Aloha, my name is Mālie Jordyn Mcclure and I am a 17-year-old student attending Kamehameha Kapālama. I got into Kamehameha my freshman year and went to Kawananakoa Middle School, Ma’e Ma’e Elementary, and St. Anns before coming to High School. I was born and raised in Kaneohe with my three sisters and parents. I love playing volleyball and have been playing the sport since I was 10 years old. I currently play for Kamehameha’s varsity volleyball team and am on the varsity track and field team.
Growing up in Kaneohe, I have learned to love the east side of the island. I love how rainy and green Kaneohe is and the fresh feeling it gives off rather than being in town. The winds of Kaneohe is the Ulumano winds and its rain is the Ua Kani Ko’o rain. The mauna of Kaneohe is the well-known Ko’olau and its wai is Hi’ilani wai, a main water source that runs throughout the ahu’pua’a. Kaneohe is known for its luscious green mountains and its cool rains and I take pride in being from there.
Mālama Honua translates to taking care of the land and I believe that as a Hawaiian citizen, we need to be the ones caring and cultivating the land that we live on so that it can prosper for future generations. For the past three years at Kamehameha Kapālama, I have learned about how the ancient Hawaiians cared for the ‘aina and what they needed to do in order to keep it from failing. There was a reciprocated relationship between the people and the land and if Hawaiians provided for the land that they lived on, it would provide for them. Growing up in Kaneohe, I have always admired the atmosphere that comes along with it. I love waking up in the mornings and being able to see the sunlight reflect off of the Ko’olau and these simple experiences have taught me that Hawai’i is a beautiful place and the children of the land hold the responsibility of caring for it and allowing it to prosper for the future. It has been experiences like these that have allowed me to create a Mālama Honua mindset, one that wants to cultivate the land that we live on so that we can fulfill what our ancestors have intended for us. An aspiration I have I hold for being a part of the haumana of Mālama Honua is to further my knowledge in advocating for the land that we live on and learning different techniques and approaches to caring for Hawai’i. I would also like to learn more about the unique relationship between the ‘aina and people living and thriving off of it and be able to relate it to my Hawaiian culture so that I am able to stay rooted with my Hawaiian identity.
Aloha ‘aina is directly translated to loving the land and living in Hawai’i, I have definitely grown an appreciation and divine love for the land that we live on. Aloha ‘aina to me means the love and gratitude we carry as individuals for the island we live on and the respect that we should have for the land that provides for us. The concept of aloha ‘aina relates to Mālama Honua because loving the land means to care for it, and when you are caring for the land that you live on, you are expressing your love for it. Aloha ‘aina and Mālama Honua is a direct reciprocal relationship and without one another, both concepts would both not be able to thrive.