I was born in Hilo hospital in Hawai‘i. I was given a wonderful mother and father and siblings. Although I was born in Hilo, I was raised throughout the Ka’ū district down in the south side of Hawai‘i. I know everything in and out of Naalehu. I was raised off the beach. My wonderful mom wanted me to learn how to fish and live off the beach. She wanted me to know all these things in case something happened to the world, so I know how to catch my own food and live off the land and water. The more I grew up, I started to really love fishing at the age of six when I hooked fish all day long at Kamilo Beach. Now, I’m 16 years old and continue to fall in love with catching my own food, cleaning my own food, and cooking my own food. I started to go to the beach to catch food almost every other weekend. But I make sure I don’t go to the same spot because I don't want to overfish in that area. By the time I decide to go fishing, as the weekend approaches, I start getting my fishing stuff ready so when I'm going fishing, I can pack them and leave without worry. I was always told the same thing whenever I go to the beach: to watch out for the water and never turn my back to the water. During my freshman year, my dad and I went to Miloli‘i beach near Kona. Even though I know how the water can be now. When I was younger. I never understood the real reason why my mom always told me to watch the water and count the waves. My dad and I were at the beach and the water just came choppy and one fast small wave caught both of us off guard and swiped both of us off our feet and onto the rocks. I was lucky enough to stand up first and catch and hold on to my dad before he got swept in the water. After that incident, I decided to really focus on the water and take notice of what my mom was teaching me. When my mom, my dad, and I go to the beach, my mom likes to tell me and teach me how to count the waves and study the water before I go fishing. But now, with the technology, I have all these apps to help me tell the wind strength and the tides. The app is a great help because now I know what I do as I go fishing.  I have to learn the water so I can stay safe when I fish by myself or whenever I wander off away from my mom and dad. When I go fishing, I try my best to come home with at least something so I can feed my parents and my grandparents. Because I do what I do, I am able to feed my family and sometimes my friends at the same time.

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