My name is Tatyahna Anela Kiai Makena Kamamalu Lei Aloha Kaupu-Embrey. I come from a mixed race background born on the island of Hawai‘i, and raised in the small town of Ocean View, where the natural beauty of the islands that surrounded me inspired a deep appreciation for both the small and big things around me. I am always told to look around me and find inspiration whether it be a beautiful painting drawn from the majestic cliffs of South Point or the photogenic tall leaning coconut trees of black sand beach. Usually when you take inspiration from something it becomes a part of you. Like a piece of a puzzle you lost by sitting on it.

The journey of finding yourself is one most people say takes a lifetime. While some people say it's like collecting puzzle pieces for every important milestone, it feels more like getting trapped in a mime box. Facing invisible walls you feel forced to run into without escape, and unable to ask for help confined in a world where opinions are unorthodox. If I'm comparing the phrase “finding yourself” to being trapped like a mime in a box, I would say my biggest invisible box is school. School feels like a place where you're constantly running into barriers—expectations from teachers, pressure from peers, and the overwhelming need to fit into predefined roles. It's a place where your individuality often feels stifled, and every attempt to break free from the mold is met with resistance. The walls of this box are built from societal norms, academic pressures, and the fear of failure, making it hard to explore who you truly are.

School can often feel like being trapped in a mime's invisible box act. Just like the mime, I find myself confined within invisible boundaries, restricted by rules and expectations that shape my daily life. There are 10 school months per year, it doesn't sound like much, but when you break it down into weeks (36), days (180),and hours (1,080); it seems like an eternity. In the mime's act, the performer is surrounded by invisible walls, struggling to break free. Similarly, as a student, I feel confined by the rigid structure of the school system. Following a strict schedule, moving from one class to another, often feeling like I have little control over my own time. The pressure to perform well in exams and meet academic standards can feel like an ever-present barrier, limiting my freedom to explore my own interests and passions which is weird because most wouldn't consider my school to be a crack down rule, and exam enforcer. But it all feels just as stressful, just as the mime's box is a silent struggle. I often face my challenges quietly. Sometimes I feel isolated, unable to express true feelings or seek help. The mime's exaggerated gestures and expressions mirror the internal struggles of students who are trying to navigate the complexities of school life, often without a voice. In essence, both the mime and the student are trapped in a world of invisible constraints, striving to find a way out and express their true selves.

So when it comes to finding oneself, I would say it's a journey of whether you wanna be let out of your mime box or not. It's a journey that pushes oneself to think out of the box, in a way that sets personal goals. It is something that will make you question whether you like yourself or not. Perhaps, something that makes you feel trapped in the never-ending cycle of meeting expectations. Expectations of the school system or expectations of what your family wants you to be. So when you find yourself asking the question, “Who am I?”, tell yourself, “What inspires me, and what makes me feel trapped”.

© Tatyahna . All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.