultures instead of just having US history in school, because I think we could all benefit from that. Only being taught one thing kind of makes it look like that's the only thing that exists, when really there are thousands of different cultures and ways of living, and I think people today need to be more aware of that. I think that would also give us a lot more appreciation for nature because so many cultures live off the land and honor it so much more. I think it would also teach people to grow up and appreciate things that might be "weird" to them, because they didn't grow up around it. I know so many people who think hawaiian culture is just leis and pineapples and t-leaf skirts. Pineapples are not Hawaiian, and also our culture is not just a costume. Maybe my point is that people should be more open minded when it comes to things they aren't familiar with, as well as respectful, like not having hawaiian themed parties where everyone wears fake flowers around their neck, because all the things we do are so much more than that, and making it a halloween costume is kind of insensitive.