The importance of family to an islander in college
“Ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind.”
We all know this famous quote from the Disney movie, “Lilo and Stitch.” Although it pertains to the significance of family within Hawaiian culture, hearing that quote resonated with me as a young island girl.
Family plays a significant role in our lives. For most of us, we are surrounded by family. Families have always been a central part of an individual’s life in CHamoru society. A CHamoru person’s identity, support system and social base is created from their family.
As someone who grew up in a CHamoru household, family continues to be significant to me. We laugh, play together, tease each other, and even fight one another, yet we still love each other despite it all. What I appreciate about my family is how supportive they are. Even if one of us fails at something, we comfort and support them.
The notion that family is valuable speaks true to another student with CHamoru heritage, Gabriela Sablan.
“Family means everything to me. My parents work extremely hard to provide a comfortable, safe and overall great livelihood for me. I do not take their support for granted because I know how blessed I am to live such a good life because of them. I wouldn’t be who or where I was without them.”
Although families can be supportive of their children in college, most students find themselves needing to support themselves and their families financially. According to a 2020 report done by the National Center for Education Statistics, about 40 percent of full-time students were also employed in the United States.
For college students, this leaves them to struggle a balance between work, school, and family. Take it from Communications and Media student Kiana Aniceto as she not only works but runs her own business.
“Balancing life is not easy. I am a small business owner so I basically work 25/7. My immediate family consists of my wife, two dogs and my younger sister who I am a guardian of and school is also just extremely time-consuming,” Kiana said.
Despite the struggles, Kiana wants to continue her education.
“I chose to get a higher education for myself, my family and my business - everything that I am currently juggling to balance. I believe that furthering my education will guide my success in each aspect.”
For Gabriela, she pursues education due to her parents’ push.
“I know how privileged I am to get a higher education while helping to take care of my grandma. However, my mom is the superhero of my immediate family and always goes out of her to help with anything my grandma needs. I’m glad that as I got older, I got to assist my mom and take the load off of her from time to time, but my parents really push for their children to get higher education, so I want to make them proud and see me graduate.”
In a similar way, my parents always believed education should come first. My mother had to drop out of college and start working to provide for her siblings. So for my mother, it meant more for her that her children not only pursue what they want, but get into a good career.
However, struggling to find the best way to balance school, work and family can be difficult, and it’s hard to figure out what works for you.
For Gabriela, she creates a schedule of things to prioritize.
“I normally prioritize work and school according to a schedule and when my parents ask me for any favor I do my best to adjust that schedule.”
Kiana finds it helpful to make lists to keep up with the many things happening in her life.
“I make a lot of lists. To-do lists, list of ideas, inspirations and thoughts; I write or type a lot of things down and there’s also Google Calendar, which is a lifesaver at keeping my mind clear of being forced to remember so many due dates, important meetings and more. But the main approach of balancing my life is thanks to my family. They are all very encouraging, understanding and helpful with any journey that I put myself through.”
Family, without a doubt, has an impact on our lives. Whether it’s the decisions you’ve made or the interests you pursue, family might have played a part regardless if it was negative or positive. Family might even be the reason why you’re going to college as well.