April 2024 recap
Repost from April 30, 2024
This April was filled with family gatherings, community work days, critical learning, and personal growth. I started blogging to hold myself accountable to regular journaling and keeping track of ongoing projects and reflections. In the past two weeks, it has also provided an outlet to process current events in higher education pertaining to human rights and social justice efforts. Since April 25, the UCLA community received notices about the creation of an encampment in support of Gaza and daily updates about its impact on campus life. Though these updates are filtered through an institutional lens that maintains the status quo and refuses to divest from capital interests in Gaza, they have filled me with hope and admiration for those on the frontline. They remind me of the ongoing work that is being done to protect Indigenous lives and the ʻŌlelo noʻeau "Ma kahi o ka hana he ola ma laila" (where work is, there is life). There is indeed an abundance of life and love present in encampments on college campuses across the U.S. continent, for there is constant work being done to challenge Zionism and secure Indigenous futurities.
This ʻŌlelo noʻeau is also an appropriate representation of my April recap. From family gatherings, community work days, academic coaching sessions, grant writing, there has been a lot of work and a whole lotta life lived. Here's a snapshot of a few memories.
Family gathering: My mother's side got together early this April to celebrate Easter. It coincided with Mele Manaka this year, so my cousins and I made haku-style lei poʻo, which we gave to our moms. During the gathering, I went through my mom's book of remembrance, which contains moʻokūʻauhau, photos, and documents from her childhood. I discovered a certificate she received from an elementary teacher labeling her "the most informed gossip" of her class. Needless to say, I had so many questions.
Family imu: It's lūʻau season, and my aunty and uncle had an imu at their hale this month. It was two days of hard work by my cousins and a lack of sleep for me. But in the end, the kalua pig came out so 'ono. For the first time, I helped with the clean up and wow, I never knew banana stumps could be so heavy.
Student graduation: One of the cohorts of community college students I currently serve through Nā Hokua celebrated their graduation from a community program dedicated to aloha ʻāina and loʻi kalo farming. It was a beautiful gathering filled with moʻolelo, ʻŌlelo noʻeau, moʻokūʻauhau, tons of lei, and an ʻono pot of lūʻau stew, poi, and steamed ʻulu. I've learned so much from these haumāna over the past three months, and witnessing their transition from this program to the next stage of their educational and career journeys has been an immense privilege.
April roundup [the highs and lows]
17 busy days, 4 stressed days, 5 relaxed days, 4 fun days, 0 junk days
6 books, 1005 pages read (Book of the month: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines)
Submissions
1 grant proposal (APA Visionary Grant)
1 conference proposal (American Educational Studies Association)
1 manuscript (CRT and multiculturalism in Hawaiʻi)
Notifications
1 publication in-press (awaiting proofs)
2 external dissertation fellowship offers
1 summer job offer (UCLA)
1 publication proposal rejection (Review of Research in Education special issue)
