As we come to the end of 2025 and our first term at Ohana International School, we look back on days filled with laughter, learning, challenges, and growth. Change remains our constant companion—each day bringing new possibilities, opportunities to learn, reasons to celebrate, and moments to simply breathe.
Reflection is an essential guide, helping us move forward with wisdom. While it’s true that things can always improve, I believe it is our perspective that shapes our experience. As an Early Childhood Educator, I am deeply aware of being a role model. What I say and do matters, and that awareness keeps me accountable.
I must admit, though, that on weekends I seek silence and stillness—a necessary balance to the busy, constantly-articulating rhythm of the week. Accountability is not a burden, yet it can test our limits, asking us to remain in control, always. There is wisdom in knowing when to let go. As Elsa sang, there is power in release—in moving from “conceal” to “heal.”
Perhaps each of us hides a part of ourselves as we navigate our many roles each day. Wearing different masks may be inevitable, but they need not diminish our truth or obscure who we really are.
My takeaway, then, is to seek joy even within the constraints of expectation—those times when we must be “on our best behavior.” Let’s use those moments not as limitations, but as opportunities to live fully, as ourselves, not as others expect us to be.
May there be peace in the world, in whatever form it takes. May those in power turn from grandiosity and find joy within, especially as we celebrate this season.
May we all be blessed with peace, joy, and new beginnings in 2026.
