This week we’re hearing from Fia Ape in Anchorage. She moved here from Hawaii and just started 10th grade at West High.
APE: To be honest, school in Hawaii… it’s different. It’s not like up here. It’s, I should say, it’s like low education. Comparing to up here, there’s more education and there’s more things for me to learn.
First I was thinking of joining choir cause I love to sing. I learned that friends come and go all the time. Friends when they come and go it’s like they wanna be with you at first but then they leave you.
Being up here, I already feel like I’m home. There’s so much people who care and who makes you feel so important than, to be honest, being down there. I mean, I know I have family down there, but I learned that to be honest, I have nothing there.
I’ve actually been going out with friends and stuff. Like we’ll go to the movies or we would have parties at like, Golden Corral or whatever.
I just like it up here. I just like it more than back at home. It’s like when I’m here I feel more free. Like I could do things I used to want to when I was back home.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her atahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annehere.
