Pono'i -- Who am I?
My name was simply chosen by my parents. They really liked the name because my name
sounded powerful and strong. That’s what my parents thought I was even before I was born.
Even more so, I was a premature baby. Everyone thought that I wouldn’t make it, but I did. On
the other hand, my parents did not have any deeper meaning behind my name. It is kind of
lucky in my case knowing that nobody else has my name in my family. Makes me feel singled
out (in a good way of course) and unique. My middle was the same as my first name. Taylor was
simply a name that my parents really liked. My parents were deciding on whether or not if they
wanted to have my name as Madison or Taylor. They could not decide so they put both in my
name with Madison as my first name and Taylor as my middle name. As for my last name,
Campos is a very purposeful name. My father tells me that in Spanish, “campos” means “fields”.
My father was born in New Mexico and their family picked crops and worked in the field. This is
where the name comes from. I find this name very interesting and it closely relates to my
Mexican heritage and culture. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t change my name. My name comes
along with me. I feel that if I changed my name, I would change my whole identity as well.
I live in Hawai’i Kai. My family moved there because they felt that it was a safe neighborhood. In addition to this, they also felt that it was not remotely isolated either—we were relatively close to town. Originally they were going to live in Kahala. However they changed their mind because they knew they wanted to continue having children (because at the time, I was the only one that was born) so they needed to save money. I am happy that my parents made this choice. I enjoy living in Hawai’i Kai. I always feel safe and free to be myself. The community is so welcoming and I couldn’t see myself living anywhere else. My house is actually very old despite the renovations that my parents have made to it. There have been several families that have lived in the house before us. Fortunately, the house was never associated with bad energy; I didn’t cry when I went into the house. This is another reason why my parents chose it. Before this, as my parents were looking for a house, they nearly chose a house that was “haunted”. This is because I started crying when I went into the house. It’s superstitious and my parents did not want to get tied up in that mess. However of course there are both negatives and positives about living here. On a positive note, I feel safe and isolated in Hawai’i Kai. I pretty much live on the side of the mountain. In addition to this, a lot of my friends live in Hawai’i Kai so it is easy for me to go out a lot. However, on the other hand, I don’t really like the suburbs too much. It’s alright it’s just sometimes it feels too quiet. I like some noise. And the neighborhood I live in is incredibly quiet — and that is sometimes very awkward knowing how loud my family and I can be. Similarly, my parents are very strict. Because we live in an area with a lot of money, my parents can afford security cameras and an alarm system. It’s very frustrating to have. However I am very grateful for living there. I may be picky but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Personally, I am unsure if I want to live there when I am an adult. Personally I feel that it depends on my life and where I am standing. I would however love to live close by if anything. I feel that it would be nice to live close to my parents especially with everything they’ve done for me.
I am a golfer and because of this I have to have a lot of patience and self-control. That is my gift. Golf isn’t exactly an easy sport. If anything, it’s probably the hardest sport I can think of. Not exactly physically but definitely mentally. My dad always goes on and on telling me that golf is a mental game. It doesn’t matter what you look like it’s what you “appear” as. That may be
complicated to imagine but it’s true. Golf is truly 10% physicality and 90% mentality. I believe
that my self confidence and assurance in my skills is why I am gifted with patience and mental
stability.
To what extent, and how is Kuleana shown in your life?
In regards to myself, I need to have personal responsibility in an everyday setting. If not, I would not be able to do the things that I am able to accomplish. I would not be myself if I didn't uphold to them. I have a lot of responsibility now that I really think about it. I am several things. I am a strong representation of my ethical background; I am half Mexican whereas the other half of me is Asian (Korean and Japanese). I am mixed. I live on Oahu, one of the most culturally diverse places in the world. I need to pay attention to my actions and words. I need to be aware of everyone's feelings and put their needs above my own. I am responsible for protecting my family. I am responsible for sticking up for my friends. I am responsible for carrying my load as a student. I am responsible for being an honest and inspirational athlete. I am responsible for being me. I think that this is really how Kuleana is shown in my personal everyday perspective. It's everywhere I go, it's in everything I do... Kuleana impacts my life for the better because it helps me answer this question very cleaerly: Who am I?
I am Madison Taylor Campos.
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