Ito and the 5B FISH! Swim Strong Together!
2018 starts off with a bang! We continue in our quest to ʻimi ʻike-seek knowledge. How do we make our learning real, deep? How do we “get it”? The haumāna & I ʻswim strong” in our quest to gain a deeper understanding of our essential question: What is Our Kuleana? Today, we were humbled & honored to hoʻokipa Mr. Daniel Ikaika Ito, a ʻ99 KS-Kapālama alum who grew up in Papāʻikou, into our classroom to share his manaʻo on his kuleana.
From attending college in San Diego & UH Mānoa focused on journalism, to working in a restaurant back in Oʻahu, to writing for a surf magazine, to accomplishing his goal of being a writer & editor of Contrast magazine, many lessons were learned along the way. Here he captures important points for us:
1) Always Reach Out: Take risks and meet people. Seek out people and information, even if it may be a different perspective from your own. Makawalu-look at multiple perspectives to tell all sides of the moʻolelo to share & better understand other cultures.
2) Be Prepared: Be professional-how you present yourself is important. How you dress, how you carry yourself, & how you speak matters.
3) Strive for YOUR Personal Best: Not everytime will you succeed, but how you respond when you fail is what defines you. Embrace pressures of deadlines and due dates instead of giving up! Have a growth mindset! Give it your all in all that you do.
4) Set Goals for Yourself: Work hard & have a good work ethic. Work towards & keep your eye on your goals then set new ones for yourself.
5) Seek out Inspirations: Inspiration is everywhere you go, choose to see it. Explore to find your passion, follow it, and learn from it!
6) Always Share Aloha: Greet people with kindness. Find your aloha than offer it to others. Leaders look to fulfill the needs of others by listening and asking questions to create one vision, ONE TEAM! #OTOD!
Itoʻs journey of following his passions…beginning with loving surfing & reading someones every word in surf magazines at Iolani dorm at KSK has brought him full circle, he is now a surf coach at KSK, as he states that giving back to Ke Aliʻi Pauahi and Kamehameha is important to him. He now shares Hawaiian perspective as a writer/editor and has other young minds reading his every word. He accomplished his goal of being an editor of a magazine by hana kupono and hoʻomau…now, new goals are being formulated.
Now that Ito has a family, his kuleana deepens…he left us with a closing thought of HIS kuleana…”To make Hawaiʻi a better place for the next generation (his baby son included)…For all keiki to have a better life filled with ALOHA!” His parting advice, “Be a pono ambassador & respectable leader of our Hawaiian culture by modeling it and being able to articulate it to others who are not of the same culture!” In short, REPRESENT!
Mahalo Ito for contributing to our future, for sharing your moʻolelo on your kuleana that kōkua us to understand our kuleana, and most importantly, for reaching out to our world with aloha while your toes are firmly grounded in the culture of the islands! Wishing you continued success as you ride your best wave of your home break! Imua Ito, Imua 5B FISH!, Imua Kamehameha!
Share a Shaka, Share Aloha!
Kaʻu Iʻa…how do YOU put this new ʻike into action…Knowing is NOT enough…itʻs a call to action! What is Your Kuleana…As a KSH haumāna, As a Hawaiian, As a Global Citizen
FOLLOW YOUR PASSION…Always with Aloha!
