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“THE PROMISE OF A BRIGHT FUTURE”

Dear Editor,

In elementary school we were taught that we must strive for a better and brighter future. In high school we were taught to plan for a successful career, in college we learned that to get to your dream job you must be able to sacrifice many things to achieve it.

Now that we (collective graduates of various universities and colleges) have returned to our island to serve the community and to create bright futures for ourselves and our government, what we face is more depressing and frustrating than that of the current economic recession the United States is facing. What a disappointment with our local government.

Here is something that we always hear during graduation speeches from honoree guest speakers. “Go forth and conquer the academic world & gain the necessary tools and skills to succeed in the real world. When you amount to the highest peak of success return home and give back to the community, people, family and government.”

These kinds of speeches have motivated me to always look at the future with excitement and optimism. The reassurance of a bright future is there for us, the young and bold, after pursuing academic endeavors.

We have returned to our island in hopes to put what we have learned over the course of our academic experience in to service. Yet we are being hauled, heaved, pulled, and toggled into different directions by administrations when approached for the opportunity to put into action our gained experiences.

Some of us have been here for over 2 years, 3 years and are seriously contemplating returning to the United States of America to seek jobs and opportunities to use our much available services, skills, and experiences.

When we were two, we were asked what we wanted to be when we grow up. When we were ten we were asked again what we wanted to be when we grow up. When we were 17 we were asked again, and when we entered college an academic advisor asked again what is it that you want to be when you grow up? We all had different answers, some are as such.

 I want to be a doctor,

I want to be a field specialist in chemicals and weaponry,

I want to be a firefighter,

I want to be a teacher,

I want to be a successful business owner,

I want to be a policeman,

I want to be a governor,

I want to be a nurse,

I want to be a public relation translator,

I want to be an engineer,

Little did we know then that what we want to be when we grow up will be determined by the ineffectual, inept, and maladroit politics of administration; we may have planned for a bright future but the only future afforded to us is one that no sane person could accept; I strongly encourage our local department of education to please stop filling the heads of our youngsters with dreams and hopes, stop urging young minds to worked hard and sacrifice a lot to achieve greatness, only to be crushed into pieces by administrations when they return.

That promise for a bright future that was never really dawned upon but implied, yeah that one, well it is one for dreamers, visionaries and idealists.

Tautasi Falanai Jr.
CSGA Allocation Board Representative
Chaminade University of Honolulu