Wearing my favorite Abercrombie shirt/ App: Experience

" Wearing my favorite Abercrombie shirt, while listening to a Black Eyed Peas song on my iPod nano, I stepped out of the Philippine airport (with my Skechers shoes on) only to realize that I was an alien in a place that I considered my home.

I was 10 years old when my parents, without warning, popped the single most life-changing statement ever uttered: "We're going to Hawaii!" I was taken aback. Our family had neither the money nor the time to spend for sipping pineapple juice in sunny Hawaii. It was then that I realized that the trip would not be for vacation but rather, migration. Assimilation to Hawaii's local culture was fast and easy. In a year, I rid myself of my accent and spoke almost-perfect English. By my second year, I could tell apart a wahine from a kane and could easily locate where Secret's Beach is, the clandestine surfing spot for locals. In fact, the "fresh off the boat" immigrants from the Philippines assumed that I was locally born. Surprisingly, I was flattered."

This is the beginning part of my essay. I don't think it's good enough, though. The topic is somewhat overused and the writing is so-so. What do you guys think? Should I just start over with a different topic?

The topic is fine.

You are writing about contrasts. Make the contrasts more vivid, perhaps with a humorous tale, or an actual experience that tells the reader what that was really like for you. As you proceed, the contrasts become less and less. Ease into that, just as you eased into the life you have now after all that change.

'Surprisingly I was flattered.'
You have written well. A little more concentration on describing your personal experience would make it more interesting.