Alternate Home

One of the best feelings in the world is going home, where you are enveloped by everything you love and cherish. A common misconception is thinking a home is a house. A house, where you sleep at night and possessions are kept, does not automatically become a home. A home is where you feel secure, comfortable, and nostalgic. A home is where you build memories that end up shaping who you are. It is where you feel safest and happiest. Without these feelings of connection, it cannot be defined as a home.

My home, where I feel most connected to my community and family,  is Waialua Elementary School. Every Mayday, fun run, Market day, field trips, and Special Olympics activities have influenced my life for the better. My mom also works at the school, and because of this, I have spent my elementary years on the campus and practically my whole life. Every summer since I was in 7th grade, I helped my mom teach summer school at Waialua, and before that, I would spend those days in her classroom while she set up for the new students. Last summer, in particular, I was a volunteer teacher in my mom's classroom, and I helped her and Aunty Marilyn teach k-2 students. I taught math and science, and at the end of the day, I would perform a science experiment with them based on the weekly topic. I remember one of the weeks when motion and the laws of gravity were the topics, and before they went home, they got to make their balloon rocket. It doesn't seem very fun to an adult, tying a straw to a balloon and letting that balloon go on a piece of string, but to these kids, it was the most incredible thing ever. I could see their eyes light up with inspiration. They were so amazed and came up with the idea to race the balloons to test the impact of size on the speed. It was enriching to see the minds of 1st graders become so imaginative.

The kids reminded me of myself when I was a student at this school, which brought me intense gratification. Waialua's positive effect on me is continuing to have an influential impact on current students, which inspires me to teach them with the same passion I was given. 

One of the teachers I had at Waialua in sixth grade, Ms. Mckeown, influenced my desire to become a teacher. She would talk with us, tell us scary stories, and influence us to become the best we could be. We could always go to her if we had trouble. Ms. Mckeown treated us like her own kids, and She inspired me to be a teacher for a whole new generation of children. Waialua Elementary School has influenced and shaped my entire life and continues to do so. I now return every year to tutor kids. Despite all of the problems in the teaching profession, seeing kids progress and making them love to learn will make teaching worth it for me. 

Home has a wide variety of definitions, literal and figurative, that are unique to each person. Each individual's home can be anywhere and anything that encompasses a feeling of comfort, security, and happiness.