Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - May 4, 2022

MAY 4, 2022 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
Agudong Finds Her Place In The Spotlight
FROM PAGE 4
perience at all. There’s so much to learn when you’re on set, doing it instead of hearing about it. It was really cool because I still feel connect- ed to everybody even though we haven’t spoken in a little while. We created a family.”
the surface mental health and the normalcy of how things can appear when someone is go- ing through something that you have no idea about because you can’t see it,” she explains. “Hopefully people can either relate to it and feel better or learn something that they didn’t know before.”
So far, Agudong has recorded and re- leased Welcome To Hollywood, a song that depicts her conflicting relationship with the place that she always yearned for.
With exciting film projects coming up, Sydney Agudong looks forward to the day when she can write and direct one of her own.
That ‘ohana mindset follows Agudong wher- ever she goes, a nod to the close-knit commu- nity she was raised in. She cultivated a similar feeling on the set of Netflix’s On My Block, her first TV show appearance. It’s a far cry from an obstacle course game show like Wipeout, but that didn’t take away from the fun of filming it.
Outside of showbiz, Agudong plays another character: Jayne Doe, an alter ego of sorts and the moniker in which she released music under.
“Even though it’s saying ‘welcome
to Hollywood’, there’s a weird mix of feelings you tend to feel in the song,” she elaborates. “There’s a melancholiness to it, there’s a heartbeat, there’s a rush, there’s energy, there’s this lackadaisicalness to it.
I was going through a lot of mental health struggles during that time when I moved out to LA. I had culture shock. I think that people don’t realize and take into account that ... it’s a very vulnerable thing to try and chase your dreams — to put yourself out there, to get your heartbroken over something that you want so badly.”
“I got to play Jamal’s (Brett Gray) girlfriend and date to prom,” she says. “I was extremely grateful and lucky to have the cast and crew that I had because they were already family and had been there for seasons before. It was their last season, so they just wanted to have fun. They were so welcoming, which I know is not always the case on a set.”
“The meaning of ‘Jane Doe’ is an unidentified female, but in general, I think my biggest point was that I wanted to make sure that people knew we’re one of the same,” she says. “The things that I’m going through are things that everybody is going through and vice versa. It’s not to say that it devalues any sort of feelings but it’s more of a way, like, I’m unidentified because I don’t knowwhoIamyet—noneofusdo—and that’s the whole point.
Agudong teases that the album will release before the end of the year. Till then, she’ll be working hard and having fun while her career continues to escalate. She attributes her down-to-earth outlook on life to her lo- cal-style upbringing.
Coming up, Agudong stars in a yet-to-be-re- leased interactive web series called Find Millie Martin, where she plays a social media influ- encer whose friend goes missing. Meanwhile, production is currently underway for At Her Feet, a project she can’t spill too much infor- mation about, but says it’s filming on the Big Island and includes “known Hawaiian actors that will be really fun to shoot with.” As far as her dream role goes, Agudong would love to work with Marvel or DC, but more than that, hopes to compose her own script, adding that it would be a coming-of-age story.
“I was growing up with that whole perfec- tionist side; I wanted to be good at everything and I wanted to know everything and answer the questions I had about everything. That was the biggest thing about my mental health, too. It came crashing down when I realized that I actually don’t know anything. There should be a comfort to that.
“Growing up in Hawai‘i gave me and my sister humble beginnings and helped us stay grounded,” she says. “We were very accustomed to different cultures and backgrounds, which gave us a really nice foundation for our own morals and the way we go about things now.”
“I’m not really sure what my purpose is as far as (writing my own movie) goes, but right now I feel the urge and calling to speak and bring to
“I wrote something down about the whole point of Jayne and the music: ‘I’m constantly and comfortably sitting in the middle of an iden- tity crisis.’ That’s what I feel like I go through at any point in the day. I don’t know what I’m going to do next — and that’s OK, that’s the point of it and that’s why a lot of my music is going to resonate with real life.”
Unlike Dorothy, it takes Agudong a little more than just three ruby-red heel clicks to go back to home. But she’s comforted knowing that it’s only a six-hour flight away — and for- ever in her heart.
Sydney Agudong continues to explore her early 20s in the heart of Hollywood. PHOTOS COURTESY NICHOLAS POWELL AND SYDNEY AGUDONG
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“Major Mom is a Major Difference”
If you are in the market for a “new” home, you should know that State law requires that sellers of residential properties provide you with full disclosure of material facts affecting the property. The current law applies to ALL sellers regardless when (or if) they last saw the property. It also applies to properties sold without assistance of a licensed agent. Corporate sellers (banks) are exempt.
R E E A A L LT T O O R R S S ® ® u u s s e e a a s s t t a a n n d d a a r r d d R R e e a a l l R
P r r o o p p e er r t t y y D Di i s s c cl l o o s s u ur r e e S S t t a a t t e em me en n t t t t h ha a t t P
of topics deemed “material” to a
residential or condo purchase. The expectation is that issues which might affect a buyer’s decision to purchase might also affect how much they would offer and should be disclosed. Because of cultural diversity,
personal sensitivities or personal requirements, buyers and their agents should be aware of nuances of the standard form. Agents often become aware of issues which are important to a particular buyer. As an example, a death (unless notorious) is NOT a required disclosure. A murder, probably; suicide probably not. Deaths do not affect the property value and
yet in our island community, many buyers have strong feelings about such things. For this
r e a s o n, I a l way s ad v i s e t ha t s el l er s di s cl o s e
t hi s k ind of inf or mat i on, even t hough i t ’s
not required. This is a small community so buyers normally learn of such information at some point. It’s the type of thing that can destroy a transaction and create distrust between the parties. Sales made without REALTOR® assistance are normally made with a very abbreviated disclosure, if at all. Not surprisingly, buyers often return to the property several times prior to closing. Neighbors want
to be helpful and will disclose this and other information. But, just like a tenant who wants to queer a sale by providing “undisclosed” information, neighbors should be careful
when discussing things for which they have
no direct knowledge. If a sale fails due to mis- information, a nosy neighbor or tenant could
be held personally accountable. At the same time, agents who have been around a long time might have historical knowledge that even an owner may n o t k n ow. A gen t s a r e r e qui r e d t o make addi t i onal di s cl o sur es bu t t he s t andar d i s the same; their knowledge should be direct and accurate. So, not only are disclosures required by law, they provide important protections to buyer and seller alike! It’s only one piece of the information puzzle necessary prior to a sale being consummated!
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