6/17/2014

Miyeelah Onato was born on July 11, 1999 in Baguio Philippines. It was a
sunny dry summer Sunday. After 8 hours of labor she finally decided to
enter the world. Her name was unique. It was a combination of her
parents name. Mi came from her mothers name Mitziko. Ye came
from her Mothers maiden name Yedah. El came from her fathers name
Joel. And Lah came from Jehovah, the God she grew to worship. She came
from a family of Filipinos. She grew up in her home learning Tagalog until she moved to Seattle,
Washington when she was 4. She was also from a family of Jehovahs Witnesses. Her family went
out in service every Saturday of the week to share the good news. Every year they would also
attend a convention in the city to listen to public talks and meet up with friends. When she
moved to the US and started attending kindergarten, her classmates found it difficult to
pronounce her name. Thats when she adopted the nickname Mia from the movie Princess
Diaries'

Her family consisted of her father Joel, her mother Mitziko, and her sister Jael.
Her father had six other brothers and one sister, so Miyeelah had a ton of
cousins. The cousin she was closest to was Lei who was the daughter of her
fathers older brother Arnel. She also visited her cousin Benjamin every
summer that lived in California. On her mothers side was her aunt Jenny
and her kids; Caress, Joaquin, Wahinee, Jamel, EJ, and Michael. They lived
in the Philippines and Miyeelah visited them often. Her father worked at
Seattle City Light and her Mother cleaned other peoples houses once in a
while.

Miyeelah attended Honeydew elementary for
Kindergarten and then moved to Highlands
for grades 1-5. She then attended Dimmit
Middle school and is now attending Renton
High school. Her first year in high school was a
little difficult to get used to but then she got used to it and started
loving the freedom she got in high school. She had little interest in
club activities and sports but she did stay after school to hang out
with some friends. Miyeelah hasnt experienced much in her 14 years of living. But one of her
best memories was a hiking trip she took with her family. When she made it to the top of the
ledge, the view she saw was mesmerizing and she sat on the edge feet dangling over a
thousand foot height. It was one of her favorite experiences even if it only lasted a few minutes.

List of things that make Miyeelah happy
Sunny days with a little wind
Perfect Music that fits the
mood
Food
Waking up to more sleep
Knowing that someone out
there appreciates her
existence
Laughs
Being around people
Being alone
Heights
Doing something that
benefits others