Music makes the people come together

Growing up and being from Hawai'i has been difficult for me from a racial perspective. I am constantly asked where I am from, without a thought that it may be here, due to my skin color. At times it makes me feel misplaced and unwelcome. When I was 6 I dropped out of hula lessons because "I was the only girl with yellow hair". I don't know if I was teased or it was my choice. When I was a teenager, I was sent to "white school", mostly because the public education system in Hawai'i is touted to be one of the worst in the nation and my parents believe fiercely in education. While I was there, there was talk of getting school shirts, but there was also talk of people beating us up if we had school shirts from the "white school". Some of my old classmates might remember me from elementary school, because I went to public school then, but going to private school isolated me even further from being a "local". I feel that I am constantly trying to prove something because it's really hard when you don't feel allowed to call where you grew up your home. I call it the Hawai'i tax, it is one of a few prices for living in paradise. At least I'm not a white male, I feel like it is even harder to integrate in some ways because you have to deal with more physical violence.
But it's not all bad, I can't say that my upbringing was more plagued by racism than bullying. It just that there is more of a context to discuss bullying, whereas it is harder to discuss skin color. It's uncomfortable and weird and I find it difficult to find the right language to use. Some people may have the perspective that I should have nothing to complain about considering "my people" forcefully took over this land. It is hard to conceptualize. What do I do?
Well, I happened to discover yesterday what to do. Yesterday was the first day that I decided I am going to carry around my ukulele everywhere I go and it was quite a discovery. My ukulele flirted with a 'local' boy at the bus stop, started a conversation with a white 'local' woman reading a magazine, delighted some australian tourists, manifested a mini-concert with a 'local' Phillipino man at the gas station, and brought all kinds of questions from all sorts of people at a lounge where I went to see some live piano music. My ukulele is a social creature that does not discriminate across race, class, or gender. My ukulele is a building block in the bridge to a united people.
So I encourage everyone…"VIVE LE MUSIQUE!"

By: Rose Sylvester