All About US!

What an event! The journey to the Mrs. Hawai'i International stage ended with the one who stood beside me through it all placing that crown on my head as they announced that I had just won the title!

A pageant was never something I dreamt of doing. As a little girl, I never had aspirations to be Miss Hawai'i (or Mrs. Hawai'i), though I had cousins on both sides of my family who carried titles (Miss Hawaii 1987 Luana Alapa & Miss Hawaii 1989 Ligaya Stice). Watching both women grace the stage with such beauty and talent seemed so far-fetched for me then.

As I grew older, being on-stage became commonplace because of the nature of the talent I inherited and fostered. I became a Hawaiian performing artist, but still not a beauty queen. I was very accustomed to standing behind a mic, with my ukulele in hand, and singing for an audience. I could easily stand in a lineup and sway my hula hips, telling stories with my hands while musicians serenade. But strutting my stuff so everyone's attention was now focused on my body, or the things I said, was a different story.

Lucky for me, I ended up marrying a man who enjoys fitness and body sculpting! He is why I fell in love with the gym and weight-training. He introduced me to my very first bodybuilding competition, first as a spectator, then as a competitor! That's right, I entered and won my height category at my very first bikini competition in 2010 at the Paradise Cup Bodybuilding Championships (Honolulu, HI).

That experience, together with my musical career, is what opened the door for me to even consider pageantry. My understanding of the pageant world is that these women are very busy community contributors. I decided this system was the perfect fit for me because the focus was not so much on a woman's talent, but rather on her values. They want to know what we are passionate about. They want to know how we are pursuing that passion within the scope of our family responsibilities. They want to know how we plan to take our efforts a step further by educating communities on the positive effects of living those values we are so passionate about.

This title is not a glorified, congratulatory gift. This is a responsibility. In Hawai'i, we call this kuleana. We have a deep and profound connection to the mantle placed upon our shoulders, and feel a responsibility to care for that which has been passed on to us so that those who receive it in the future may be connected just the same.

What brought the entire journey together was being on-stage with other wonderful women of Hawai'i who knew and understood this kuleana, including my husband. The act of him placing the crown on my head, after they announced my name, was his seal of approval and commitment to walk beside me on this journey ahead.

We both know it will come with great challenges, because there is opposition in all things, but we also know that blessings of equal magnitude will come from being able to overcome. With my husband at my side, we will be able to serve others more effectively and with a greater promise of positive outcomes.

Here we come, Jacksonville!