Vignettes by Katie, Matias, Killian

Vignette’s

By Katie Arakaki, Matias Valentin,

Japanese Class

By Katie Arakaki

Japanese class might sound fun and easy. Learning a new language and being able to have a conversation with somebody as if in a certain code. But it's really not as easy as it sounds. Every time I step through the door, I feel a huge bag of bricks just fall onto my back. I lift my laptop to see the assignments that are due in class. I count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc. And of course, we have a project draft due at the end of the class with like 100 other assignments.

“Oh my god” I sigh.

My friend next to me even agrees. Our sensei starts talking to us about what needs to be done and how to do it. While he talks my eyes keep getting dragged to the clock on my laptop. I watch as 12:30 turns into 12:35 and 12:35 turns into 12:40. How is time moving so quickly? I swear it didn’t take him 10 minutes just to explain one thing. As soon as I start working, I get caught in a work trance and plow through mostly everything. I casually chit-chat with my friend about the work but we both know that there's too much to be done for us to be talking. As I finish my 5th assignment I stare back at the clock. 1:20.

“I am on a hustle,” I think to myself.

As I am finishing up, the worse comes to worst. My laptop dies. I had barely paid any attention to the battery percent since I had been so caught up on the time and how much had passed in the past 30 minutes. I frantically search my bag for my charger and an open outlet. I speed walk casually over to the outlet and plug my laptop in. My leg bounces as I wait for my laptop to turn back on. I ask my friend what time it is, and she tells me 1:25.

“I am wasting so much time right now,” I say. Taking 5 minutes to plug in my laptop and waiting for it to turn back on when I could be finishing up so many other assignments. I can feel the time creeping up behind me and that project draft just dooming over me. If I don’t get this done, I will get a 0 on this draft. Thank god my laptop turns back on, and I quickly finish my unfinished assignment. I open up the project draft assignment and quickly scan it to see what needs to be done. Of course, I have to look back up at the time for it to say 1:35. God I really need to hurry this up. I start working on my draft so that after school I can work on my other homework for my other classes. As I am hustling and working quickly sensei stops our class to do a group game.

“I don’t have time for this,” I think to myself. Yet in the end we’re stuck playing a game for the next 10 minutes while I could be doing my precious work. As we finish, I glance back at the clock. 1:50. I literally have 5 minutes to finish this draft and not only have I barely started, I got like 3 other assignments to do. At the end of class, I take the defeat and write down my project draft and 3 quizzes on my to-do list. As I leave class, I tell my friend how much homework I have and she asks me what I have and I tell her that I have the project draft and the 3 quizzes. All she does is laugh in my face.

“What's so funny?” I ask.

“You do know that the project draft isn’t due till 2 classes from now. Sensei just wanted to go over it and you can look at it so you have ideas on what you want to write about” She tells me.

The way I just stare at her with a blank face. There is no way I just spent my entire class period stressing out about something that won’t be due till 2 class periods from now. I had been so busy staring at the clock I hadn’t paid any attention to the due dates on the assignments. As I walk out of class, I feel the heavy bag of bricks lifts off of my back.

Kuruu

By Killian Heffernan

My Name

By Katie Arakaki

Katelynn. Pure and clean. I don’t relate to that at all. I am quite the opposite. I’m not pure or clean. I’m more impure and blended. I’m a mix of so many things. So many experiences. So many stories. Like the time I flew off my scooter and gashed up my knees. My knees were painted a crimson red. Or that one time we had a water fight at the Great Aloha Run with the extra water and Gatorade cups we had. I was drenched in aquamarine blue. Or that other time when I was in kindergarten, and we rolled down the hill and got all muddy. That time I was painted chocolate brown and moss green. Like an art easel, I have my base colors and mix more as I go on with my painting. Maybe more colors will be added to that pallet. Who knows? These memories

The name Katelynn my mom got from her coworker whose daughter's name was Kate. She liked Kate but it was just too short for her, so she added on Lynn. I have no clue why she would add Lynn but I mean that's my name now. I’ve grown into it as I’ve gotten older but now I like going by Katie. It’s what suits me now. It’s what I feel is more me. But who knows, maybe when I’m older I’ll grow into my name.

Katelynn

By Matias Valentin

Fidel

By Matias Valentin

Faithful, authentic, genuine. The meaning of "Fidel '', however it is often overlooked by what first comes to mind, Fidel Castro, or fiddle, as some say to tease me. I don't mind it, I think it's funny, yet most of my life I have used my middle name in place of it, Matias, "Gift of god". This name I have used since I can remember, throughout school, on all worksheets, signatures, and everything else under the sun. And as I faced moving to a new school, I was given the opportunity to start over, stick to Fidel instead of any replacement, I could go by my real name, my authentic, genuine and faithful name. But as the year drew near, I pondered the choice, and finally, decided against it, after all I am more than a fiddle.

Brochure to Matias

By Katie Arakaki

Puerto Rican

By Matias Valentin

Above the staircase, framed with white wood and glass, the painting of a Puerto Rican flag has been a part of my house and life as long as I have known it. As I look up, ascending the cold, wooden stairs, I remember my family in Puerto Rico, I think of my cousins, grandparents, uncles and aunts. Even though I enjoyed spending time with them, I couldn't suppress the feeling of uncertainty, the feeling of not belonging. Maybe it was that I lived far away, or that the language barrier of English to Spanish made it difficult and at times embarrassing to speak to them. Maybe if I attended a difficult Spanish class, or tried to practice speaking with my dad, but in the end, I still felt the disconnect, whether from the language or something else.

Before I knew it, the time of year had come to visit my family in Puerto Rico. Upon landing, we rented a car which we attempted to drive to my grandma's house and ended up getting lost just like every visit. After an hour and several arguments, we had arrived at my grandpa's house, a warm, tiled house. Inside was Abuelo, and his wife, accompanied by a little girl, a granddaughter, my dad later explained. As we greeted and talked with Abuelo, I tried to piece parts of the conversation together, however all I could decipher was small words and phrases here and there. After talking for several hours, we made our way to a small house we had rented, nearby Abuelos house. In the morning, we got in the car after a small breakfast and headed to my grandma, Abuelas house. As we arrived, we were met by the welcome of Abuela and a few others, outside of the house. After much talk that I couldn't understand, and many long embraces, I had settled inside on a couch near a fan. From time to time, an aunt or uncle would walk by and take part in an awkward conversation, fueled by my lack of Spanish speaking. As the night went on, family members appeared, asking me if I remembered them, exclaiming how different I looked and a variety of other things, at least that's what I understood using my patchy Spanish understanding. After a few hours, my cousins arrived, Dylan, a boy about two years older than me, Maria, a girl about 4 years older than me, and several younger ones I had bever met before. It was easier to talk to my cousins, as they were closer to my age, and they spoke decent English. Once reunited, we walked down the street in search of the woman who sold Limber, a popsicle served in a paper cup. Upon arriving at her house, we chose flavors from a menu and paid for our popsicles. As we walked to the park, we talked in a combination of English and Spanish, with help from a translation app. Walking around, I couldn't help but feel out of place, like I didn't belong here. Shortly after arriving back at Abuelas house, my family and I said our goodbyes, climbed into our rental car and headed back. The morning after, it was time to go home, lugging suitcases along, boarding flights, and waiting in lines, it was all the same as the the way there, except I couldn't get over the feeling of not belonging, as I compared myself to my cousins, all I could think about was how lucky I was, how fortunate I was that I could travel to meet them, that I could attend a private school, how blessed I was that I lived in Hawaii. This all widened the chasm between me and them in my mind, continuing my feelings of separation from them. As I sat and thought, I came to terms with the difference between me and them, however I still wished to be a part of them.

Lone Soul

By Killian Heffernan

By Killian Heffernan

Time is everything. I feel that time has the power to control us. During summer there was a time where I was fighting time. I just got out of school ready to have some fun during summer, but I forgot that I needed to take a math placement exam for Punahou. I did a lot of things during the summer. I went swimming, played video games, and enjoyed time with my family. Forgetting about my duties was inevitable, like they say, "time flies by when you’re having fun." One day I was sitting in my room watching a movie, enjoying my time alone. My mom then came in and told me to study my math. I didn't think anything about it at the time and completely ignored the warning. She continued to remind me over the month until I finally asked the million-dollar question, "why?". She was shocked, her face turned pale like a ghost. "Did you check your email? You have your math placement exam in two weeks!" I was stunned, too stunned to move or say anything. I had completely forgotten about it. Having fun with friends, messing around, and playing video games completely distracted me from my priorities. Now I only have two weeks to study and learn everything. I don't know why I procrastinate but it just happened. As I looked back up, I found my dad standing behind my mom. It was probably one of the scariest moments of my life. My mom was small, she is a 5 '1 Filipino, Hawaiian mix. I would consider her small. My dad on the other hand was HUGE, he is 6ft with huge muscles. He graduated from Punahou with straight As in high school then went to Yale and graduated from there. It felt like the pressure of the entire world was on my shoulders. I could see all the emotions that he was feeling by his face. He looked anxious, worried, but the emotion showing the most was his anger. He was a math teacher and he probably overheard us talking about how I didn't study and how I wasn't ready for the math test. If I didn't do good on the math placement exam, I would make him look bad. After this encounter, I finally dialed in. Fear was enough to motivate me. I couldn't have any more distractions or else I would fail, and failing was not an option at this point in time. I spent the two weeks studying everything I learned in my eighth-grade year. It was a struggle to remember the things that I was taught, but the more I did the math the better I got at it. I finally felt like I was going to do good. On the day of the exam, I was worried. I wasn't sure if I was going to be the only one taking it. Surprisingly, when I walked into the room, I saw a lot of other students. All of these students were also new to Punahou and by the look on their faces, they were worried too. I was glad that I wasn't alone when I got the results back. I knew my studying paid off.

Tick Tock

By Katie Arakaki

New Life

By Killian Heffernan

Since I was born, I lived in Aina Haina, it was a nice little house that could fit a family of five. I could remember the view. The sky always turned into different types of colors. Some days it would be pink, some days it would be blue, and some days it would be orange. I had my own room with a bunk bed and a desk. My sisters were born a little after me and slowly took up my room. It got to the point where I had to sleep in the living room. It was like that till I turned 13. At that age, my parents made a decision that would change my life. They decided that we were going to move, I was devastated and had never moved before. I didn't know what to do and was confused about my feelings. I knew that I would miss every memory that I made. I would miss the colors of the sky. My childhood room. The way I perceived life as a kid. When it ended up happening, I really missed my old house for a while. But on the upper side I was able to get a room alone and my sisters were able to get their own room. It was even bigger, and I slowly got used to my new life. Sometimes I go back to visit. Everything is now different. The only thing that has never and will never change is the sky.

Home By Matias Valentin

Authors Statement

By Matias Valentin

I used descriptive language like imagery throughout both my vignettes, I described by name using the meanings and message behind, as well as detailed describing my experiences in Puerto Rico. First, in my name vignette I wrote “Faithful, authentic, genuine. The meaning of "Fidel '', however it is often overlooked by what first comes to mind, Fidel Castro, or fiddle, as some say to tease me.” ([VALENTIN] [“Fidel”]) I also used a metaphor when I said, “ But as the year drew near, I pondered the choice, and finally, decided against it, after all I am more than a fiddle.” ([VALENTIN] [“Fidel”]) I used “more than a fiddle” to express that I am more than my name and that it doesn't define me as a person. In my second vignette, I use descriptive language by saying “Above the staircase, framed with white wood and glass, the painting of a Puerto Rican flag has been a part of my house and life as long as I have known it. As I look up, ascending the cold, wooden stairs, I remember my family in Puerto Rico, I think of my cousins, grandparents, uncles and aunts.” ([VALENTIN] [Puerto Rico) This passage is filled with descriptive language similar to my first vignette. Later on, in the vignette, I wrote “This all widened the chasm between me and them in my mind, continuing my feelings of separation from them. As I sat and thought, I came to terms with the difference between me and them, however I still wished to be a part of them.” I used “Chasm” as a metaphor for the lack of a strong relationship with my cousins, due to our differences.

For Katelynn’s Vignette, I used different letters from a magazine to create one name, this represented when she talked about her different experiences in her life, coming together to create her as a person. I also used “Katie” on a small badge, similar to a name tag to communicate how she preferred the nickname to her real name. For Kilian’s vignette, I drew a large house, with a thought bubble coming out of the window to express Kilian’s difficulty getting used to his new house, as well as his longing for his old house.

Authors Statement

By Katie Arakaki

In my writing I tend to use a lot of dialogue or “the voice in your head” to help me express what I want to say. For example in ([ARAKAKI] [Japanese Class]), I used a lot of dialogue and a lot of speech where it seems like I’m talking to myself. I also use a lot of metaphors and similes to add more depth into my writing. In my other vignette, ([ARAKAKI] [My Name]), I use a lot of descriptive language when explaining the specific colors and what they mean to me and what experiences relate to those colors. I have a strong spot in using descriptive language but I feel like I lack the creativity aspect of writing vignettes that don’t have to do with me.

For Matias’s vignette, I made a small zine with letters of his real name “Fidel” and connected words to what might relate to him. And with each word I also put images that relate to those specific words. And for Killian’s vignette, I made a collage as well that had to do with time and his vignette.

Authors Statement

By Killian Heffernan

In the vignettes that I have written. Two literary devices that I have used are similes and metaphors. In my first vignette I talked about a time where I started to run out of time. My metaphor was “Time flies by when you're having fun” ([Heffernan] [Time]). My simile was, “She was shocked, her face turned pale like a ghost”([Heffernan] [Time]). I had many similes and metaphors but these are the two that stood out for me. When talking about the “time flying”, I was relating to how I forgot that I had an exam coming up. Then when I asked my mom about it, I had an idea of putting in a simile of her face turning as “pale as a ghost.”

I had to create an image for Katie's vignette ([Arakaki][Japanese Class]). I drew a mad face with Japanese characters hovering over her head. The words translate into “mad”. I decided to draw this because in her vignette she talks about how frustrated she is when she's in her Japanese class. When reading Matias's vignette ([Valentin][Puerto Rican]) he talked about how looking up at a picture by his staircase reminded him of the time that he visited Puerto Rico. While visiting he felt out of place because of the language barrier and how he lived far away. For his vignette, I drew a staircase because that is where this entire vignette started.