About Me
My name is Alec Kekoa Serrao and as a student of Kamehameha, I feel that it is our duty to take care of this land and our world. Pauahi has given us so much that It would not be right if we didnʻt give back to this school and this world. Like our ancestors, we should take care of the land so the land may take care of us. Growing up, I was adopted when I was three days old by my parents that I have now. They have showed me unconditional love even though I am not of their blood. This helped me realize that we should all have love for everything in this world. It also helped me appreciate things in life more because of what my life could have been If I wasnʻt adopted. Living in Mililani, I have three sisters and one brother. My second oldest sister named Isabelle went to Kamehameha as well as my dad Michael. So, to be the third person in my family to make it in to Kamehameha has been a blessing. My dad has tought me from a young age to always have respect. He told me to have respect for my family, school, coaches, friends, and basically everything.
To me, Mālama Honua means to take care of the ʻāina/world and to keep a stroung foundation for the future generations. We need to take care of the things that take care us and be a role model for the future generations. We need to put in the work now so that our future generations can live a better life than we did. When we are gone, they will follow in our footsteps so that they can keep this foundation that we and our ancestors built strong.
Some of the events in my life that helped shape my Mālama Honua mindset is the places that I have went and the people that I have met. For example, In my junior year, the football team went to the Waianae boat harbor to help take out dead grass and trees so that the community over there could plant their own food. Knowing Waianae, they do not have a lot of the things that we fortunate people are able to have. When I was there, I saw kids and pets living in these rough conditions but had the biggest smiles on their faces when they saw us. After seeing this, It just made me want to help them more and contribute to help the less fortunate. We werenʻt doing this for fun or doing this for a reward, we did this because went want our fellow Hawaiians to not have to suffer. We wanted them to live the life that we get to live. Another experienced I had was when I went to Waianae to help cut down invasive trees. Our objective was to cut down invasive trees so that we could plant Keawe trees inside the valley. We planted these trees because It would become a fire break for the Waianae watershed at the top of the mountain. I felt like even though I only did a small thing, I felt that I made a big impact.
The aspirations that I hold as a Haumana of Mālama honua is to make this world a better place. I want to make a difference in my school, community, and in other peopleʻs lives. Making an impact in someoneʻs life no matter how small or how big can make a big change. It can open their eyes that there is hope in this world. Also, I want to learn more about the earth and see more of itʻs beauty. I also want to perpetuate in my culture and follow in my ancestors footstep while learning.
Aloha ʻāina to me is to take care of the land because it is a responsibility. The land will take care of us if we take care of it. Our ancestors have taken care of the Islands and were self sustainable. They never wasted resources and used only what they needed. Last year in English, we talked about how everything in this world has a spirit with in even if itʻs not living. We should treat everything with respect and love whether it be someone or something because we are taking care of the spirit with in.
Aloha ʻāina can relate to Mālama Honua because they kind of mean the same thing. Aloha ʻāina talks about taking care of the land that you live on or land that is dirty. Mālama Honua talks about taking care of the world whether it includes animals, people, land, ocean, etc. It could mean many things but it mainly talks about taking care of the world and everything in it while Aloha ʻāina talks about taking care of the land.
Although I have lived in Mililani my whole life, I have spent most of my childhood in Kaneohe where my grandparents lived. A wind known in Kaneʻohe is Ulumano. In aditition, all who lives or lived in Kaneohe knows about the rains and how much would come down. Close to Kāneʻohe is the rain Ua-ʻApuakea which is off Koʻolaupoko. Living in Mililani, one mountain that I can see everyday is Mt. Kaala which is the tallest mountain on Oahu. Lastly, one of my favorite beaches is Waimea bay on the north shore of Oahu. I love to catch waves at Waimea bay during the winter swells and jumping of the rock when it is summer.