Writing Galore: 2015

Assignment 13: Portfolio for Semester 1

9:40 PM
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Assignment 12: KC3 FINAL DRAFT

Land degradation; a process of abusing the land through human hands. Land degradation is a common practice around the world by over-constructing the land as a way to make money and is especially common in the Aloha State, Hawaii. But isn’t Hawaii full of lush green landscapes that have never been touched by a machine? Wrong. It is just the opposite of that, the abuse of land is typical because of Hawaii’s booming population due to factors like tourism or military. So, buildings, houses, condos need to be built at a fast pace to support that however it comes at a price, and that cost is huge. It costs Hawaii in three ways: economically, socially, and environmentally.

Firstly, because of the constant land degradation it has a negative impact on Hawaii’s economy. That’s because Hawaii has grown overly dependent on it, due to Hawaii’s overpopulation from factors like tourism or military. With those factors in mind, Hawaii has to create buildings to support it. So, as a result of accommodating to the overpopulation, Hawaii benefits out of that by getting some big bucks for example, "Since 1960, the income generated from tourism has increased well over 2,000% and the trajectory of growth is projected to steadily increase. In 1986 alone, Hawaii experienced about 15% increase in visitors over the year before-or about 5.6 million tourists," (Terry Kelly John Matsuoka 31). However because of those statistics it has led Hawaii to believing that if they continue to degrade the land the economy will succeed but, it has made Hawaii into an undesirable condition, "pricy paradise." To illustrate, a single family house in Hawaii would usually cost around the $700,000 range or sometimes even more expensive, (“Troubles in Hawaii”). Compared to the rest of America this is a huge price gap because, in the Mainland the prices for housing are so much cheaper about $500,000 cheaper (in terms of single family houses). So, why is Hawaii's housing so much more pricier? That's because of land degradation. According to, To-Hawaii.com, "There are several reasons why housing is so expensive in Hawaii. One factor is the limited amount of land onto which the cities could expand. Another reason is the higher construction costs that are due to high shipping and inventory costs of the material and excise taxes among others." And as a result of that, the price for land has never become so worrisome. Not only that, groceries also has a toll on the public, according to the article, “Troubles in Hawaii,” groceries in Hawaii are 30 percent more expensive than Northern America. Reason? It's because of how much resources are being terminated and as an effect there are not enough resources for Hawaii to rely on itself but, on others. According to, Hawaii Seed.org, about 90-95% of the resources we use are from foreign imports. Although this helps with Hawaii's unsustainability it does not fulfill, the citizen's desires because, of a majority of our food are foreign imports it comes at a hefty price. That's because, these resources have a high tax and must always be on the shelf ready to be bought. And because of that, the groceries in Hawaii are expensive all because, of land degradation.

Not only has it hurt Hawaii economically but, socially as well. “These changes have profound effects upon the behavior and practices of Hawaiian people who must look to other means for subsistence,” (scholarworks). Before all of the land abuse, Hawaiians used to live in harmony with the land and sea through a system called Ahupua’a, a subdivision of the mountain to sea but, it wasn’t just a land sector but, a way of life. Through the ahupua’a Hawaiians learned how to live a sustainable life by taking only what is needed and caring for the land, this trait was a part of Hawaii's identity. However, when Hawaii was used for construction purposes everything was lost according to John Matsuoka and Terry Kelly. Once, land degradation came into play in Hawaii, the land disappeared into resorts, apartments, houses, and so did the culture. Land degradation had destroyed their ahupua'a into neighborhoods, resorts, etc and it destroyed an essential part of their culture. As a result of that, it has “left the islanders in a state of boredom and listlessness which has contributed to such social problems as substance abuse, suicide, and a soaring population growth,” (scholarworks). Their values, meanings, purpose of the land was destroyed all because of land degradation. Also, because of their destroyed values many Hawaiians started to ddo substance abuse (alcohol, drug addiction), and it was found that Hawaiians were most exposed to substance abuse followed by, Caucasians, (Marshall, 1979; Native Hawaiian Study Commission, 1983). Besides that, because of the huge reliance on construction to accommodate Hawaii’s main moneymaker, tourism, “The 1980 Census reported 258,000 Hawaii-born persons living in the other 49 states-almost 32% of all Hawaii-born persons. At the same time, more than 55,000 native Hawaiians, or 31% of the nation's total were living on the Mainland,” (John Matsuoka and Terry Kelly 37). This huge migration of Hawaii born people moving to the Mainland is referred as the, “Brain Drain,” because, many adroit people who come from Hawaii move to Mainland for a better shot of getting the job they desire. Not the ones that only offer something related to land degradation plus, the cost of living somewhere else was more affordable than this, “pricy paradise.”

Hawaii, was a place that once was flourishing in natural resources. However, in the modern day with more and more land being used to accommodate overpopulation, it has destroyed natural resources. For example, in April 8, 1987 at the Big Island there was a resort to be built and it was labelled (at the time) the largest hotel (Matsuoka Kelly). With all of its glory being labelled as the “largest hotel,” it was for sure to bring in a lot of wealth to Hawaii however, at the same time it was destroying it. It terminated about 70 percent of the anchialine ponds and rare species of shrimps that were thought to only be found in Hawaii. In addition to that, birds who used to stop midway from their migration to the ponds have vanished. And the amount of species indigenous to Hawaii have not stopped diminishing.According to John Matsuoka and Terry Kelly, ”Hawaii has only 0.2% of the nation's land, but 72.1% of its extinctions and 27% of its rare or endangered species.” This is a huge problem because, this factor contributes to Hawaii’s unsustainability meaning, it can’t rely on itself but, on others. And as mentioned before, because of this fact Hawaii is left in an undesirable condition of a, “pricy paradise.” Besides that, just the fact that Hawaii, with its miniscule land has very limited species compared to America is troublesome. If the situation worsens what will be left of Hawaii might be empty forever. Concluding, Hawaii’s environment, as of now is in a very troubling situation.

With the constant land degradation Hawaii is at huge risk of losing everything socially, economically, and environmentally. That's because, Hawaii is constantly losing their resources rendering the natives useless to the land causing a void of between the Hawaiians and culture and the effects of that are not so pretty. Also, many of Hawaii’s bright people are not using their talents in the islands where only a minimal amount of their gifts will be put to use so they go, abroad. Not only that, the economy is also having a burden on the public through making them live in a “pricy paradise,” due to its unsustainability. Besides that, all of the native species that made Hawaii what it was is disappearing at a fast rate because, of land degradation. If this problem doesn’t stop now what may be left of Hawaii might disappear forever.

2:00 PM
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Assignment 11: KC3 ESSAY - ROUGH DRAFT

Land degradation; a process of abusing the land through human hands. Land degradation is a common practice around the world by over-constructing the land as a way to make money and is especially common in the Aloha State, Hawaii. But isn’t Hawaii full of lush green landscapes that have never been touched by a machine? Wrong. It is just the opposite of that, the abuse of land is typical because of Hawaii’s booming population due to factors like tourism or military. So, buildings, houses, condos need to be built at a fast pace to support that however it comes at a price, and that cost is huge. It costs Hawaii in three ways: economically, socially, and environmentally.

With the constant land degradation Hawaii is at huge risk of losing everything socially, economically, and environmentally. That's because, Hawaii is constantly losing their resources rendering the natives useless to the land causing a void of between the Hawaiians and culture and the effects of that are not so pretty. Also, many of Hawaii’s bright people are not using their talents in the islands where only a minimal amount of their gifts will be put to use but, abroad. Not only that, the economy is also having a burden on the public through making them live in a “pricy paradise,” due to its unsustainability. Besides that, all of the native species that made Hawaii what it was is disappearing at a fast rate because, of land degradation. If this problem doesn’t stop now what may be left of Hawaii might disappear forever.

6:12 PM
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Assignment 10: Graphic Card - Querencia

3:06 PM
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Assignment 9: Querencia Final Draft

9:38 PM
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Assignment 8: Picture Frame Paragraph by: Kari Lau and Kelci Sumida

Crash! The sound of the waves are especially loud during the winter season. At North Shore located in Oahu, Hawaii, this is the peak for all locals/tourists to come and observe the waves at its high time. Families like ours love to swim and catch the waves in the cool ocean to refresh ourselves since, it is still hot during the wintertime. Also, the smell of the ocean soothes our souls with its salty aroma. The salty aroma takes ourselves away from the crowded city. Not only that, the Matsumoto's Shave Ice stand, adds more onto the special experience during the winter. When you drive into the North Shore area, there is a barn shaped store with a sign that says, "M. Matsumoto Grocery Store." Then, immediately there's a long line that extends out the door waiting for the delicious shave ice. Our personal favorite to get shave ice are the fruity flavors of strawberry, and green apple. The fruity shave ice tastes invigorating from the tiresome day of catching the rough waves. Last, our favorite aspect of North Shore is the rustic scenery. Since, we are used to the usual landscape of buildings, traffic, crowds, etc a change of scenery is nice. In North Shore, there are old fashioned buildings that are unike the modern buildings we've grown accustomed to. Also, there is no traffic to bother us but, only smooth driving. In addition to that, there is a pure smell of beaches and trees unlike the smell of car gas and people. The pure aroma gives off a soothing sensation that you can't really get in the city. Along with the relaxing smell, there are various sounds that can only be found there. When we enter North Shore there are sounds of chirping birds. The birds chirp faint sounds of tweet, tweet, tweet and adds onto the rustic feel of North Shore.

These three aspects of North Shore are special to us and our family especially, during the wintertime. In the wintertime it seems as if the following aspects become more enhanced. For instance, the waves become bigger adding more fun into catching the rough waves. Not only that, the feel of the waves become more soothing since the size of it are bigger. Besides that, the taste of shave ice during the winter become more satisfying. Since, the waves are especially big during the wintertime it takes more of a toll on the bodies so, a refreshing bowl of shave ice invigorates us. The fruity aroma of strawberry and green apple add more onto the magical time of winter. Moving onto, the country landscape of North Shore. In our usual setting we always see the same old cities, traffic, and people but, in North Shore its different. The rustic appearance of North Shore includes barn like buildings, many trees, and its just country. Because, of the different setting from the city it is a refresher especially since we don't often visit there. In conclusion, North Shore is a special place we always go to especially during, the wintertime.

1:55 PM
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Assignment 7: Rough Draft; Querencia

10:56 PM
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Assignment 6: Words of the Heart Graphic

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Assignment 5: My Happy Place

2:50 PM
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Assignment 4: Final Draft- Words From the Heart

"Look was a way to tell you that you’re my daughter,” (Piyathida Nakheefai).“Look,” is a Thai word that meant daughter or son. In Thailand parents would refer their children with this word and the same went with my Mom. As a young child, I knew that this word meant more than just daughter but, it had a stronger, deeper meaning. Whenever, my mom said the word “Look” I knew it was a way to show affection and to this day this word still follows me.

Out of all the other nicknames my family and I share the one that holds the most meaning to me is the word look. Although, this word is widely used in Thailand to show affection for their children, I still believe that this word is unique to my Mom and I. As an infant I remember clearly my Mom would always call me look with a genuine smile and it would always made me feel loved. That's because, during I was stilled called by look, it was always for something good and I think that’s why whenever I reminisce on it I always end up in a better mood. Furthermore, it is only something that my Mom and I share. That’s because, in my family I am the only one that she raised herself and alongside my Father except for my older sister because, she was mostly raised by nannies. So, in a way I felt more special about it because, this word was reserved for me. Not only that, this word has in a way molded me into the person I am today. That's because, each time my Mom would say it was always filled with love and never a trace of bitterness so that in a way gave the comfort I needed when I was younger. For example, when I was in elementary school I was always behind the other kids and that made me upset so, after school my Mom would ask, "How was your day?" By that one question, I recall that I cried a lot but, then my Mom would comfort me by that word along with promising me to help on my schoolwork, which had a part into shaping the student I am now.

Not only does the word hold meaning to me but, to my Mom. The word to her was a way to instill a piece of Thailand in me. Since, at the time we moved to Hawaii she wasn’t able to express her love in English so the word look sufficed for her and I. “Look, well you are my daughter so I called you that,” my mom said to me. It was also a word to tell me I was her daughter. To her by always calling me this name would assure that her that I would always be there as her daughter and, would always remind me that she's my Mom. Furthermore, this word gifted her with memories that she would always cherish. To illustrate, when I was an infant and she still called me by this nickname, I was always by her. To her, this was something different because, with my other sister she wasn't as attached to her as I was and during that time, my Mom said, "I was happy." On those rare occasions she calls me by look a smile would always make its way onto Mom.

This word was also a way to immerse myself in my Thai roots. Since, I was raised in America I didn’t know much Thai customs because, my family was merging with the American culture. So, I was labelled as falang which means foreigner in Thai because I was unaware of my Thai roots. However, as I grew up and learned more about my native culture through the word look it made me aware that I was Thai. Without the constant calling of "look," around me I believe I wouldn't be as involved in my culture as I am today. These days, I am always going to the temple and my Mom incorporates a bit more Thai in the conversations we speak nowadays. Also, now I'm not labelled as falang anymore which made me delighted because, whenever I was called that I would always get upset. Not only that, this word in a way was like bringing back the Thai culture into our family. Since, in other families the nicknames for their children would be whatever was meaningful in their family but, in my family it was a way to become familiar with my background whilst showing affection towards me.

Although, my Mom doesn’t use this nickname as often now it will always hold meaning to me. That’s because, this word has in a way nurtured me to the person I am today. I believe, if this word wasn’t around I wouldn’t be as such a nice person as I am today. Since, my Mom would always say this meaning with love, I’d like to think the love was absorbed into me and that’s why I’m not such a bitter person. Furthermore, this word has a lot of meaningful memories that always manages to bring a smile upon my face. For example, in the rare occasions my Mom does say the word I always reminisce on memories of younger me running into her arms for food. The word look, will always be a word of memories and in a way something that has shaped me into the person I am today.

3:05 PM
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Assignment 3: CNN CHUNK PARAGRAPH

10:37 PM
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Assignment 2: Words from the heart

2:05 PM
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Assignment 1:An Introduction to Kari Lau

Hi, my name is Kari Lau and here's my blog, Writing Galore. I chose the name, "Writing Galore," because I always liked the word "galore" for a long time. I thought the word galore, added a nice ring to the title. Also, the word galore means in abundance and since this is a English class there will be a lot of writing and that is where the title, "Writing Galore," came to be. After, the title was created I started to brainstorm ideas for my overall design. It was a trial and error process because, a lot of the themes that this site provided wasn't exactly my style. Then, after many errors and discoveries I found a template on another website that suited to my tastes. This template was a simple black and white theme accompanied with a menu bar, social media links, and search bar. However, I still wasn't satisfied with my blog because I thought it could use some extra decor. I started to research into things that I could add to my blog like changing cursors, floating things, etc. After, I gathered all my newly collected information I started putting it into use. For instance, I added the bunny cursor because, I think bunnies are adorable also it added a nice touch to my blog. Later on, I decided to add some floating bubbles to my blog so it could provide the audience with something to look at besides my writing. In conclusion, about my blog design/title.

The world I come from, is a different one. The word different is quite a general one but, really it's the only world that represents my life. That's because, the world where I come from is composed of many things that typical people don't have. One of them being, that I celebrate two cultures which is Chinese and Thai. Since, I'm Chinese and Thai throughout the year I celebrate the holidays that come with these cultures. For example, when it is "Songkran" which is the Thai New Year I go to Kapiolani Park and celebrate it along with other people who celebrate it. And, when Chinese New Year comes around I go to Kaimuki to celebrate it Chinese style. Meaning, we would do the traditional Chinese practices such as giving out money, popping fireworks, etc. Moving on, in my world I grew up traveling a lot as a kid. When I was born, I lived in Japan then as a toddler I moved to Hawaii. As a young child I commuted to Thailand to visit my relatives quite often and in my opinion that's not something a lot of young kids do. And until to this day, I still travel to different places. Not only that, I grew up trying a lot of different sports because, my parents wanted me to be an athletic child which failed because I hated exercising except for one sport, figure skating. When I was 7, I took up this sport because, my Dad suggested I should do it and I did it. I grew to love this sport because, I enjoyed doing different tricks such as spins, jumps, etc. I would wake up early, on every Saturday to practice my motor skills and I kept it up until I was about 11 or 12 because, we didn't have the money to keep going into the sport since it required to get additional lessons, traveling, private coach, etc. I sadly gave this sport up and moved on with life doing other things that I liked. Flash forward a couple of years, my interests have changed and so has my personality.

These days, I'm more into photography and video editing which is something that I enjoy doing. That's because, by taking pictures you can capture a memory and always have it with you which piques my interest. As for video editing, it's something I take great pleasure in because, I like to figure out different tricks to make the video more better. In addition, I've grown to love music even more such as k-pop, indie pop, and chill EDM. In terms of K-pop, I like bands such as EXO, SNSD, BTS, SISTAR, etc. I love these bands for their music and personalities. To illustrate, EXO, my ultimate bias group of all time because, of their amazing talent to produce beautiful songs and their adorable personalities. Other K-pop bands besides EXO which are SNSD, BTS, and SISTAR I love just as much EXO for the same reason their beautiful music and personalities. Moving on, I love indie music, such as the 1975, Copeland, The Neighborhood, and recently Oh Wonder. These three band's music is pure ecstasy. Whenever I listen to these bands my mind becomes peaceful because that is the sort of effect this type of music generates. For example, the song "Lose it" is a song that I go to whenever I want to unwind from a day of hard work (ex:school). Then, there is chill EDM which is a genre within EDM. Chill EDM is not like electronic music where it's like boom, boom, chow but more soothing. For example, if you look up the song "We don't have to take our clothes off" whipped cream remix it has a very nice sound to it and not an irritating sound. However, I hate overplayed songs that constantly come up on the radio. Whenever, I hear a song that is constantly overplayed it makes me angry because, I think there are other songs that could be played in the world and not the same 3 trending songs. Talking about dislikes, I also despise doing things under pressure. When I'm dealt with situations under pressure I get flustered easily and my mind doesn't function the way I want it to. For example, if there was an unexpected presentation I tend to do awkward body movement and talk choppy. In general, I just hate being put under pressure. Concluding, my introduction to you. Bye!

5:15 PM
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Writing Galore