Aloha! . . .

How does it feel to walk barefoot for at least 3 miles on a rocky road? My parents can sure tell you that. This was the only way they could get to elementary school. They are from a small island in the South Pacific called Tonga. My mother would tell me that they had no breakfast, no lunch. On their way to school they’d be lucky to find a fruit on the street. At school, there was no air conditioner and the humidity could be up to 100 percent. When they came home, there was no electricity. Homework was done under a kerosene lamp. What a paradise island this would be?

Do you know how lucky we are to be here in this very room, in our gowns, sitting next to each other, “with shoes on”?

I have become very aware of this. Without my struggles and those of my parents, where would I be? I’d probably be some lost child on the streets, a pregnant young girl whose eyes are in distress, or that helpless girl whose only choice is to flip burgers at McDonald’s.

But NO, I took the risk to open an enormous door-- who knew what was behind it. And I wasn’t lost, helpless, or was restricted—I FOUND MYSELF! I found my inner territory, my compass, my future.

Before I came to this wonderful school, AMES, I was at West High School. Though I was one of the 2,500 students, I was all around. I was that Head Cheerleader, basketball player, and volleyball player. Yes, I was that Jock. But I realized that that wasn’t who I really was. These weren’t the shoes I wanted to wear.

Where are the women in here? How many of you go into a shoe store and try on so many pairs of shoes just to find the right fit? Well it was like I was that girl. wasn’t that popular kid anymore, I had to start with some new pairs of “shoes” on.

When I came to AMES, it was whole new stack of shoes—shoes of higher learning, higher expectations and higher goals. I also found shoes of friends, morals, and priority. I would cry at night because I really didn’t know if I was going in the right path, if I wanted my life to be in such order. I mean, I went to AMES and sure the teachers had high expectations of me, my Tongan community expected much of me, and my parents, like most, expected the world of me. All this motivated me to set challenging goals.
For the past two years, I’ve been taking Medical Assisting to earn my Associate’s degree. Earlier this school year, something happened.

It was the end of a class. A friend of mine asked to have the keys to my car; she told me she just wanted to put her things in there since I was taking her home after school. My mind so tired and my feet hurt, I didn’t think anything of it. I gave the keys to her.

Five minutes into my next class, my friend runs in, “Liberty, I need to talk to you!” Then I knew it had to do with my car. “I’m sorry but I got in a car crash.” Funny thing is, she crashed into a tree, in the parking lot.

To make a long story short, I didn’t have a ride to my Medical Assisting class anymore. I actually had to drop out because I didn’t have a ride. Graduating with my Associate’s Degree was my main goal this year. I cried for almost a week not knowing what to do. I felt like I could not accomplish my goal, it’s like I’ve worked so hard and then a thorns stuck into my feet.

But then, with the help of my family, I was able to re-enter the class two months later. With the commitment of my summer to the class, I will receive my Associate degree in August.

So I was intellectually and emotionally barefoot and Yes, it was a nightmare, but wasn’t it all worth it? Look at us now, the first graduates of The Academy for Math, Engineering, and Science!!! Like they say in the movie, The Other Side of Heaven, “HURRAH! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!” HURRAH FOR GRADUATION!!!
My fellow graduates, we are in America. This is the Promised Land. I believe that we are the Chosen Generation-- The ones who could go farther than our great grandparents, grandparents, and parents. WE have the shoes on, and yes, all of us are already on the road.

You will have times where you feel like you’re walking on a treadmill and things are okay sometimes boring and there are times where you are bare feet and walking on thorns. Remember, you will find eventually find shoes because there’s always a better pair out there. Once you get a hold of them, tie them on tight. For your life is your territory, your compass, and your future. Seize the opportunity and put on the shoes your parents, teachers, and you yourselves had made!

Mahalo and Thank You.

Liberty A.