Amidst my efforts back at school to implement restorative justice, I attended a conference hosted by Co-Operation Ireland. It was an unlikely collaboration between two island groups who share different and shockingly similar stories. Co-Operation Ireland's mission is to reconcile the differences between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As part of a select few, I attended a conference/lunch with the students and a few educators from around the island. We talked about what our ancestry meant to us, and I shared about my work with restorative justice. I was really struck when the students from Ireland talked about their education system, and how most of the cost was subsidized by the government. This process reminded me of restorative justice as both systems relied on a shared understanding of mutual respect and support. College education was made less expensive to support the students which creates a net positive environment of productivity because the country will later benefit from the efforts of their next generations. The same values are in play for restorative justice: a mutual respect is established and those participating in restorative processes recognize the need for mutual support in order for the process to work. I was inspired by their stories, which invigorated me to continue pursuing this cause.

After the SURF teachers informed me that the restorative justice curriculum would no longer be appropriate for SURF class, I took the issue back to the deans. This time, I met with Dean Deane, who was previously vocal about his support for its implementation, and he recommended me to sign up for an advisory focus group. Historically, advisory has been a mishandled space as there is no standard for what an advisor needs to get done during advisory. For example, my advisor prefers to let the period be open study time while others like to create a rigid schedule of activities. While neither is necessarily superior, there is simply no standard. During the advisory focus group, I introduced restorative justice to the panel. From my knowledge, the teacher panel is considering the possibility of having restorative based practices, such as a restorative circle, as part of a check-in method during advisory. Furthermore, many teachers are also being sent to restorative justice professional development courses, which signals to me that the school is beginning to take restorative justice seriously. However, this is only the beginning. There needs to be voices from both sides–student and administrative–to keep the ball rolling. 

A Punahou alumna named Leslie Morioka attended the Justice Innovations conference alongside me. We met after Dr. Ball and Dr. Sakamoto connected us. She is a very valuable member of her community in New York City as she is a lawyer who is interested in bringing Restorative Justice practices into her workplace. Her story is very intriguing because she epitomizes the phrase "go with the flow." She told me that she entered law school when she was 39 years old, previously majoring in a science-related field. She reminds me of the open attitude associated with Restorative Justice and the mindset of receptiveness to everything. It's important to note, as a newly turned 18 year old, that life is an open book, college is not the be-all and end-all, and education is what you make of it. 

We organized a meeting for her to talk about her career with students on February 20 in the Wo International Center. 

As part of the Shanti Alliance Program, there is an annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion conference that takes place in Hawaii. At the conference, I met students from all over the State and from international schools. I learned about their respective projects and we talked about our viewpoints of the world. It was a very fulfilling experience to be able to meet students my age who were also so passionate about making a change. If I could change one thing, it would be continued communication between schools–some type of chat room. After meeting with other students, it felt like that was that. We didn't have any communication after, and weren't able to share the successes and failures of our projects. We weren't able to empower each other. If anything, that's what I would change for the conference.

APUSH in my junior year of high school introduced me to the concept of "reality." History is not what is written on the page. History is what is written on the page combined with what is told by the mouth and through songs and dance. As historians, it is imperative that information be gathered ideally unbiased sources, or sources from both ends of the spectrum. This helped me understand that my advocacy work was not a clear cut edge. The school's pushback towards the implementation of restorative justice is not a result of the faculty's unwillingness to take action, but the sheer size of the institution. APUSH helped me solidify the saying that there is no "bad guy" in the story, and that it's important to view the entire situation with understanding because communication is the most important aspect of collaborative success.

Senior English Honors also opened my eyes in a similar fashion as APUSH did. It showed me hidden parts of the past and their reverberations through the present via the selections of texts we read. We held class discussions about slavery, imperialism, and class divides among others. I was most deeply impacted by the text Beloved by Toni Morrison because of its vivid descriptions of slavery and the fact that many this story is not fictional for many families. The ending was not kind. Furthermore, I felt dwarfed by the life that Sethe had to face, and it reminded me how small we are in the world. This feeling of insignificance is not a bad one. In fact, it reminded me that the work is never over. It's easy for any person to be lost in the dazzling nature of "making a change." But, we must constantly remind ourselves of the reason we started the journey in the first place. Sethe reminded me that the journey sometimes involves forgetting oneself for the sake of something bigger.