Registered Nurse

The older I get, the younger I feel. I have lived a full life as a nurse, veteran, Kahu, creative artist, Native Hawaiian Healer, educator, dancer, and peacemaker. My journey has been like weaving my own kumulipo, shaping light along the pathway and keeping my bowl of light bright.

What are your thoughts on aging?

As I grew older, I found that wisdom made me whole. It gave me peace. And I want you to know, you don’t have to wait until you are old to find that out. So here is my Pearl of Wisdom: Get to know who you are, and love Mother Nature. She will teach you everything you need. She will remind you that youth is not about age, but about spirit. She will keep you young and beautiful, no matter how many years go by.

What wonderful things can younger women look forward to at your age? Younger women and girls, might think that it's scary getting older. Let's inspire them!

What I learned is this: Stay connected to the world around you. The mountains, the ocean, the land, the sky. When you see their beauty, you will see the beauty in your self. When you listen to their stories, you’ll feel alive and connected. When you feel their love, you’ll know that you belong. And you will never truly be alone, because the past is always a part of you.

Share tips on how you celebrate yourself, what you do for fun, and self care.

Experience Mother Earth. Watch the sun rise. Watch the sun set. Play in the rain. Sit under the water fall. Go mud sliding. Work in a taro patch. Hike Mauna Kea. Swim in the Queens Bath. Watch the volcano eruption. Go surfing. Run after the rainbow. Watch the clouds. Watch the stars. Watch the flowers blossom. Boggie board on the road after it storms. Wash my hair in the rain. My favorite place, Mother Nature.

Share one experience/story. We all have life struggles. But the big share is how did you over come and lift yourself up? Advice to other women to empower them.

Being a pediatric nurse during covid for 5 years. I keep myself free from germs so my keikies could live. Stayed away from the community because they treated nurses like we were germs and saw us like we were carriers of the virus. But the truth was we sanitized our units daily. We were creative in doing visits with family and children. We worked long shifts when caregivers got sick. On my day off I spent my time in my taro patch giving away taro to help feed the people who lost their jobs because of covid. They say we were hero’s but yet in many people eyes we were treated like we were the micro-organism that infected people. We nurses took an oath to serve and help people but yet we were isolated from the community. But yet as woman we survived and our children. We worked hard daily and none of our children died or got covid. A lot of people didn’t realize how hard we had to work to keep our children alive. And the self sacrifice of isolating ourselves from community so that we would not get infected. We as nurses only went shopping if it was necessary, and when we did go we got the stink eye, the nasty comment etc etc. We were not heroes in the communities eyes. We were mistreated for 5 years. How did I overcome this? One day at the time. When I look into my children eyes they all survived. So I can tell myself because they lived, I would continue to go back to work and care for them and scrub the unit down and kill this terrible virus covid. Women are strong. We can achieve anything once we put our mind to it. No one can tell us we can’t do it. Do it one day at a time.

What would you tell your 14-year-old self?

Ku I ka pono,

Malama I Ke Kino

Aloha I ka na’au.

(Stand for what is right)

(Care for the body)

(Love with the heart)

What is your definition of success?

Live in the present moment.

Be flexible

Think “out of the box”

Say less do more.

Work with aloha.

Malama all in front of you.

What is the best advice you have been given?

Let go of things I no longer need in my life.

How is your age group relevant? We are under represented but one of the most powerful and influential demographics:

Everyone no mater what age has something to offer each other. We must take the time to believe that everyone is worthy and has something to offer humanity. 

Twenty years from now, when you look at these portraits we took together, what do you think you will say to yourself?

One day, when I look back I hope I will say, I am still young in heart and in thought. And if a picture paints a thousand words, may my picture always be painted with the colors of youth.