A combined message

     

     From renewable energy to education and we need to fully realize that our keiki is as diverse as the world is. Not everyone is meant to be the next President of the United States, but we as their parents need to listen to them and watch them and see what gifts they were given. Some will make great chefs, culinary artists, carpenters, electricians, dental assistants, customer representatives, stay at home moms/dads or on to college.  The choices are endless, and I would love to see us be able to meet the future of diversity and a successful Hawaii.

 

    People wonder why so many youth misbehave or do "bad things" and the answer to that is simple, they do it because we have given them no other choice. Without funding for improving schools, work programs, jobs that pay well, after school programs,  summer and weekend educational activities that are fun and group oriented, and even housing programs as many youth are homeless or in bad situations, what do you expect to happen?

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     If you want honest, educated, intelligent, responsible adults tomorrow we need to invest in them today. We plan to not only do that, but to also form a youth group and youth council to be a part of my campaign. Their honesty and integrity when facing issues and asking questions is something we can't run away from. We will fully embrace that and rely on it to help keep me and those around me honest.

 

     The youth of our islands have been dealt a bad hand all around, from colleges that cost way more than what you could earn in a year, to a housing market that is only designed for those that already have lots of money, almost everything to the youth of today is an uphill battle. And who did that? Who has allowed all this injustice and disparity to happen? We have. Our generations have created the problems that this generation has to deal with and we must lead by example and right these wrongs while empowering our youth to help us make the changes necessary in order to set them up for success.

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     The bad and the good that come out of our system, as well political inaction or political courage, are remembered and reported on for all to see. In the end, to the young people of Hawaii, this can either make or break their future.

 

     The young people of today will be the taxpaying, hardworking leaders and innovators of tomorrow. They will have kids, hopefully own homes, go to work, vote, run for office, etc and contribute to society. They will live in the world affected by the policies, and the initiatives that we see implemented and worked on today. In order for them to inherit a world in which they can succeed, and in order for us to give them that and not just what we think is best, we must form a partnership. Not just once or twice, but we must permanently create a forum/platform for our young people to have a voice, talk about their unique situations, find solutions, and have a role in creating the world, community, and society that they want to live and be a part of. 

 

 

     The Youth Are Our Future….Or So We Say

 

     You hear it everywhere, ‘the youth are our future’, and ‘the youth will change the world so we must empower them’. It always sounds great, but how come reality, doesn’t really seem to match with the rhetoric? More and more college graduates leave these islands for better opportunities on the mainland, not being able to live, and contribute to our state and country in our current conditions, and it really appears as though there is a ‘brain drain’ happening to these islands.

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     We must consider all this and more in order to more precisely change how we treat and take care of our youth for one day it will be up to them to take care of us.