Who I Am, Part 1

My name is Mary La'a (last name withheld), the name given to me at birth, named after an Aunt who died at the Leper Colony on Molokai, Hawai'i before my parents were married and before I was born. I was born at the tail end of the baby boomer generation, on the island of Kaua'i, in the state of Hawai'i, the first child of my parents.

My mother is first generation Korean, her parents were born and raised in Korea; she was from a large family where she was the second to last child. She has somewhere from 14-15 siblings, most of whom are now with my ancestors. It is unknown whether my maternal grandparents came from Southern or Northern Korea, but when they immigrated to Hawai'i, there was only one Korea.

My father was one-half second generation Japanese, also known as Nisei, and one-half Hawaiian. I say, "was," because he died in January 1991, and is now among my ancestors. My paternal grandmother was full blooded Hawaiian, a descendant of the last King of Kaua'i, the last King to rule the island before King Kamehameha I united the Hawaiian islands under single rule. My paternal grandfather was first generation Japanese, also known as Issei.

My father was from a family of five children where he was the youngest. First born was James, followed by Violet, Mary La'a (who I am named after), George, and the baby of the family, David, my father. My father did not marry my mother until he was 40 years old; his siblings married much younger. By the time my parents had me, I had second cousins who were older or as old as me.

Seven years and nine days after my birth, my parents had my baby brother, Mat. We were the two youngest grandchildren of my paternal grandparents. My maternal grandparents died before my parents married; my maternal grandfather died when my mother was a child, with my maternal grandmother dying the year before my parents wed. My family lived right next to my paternal grandfather and since we were the youngest grandchildren, we shared a special bond with our paternal grandparents.