Often, we are quick to judge something based on what we think we know about it. This leads us to form opinions, and sometimes, close our minds and prevent us from seeing someone or something for what it is. A mindset like this almost stopped me from finding the good in something that ended up bringing me so much love and happiness. As a little bit of background, I have been dancing hula for a hālau outside of school since I was eight years old. At the end of eighth grade, I had to stop for a while because I had recently moved and I lived too far away to drive to hula and back every Sunday and Wednesday. When registering for classes in freshman year, I thought about signing up for hula with hālau Pūpūkahi at this school. I was waitlisted at first, but somehow on the day right before the first day of the school year, I got an email from my dean saying I had gotten into the class and could choose to take it. I remember being so worried when the time came to make my decision. I hadn’t danced in what I felt was a long time, the style of hula taught here was different from what I grew up learning, and I was dealing with a lot of personal issues at the time that impacted my confidence. I wondered if joining this hālau where everything would be so different was the right choice. I wondered if I could even get through the year or if taking this class would be putting too much on my plate. When I did sign up, I thought for sure I had made the wrong choice. I walked into my first class feeling unsure and scared and not knowing what to expect. But over the course of that one year, so much changed for the better because of what I was able to experience with Pūpūkahi. Our Kumu always tells us that we are here for a reason. I don’t yet know completely why I am lucky enough to be where I am now, but over the past two years of concerts, performances, competitions, and just spending time with my hula brothers and sisters, I think I’m starting to see why. This is a place where I feel loved and safe, where I can let go of whatever I’m thinking of and just do what I always loved to do–dance hula. I was exposed to traditions and customs and experiences that, yes, were different. But through them, I was able to fill these past two years with so much love. I was able to find peace in whatever was in my life at the moment and with whatever took place in the past. I hold all these memories and people close to my heart. Most importantly, my initial judgement turned out to be wrong. I wouldn’t have had what I do today if I hadn’t made the decision I did in the beginning of freshman year.
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