2025/Nicole-

I’ve spent nearly my entire life on the small island of Okinawa, Japan. Half Okinawan, half American, I’m immersed in both Eisa dancing and hip-hop — red and white, yet also blue. But despite living a military-affiliated life while preserving my Okinawan heritage, I often felt like a visitor on both sides—never fully belonging.

With my father who is a retired U.S. Marine, I have watched as friends and peers came and went, moving on to new chapters in new countries. My mother, an Okinawan, raised me with the customs and standards of this land. Yet, while I experienced the same military life that many of my American peers did, I also found myself standing apart, feeling different. I had not traveled to the many countries where my American friends had been stationed, and the features of my face and the last name I carried were a constant reminder that I was not entirely like my Okinawan friends either.

For a long time, I struggled with this sense of being “in between.” It was only over time that I realized I couldn’t ignore one part of myself to fit into the other. I had to learn to embrace both sides—honoring the unique blend that makes me who I am. I had to become a bridge, standing between two cultures that don’t always see eye to eye, but both of which make me whole.

I am proud to be a military-connected student, just as I am proud to be Okinawan. I’ve come to understand that I am both the cherry blossoms of Japan and the fireworks of an American Fourth of July—each worthy in its own way, but both belonging to different skies. And in the space between, I’ve found my place.