I was born as the first son to parents with two daughters on January 7, 1996, in Honolulu, Oahu. After a routine delivery, my parents rejoiced with the blessing of their first healthy baby boy. My dad left the delivery room with me so that I could be checked out by nurses to verify that I was delivered as expected. The nurse congratulated my dad, continuously saying that I was a perfect and beautiful baby boy. I had five toes on each foot, five fingers on each hand, my right ear, but when they turned me over there was no left ear. Not so perfect after all. Where my left ear was supposed to be was a bit of lobe with no canal. My parents suffered from a shockwave of concern, asking whether I would be normal, would I be able to hear? What kind of set backs would I have? How would I be affected by missing an ear? As my parents would learn from raising me, I can achieve anything that I want when my mind is set on success. Despite all my parents’ worries, my actions would reassure my parents that everything was more than fine with me. Starting in elementary school, I was leading my grade in the book club, reading far above my age level. If I was supposed to be having any setbacks, I definitely wasn’t showing it. Then in fourth grade, I won a statewide civil rights art and essay contest by the Senate of the 23rd Legislature of the State of Hawaii for my piece about people with disabilities and how a sense of understanding for those with disabilities could go a long way for all of us. In high school, I would show that I wasn’t going to let a missing appendage stop me from achieving all the things that I wanted. I would take all of the AP classes my school has to offer while also being a championship dual athlete and holding the school record for the Junior-Year Triathlon. I was going to let people know that if I was at a disadvantage in any way, I was going to work to overcome it and be the best that I could. The question mark placed on my hearing ability automatically showed to be minuscule when I founded a band with my classmates in middle school. The band was quickly named Kūʻokoʻa, which translates from Hawaiian to mean, “Stand differently, or independent.” Four years after forming, we would be the winners of three different categories in a statewide competition for students. An idea for a band that I shared with my friends lead us to become the winners of the Brown Bags To Stardom Competition as the “Best Musical Group,” while also composing the contest’s “Best Song and Most Popular Music Video.” Most recently, I have performed as the lead role of my school’s largest play production. I was an extra in last year’s production that was the world’s first ever-Hawaiian opera, which attracted attention from local television news. As a main character this year, I performed completely in the Hawaiian language: showcasing my singing and acting abilities on local television before being the only Hawaiian opera artist ever to take stage with one ear. I was later voted the “Best Male Singer” by the Student Choice Academy. I have one ear and am a varsity football captain and a member of the National Honor’s Society set to graduate with an honor’s diploma. I am a National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Awardee and am a state recognized artist. I have one ear and am a member of my school’s math-league and poetry club. I am a person that will work to achieve things that others doubt I can.