College is an academic, social and stress-accumulating hub of young people trying to reach the top on the pyramid of life. According to every speaker at Welcome Week, college is where you are guaranteed to meet your lifelong best friends and a place where you will find yourself.
Eighty six members of the freshman class of 2019 left behind the best weather, gave up the most beautiful beaches and traveled 3,755 miles to attend Creighton University this school year and have no doubt been asked the renowned question: “Are you Hawaiian?”
This question may seem natural. People from California are considered Californians, people from Texas are considered Texans and people from New York are considered New Yorkers. What most individuals don’t understand is that there is a distinct difference between being of the Native Hawaiian lineage and simply coming from the Hawaiian Islands.
In Hawaii, when someone is called “Hawaiian” it means that they are of the Native Hawaiian ethnicity. Meaning, at some point in time, one of their relatives was an original settler of the Hawaiian Islands. These individuals are well respected throughout Hawaii; it is their families to whom the infamous Hawaiian culture comes.
When one strolls the streets (or beaches) of Hawaii, they are guaranteed not to see grass shacks and hula dancers at every corner. Rather, they are guaranteed to see a plethora of individuals ranging from full Japanese, to full Native Hawaiian and everything in between.
Hawaii is a mixing pot. When the first non-Hawaiian settlers migrated to the islands to work on plantations, most of them were Japanese, Chinese or Filipino. These three ethnicities – along with a few others – grew tremendously over generations and many people today who are 100 percent Asian in race were, in fact, born and raised in Hawaii.
There are more to our islands than throwing a “shaka,” Hawaii’s version of the peace sign, eating amazing luau food, and surfing the largest swells of crystal clear water.
Citizens of Hawaii welcome anyone with open arms. Hawaii is a place where acceptance has no bounds and everyone gets together to form one large Ohana, or family, no matter where you may be from or what ethnicity you are.
This article may have intimidated you and you regret wrongly calling a non-native individual a “Hawaiian.” Don’t fret. People from Hawaii do not get upset or rash if they get called Hawaiian, even if they may not have any Hawaiian blood at all.
In fact, it’s quite humorous considering how different and diverse our culture actually is. Whether it be California, Texas, New York or Hawaii, there is a sense of pride in speaking of where you come from.
College may be hub of rigorous academics and bumping social activity, but perhaps the most special aspect is the diversity you will encounter. College is a mixing pot, where one is provided with endless opportunities to learn new things and meet an abundance of new people from all around the world.It is similar to Hawaii in this way. Just like a Creighton student is more then just being from Creighton.