This month is AAPI month. The PI in AAPI stands for Pacific Islander. I’m a Pacific Islander and this whole month, I’ll be rocking cultural clothes and accessories in school.

Our PI club is performing for this month’s assembly. We thought it would be really special to show people our cultural dances: Hula, Taulanga, Siva, fire stick dances, action dances with history behind them, etc. Our PI Club is just getting started with the assembly dance. We haven’t decided what song we’re dancing to or how we’re performing (partner dances, hula, sivas, taulangas, boys dance, etc) we’re still planning things out.

Speaking of the PI Club, I’m proud of everyone. We came out of our shells and learned to communicate with each other, make bonds, share memories with each other & so much more. Last year, the PI Club was so dead, nobody talked to each other, everyone was shy or had high anxiety or most people didn’t feel like talking. Damian (Sun teacher) told us he saw how much we have improved with the club. He always tells us how proud he is of us. A couple teachers in the school told us about how they’re proud of us as well and can see the changes in the club. Our president of the PI Club is Sean. Not only is he the oldest out of all of us, but he’s also about to graduate this year. Our vice president is Delaney, she’s a senior as well and by the time her and Sean graduate, we are going to have to vote for a new president, vice president, secretary & treasurer. That’s how we know who plays which role in the club because everyone votes.

Two weeks ago, our PI Club went to meet other PI Clubs from different schools in Portland. We met up with the Parkrose, Tigard, and Roosevelt High PI Clubs. Next week we’re going on another field trip to watch Roosevelt High’s Unity Fest. It’s basically like MultiCultural Night where everybody goes to watch a lot of cultural performances.

The PI Club is fun. We keep good vibes, listen to music, study together, bring a lot of food and go on field trips. Our club is not only for Pacific Islanders. Any race is allowed to join our PI Club if they want to whenever. We have a couple students in our Pi Club who aren’t Pacific Islander, but support us. Not only are we friends, we are also family.

We’re looking forward to going on more field trips and having our own “Pi Prom.” PI Prom is where all the PI Clubs in Portland Oregon get together and have our very own prom. We thought it would be a great idea to get to know other people from other Pacific Islander clubs and have fun.

Even though we’re a small group, we have a big impact on promoting culture, diversity and much more. We are all thoughtful and committed citizens who are trying to make a change for our PI Club. One big thing I learned out of all of this is to never let your fears control you because we can’t know our capabilities if we’re afraid.