LIHUE — Joanel Reyes moved from Pampanga in The Philippines to Lawai with her dad when she was 5 years old. But VISA issues delayed her mother’s arrival. “Without my mom being here, it was hard,” Reyes remembered. “She would
LIHUE — Joanel Reyes moved from Pampanga in The Philippines to Lawai with her dad when she was 5 years old.
But VISA issues delayed her mother’s arrival.
“Without my mom being here, it was hard,” Reyes remembered. “She would call and just hearing her voice was very hard. My dad had to be my mom and my dad.”
Being raised by one parent has greatly impacted her outlook.
“Stay strong,” Reyes said. “No matter what gets thrown at you. Just keep on going.”
Reyes’ father used to take her to work at Walmart with him when he didn’t have anybody to look after her.
“All his co-workers would watch me and talk stories with me,” Reyes said. “I can still remember their faces.”
Other early memories on Kauai include fishing excursions at Ahukini Beach with her father.
“I would get so excited when I caught a puffer fish,” Reyes recalled. “I had never seen that fish before. But I had to set it free.”
Growing up, they had a small tree house built in their yard where Reyes and neighborhood children would play a game called “family.”
“We would take turns with who would play the mom and who would play the dad,” Reyes remembered.
But playtime was cut short by adult responsibilities.
“I learned how to cook and clean at a young age, probably 8 or 9,” Reyes said. “I used to help my dad peel the garlic and the rosemary.”
Her mother was able to reunite with her and her siblings on Kauai when Reyes entered the seventh grade.
“I was never close to God when she wasn’t around. She opened up my faith,” Reyes said. “I used to practice prayers with her and do the rosary.”
Today, the 19-year-old assists customers in the lingerie and swimwear department at Macy’s.
“She is the sweetheart of the department,” said Tina Smith, area sales supervisor. She “really makes women feel comfortable. She makes them all laugh.”
Despite some hardships of growing up, Reyes said she chooses to always exhibit a happy demeanor.
“Rather than holding it in, I’m just happy because it makes me forget about all of it,” Reyes said.
She also loves the environment at the Kukui Grove Shopping Center department store. She likes to draw, too, a skill she picked up from her father. It also helps her look at her job through an artistic lens.
“I love being about fashion and clothes,” Reyes said. “It’s the closest thing to the arts for me right now.”
• This is an ongoing weekly feature in The Garden Island. It focuses on everyday people who reflect the spirit that makes Kauai the place it is today. If you know of somebody you’d like to see featured, email features and education reporter Lisa Ann Capozzi at lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com.
