"Maka and the Impossible" is a Polynesian children's story which I wrote based on my own experience as a Polynesian American. The message is universal in that it's a parable of Ambition. Maka is a little rock, and he decides to travel up a hill. The problem is that rocks are not mobile - no legs nor arms. Starting with that problem, I chronicle his impossible journey up a hill. Similarly, I know what it's like to decide to travel up the career ladder in California. After spending many years working and going to school, I've made progress in a field that I don't see too many of my peers: Law. That's right, I'm in law school :-) I know for sure that I'm standing on the shoulders of giants - my family - who empowered me to move forward. So I am grateful. Like Maka, my journey towards becoming an attorney was not easy. Many would say that my dream was Impossible because I did not have the financial resources to pay for law school nor the mentors from whom to model myself. Yet, all it took was Initiative. By continuing to believe in myself and putting in the work towards higher education, I gravitated towards the right people who answered my questions. Although I didn't have Samoan or Tongan attorneys from whom to follow, I reached out of our community and asked Latino attorney mentors for assistance - who were happy to answer my questions, and direct me towards scholarships. My children's story character - Maka - has traveled much further than I. But I look forward to catching up with his greatness in my near future. To read my Polynesian children's story, "Maka and the Impossible", you can purchase a hard copy on Amazon.com. For the ebook version, go to Lulu.com. Wish me luck! The journey continues. Ruby
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"Being an Aquarius, I always feel 10 years ahead of my time, and 10 years behind." ~ Ruby 's Daydreams #AquariusQuotes #Visionary #RebelWithACause "The Offputting Duckling," is an illustrated story about a NONCONFORMIST duckling. It's available in ebook form. Buy your copy today!
http://www.lulu.com/shop/ruby-faagau/the-offputting-duckling/ebook/product-20080759.html Welcome to my blog, Ruby's Daydreams. My name is Ruby, and I'm a Polynesian writer and artist from San Francisco.
Having been born and raised in the bay area, I am very Californian. Many of my favorite artists, writers, comedians, are American. At the same time, my parents' pacific cultures retain a strong influence on me. My Samoan dad and my Tongan mother (who has Fijian heritage) raised me to practice pacific values for community support, family responsibilities, and church. So while I was born and raised in the American diaspora, the diaspora is Not all I know. You can see the influence of both American and Islander cultures in my art and writing: 1. Paintings: My first collection of paintings (windows) has a lot of water, beach, ocean, tropical flavors. Three of those paintings are based on San Francisco. The second collection of paintings (smiles) were based on faces. Some of those faces are American celebrities. 2. Books: I tend to write Parables that I repackage as children stories because I like discussing life lessons and illustrating them in simple forms. My first original children story (Maka and the Impossible) is based on my Polynesian American experience in higher education. It's kind of American Dream meets The Alchemist. It's a parable of Ambition. The character, "Maka", traveled further than I have, but I hope to catch up with his big dreaming. The second original children story (The Offputting Duckling) was influenced by my hometown of San Francisco. It's a parable of Nonconformity. I took the old story of The Ugly Duckling, and asked the question: What if the duckling never grew up to become beautiful? What if the ugly duckling stayed ugly? This train of thought leads to self-celebration, self-acceptance, and self-love. Some of us blossom on the outside (like the swan character in the original story of the ugly duckling), and some of us blossom on the inside (which I think is a more beautiful story to explore). I use my writing and art to talk about experiences from a Polynesian American perspective. |
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