Writing Galore

"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.

According to CNN news, there has been a raw sewage spill in Waikiki, Oahu's famous beach caused by people who opened manholes in an attempt to mitigate the floods that have been occurring. In response to the spill, "The spill forced organizers to cancel Monday's beachside events for Duke's Oceanfest," (paragraph 6). This is quite a disappointment because, this year people are unable to celebrate the person who made surfing popular. Not only that, this year it is Kahanamoku's 125th birthday which adds onto the letdown. However, this is all for the best according to officials, because lurking in the ocean there are unknown chemicals and could potentially be fatal, (summary paragraph 8). But, there are people who still dare to enter the contaminated water, despite of the many warnings which in my opinion, is quite idiotic. The fact that people still dare to enter is quite worrisome because of the potential danger that awaits them. In conclusion, the raw sewage spill has quite an effect on the small island of Oahu.

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“Look was a way to tell you that you’re my daughter,” (Piyathida Nakheefai).“Look,” was a Thai word that meant daughter or son and parents in Thailand 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 smile and I think those were my most carefree days. That’s because, during the time whenever she used that word it was always for something good and I think that’s why whenever I reminisce on when I was called by look I always end up with a grin. Furthermore, it is only something that my Mom and I share not even my sister gets called by it. That’s because, in my family I am the one that she raised herself and alongside my Father except my sister because, she was mostly raised by nannies. I strongly believe, that this word my Mom and I share proofs of the special bond.





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. 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 just that the word was a way to tell me I was her daughter is why it is so important to her. Also, during the time she used that name for me it was when I was little and always in her arms. So, along with giving me reassurance that I was her daughter it also gave her memories. To illustrate, during the time she called my by this name it was when I was a toddler and was always in her arms. Whenever, she talks about the past, there was always a smile on her face and I knew this word was more than just look.





This word is 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 the word look was a word that made me aware I was Thai. That’s because, 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 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.

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!