Hawaii's Special Place In My Heart

Hawaii's Special Place In My Heart 

*I have to add the disclaimer (of course) and apologize for the random self blog tagging on each picture. I cannot, for the life of me, find the original pictures that don't have my website plastered on it.*

I’m sure plenty of people read the title of this post and thought, “Umm, what?? Who isn’t Hawaii automatically amazing and special to?--and that’s a pretty valid question to let cross your mind, especially since Hawaii is effortlessly phenomenal. Without a doubt, Hawaii is an easy place to fall in love with, but I love Hawaii more for my own personal reasons. My first time to Hawaii (Honolulu) was many years ago-- when my biggest worry in life was losing my video game or Barbie doll's shoe--so that won’t count here. All of my “new” Hawaii trip references in this post will only be in regard to the past couple of years in my life as a flight attendant. 

My trips to Hawaii all revolved around significant events in my life. My first meaningful trip to Hawaii was to Kauai (specifically: to Lihue, Kauai on Kalapaki beach). Since then, I have quietly taken two more solo trips here for a quick getaway. A few days before leaving for my first trip to Kauai, I went through a breakup. Along with a failing relationship, I was struggling to balance my first semester of graduate school with flying an insane amount of hours as a new flight attendant, while still being on a six-month initial hire probation. At that point in my life, I just wanted to get away to somewhere new (and warm) that would help me to freely put things into perspective and find a new direction for my life. Lihue is a pretty popular area with a vibrant scene and positive vibes, making it feel like even more of a getaway. I worked the flight into there, so thankfully I had another crew member to spend the layover with. The morning after we landed, we did an extremely early helicopter tour, and it was beyond amazing! The best part is that we got super lucky and the tour ended up being free for us! Unfortunately, my camera and the really cool footage from this trip got lost, but I did manage to take a few pictures on my iPhone. 

My next trip to Hawaii happened three months later. By that time, my life had brightened a bit. I traveled to Kona, Hawaii (better known as "The Big Island”) and it was so breathtaking. This island was more of a chill, lazy island for me because the town and the shops were a long trolley ride away from my hotel. Although I did get out and see the town for a few hours, I spent a good amount of my time there just hanging out by the water, reading, writing, and completely taking it all in, while drinking way too many coconut waters. There were so many other awesome things about this island, but I don’t want to overshare because I want you to go visit and fall in love for yourself! 

The last of my significant Hawaii adventures came a few months after Kona. This trip was to the sweet little paradise of Maui. I was in such a great headspace on this trip. I had recently begun dating my now (amazing) girlfriend, and so many other great things and opportunities were happening in my life. Work was going wonderfully, Grad. school was kicking my butt less, I had settled into a new city and home pretty nicely, and life was just so fresh and beautiful to me again. By this time, I wanted to return to Hawaii not only as a great mini vacation, but also as a way of saying thank you for being there for me during all of my ups and downs. I spent my time here eating (no surprise), doing yoga by the water, and shopping like crazy! Seriously, whose idea was it to put a shopping center so close to the hotels, knowing I wouldn't resist? Ugh! I even went snorkeling with two of my crew members later that afternoon. 

I know people are inclined to credit objects and memories for a great turnaround in their life, but I seriously look to this beautiful state and all of the peace it has to offer. The people, the environment, and, of course, the food are all so amazing. All of these beautiful, Hawaiian islands have collectively helped me to realize that I am just a little speck in this incredibly crafted world; and that my problems were essentially so small compared to many other things in life. I don't mean this harshly or as a way to downplay my issues-- I simply mean that sometimes when we're going through tough times, we feel like it's the end of the world and like there's no possible way out of whatever hole we're in at the time. With this, we need the occasional reminder of how small things truly are compared to the other realities of life-- which can help us put our problems into perspective and relax our minds a bit so that we're better able to see our life plan more clearly. With everything else, Hawaii gave me the opportunity to think and live purely, with a revitalized mind and a more open heart. Because of this, I will forever be in love with this place. 

Seriously. Thank you, Hawaii. See you again soon.

0

Text Etiquette

Text Etiquette

We all know how much I love accessorizing my phone with cute phone cases (if this information is new to you, check out one of my posts about phone cases here ). Surprisingly, there's something that I love more than accessorizing my phone--and that love is actually using my phone to communicate with others. I pride myself on being a great communicator: a rapid phone call answerer/returner and a timely “texter”. For the sake of this blog post, we will make “texter” a word. My freshman year of undergrad, my English professor spent one of his lectures going over proper email etiquette. Pretty much everything he said that should be done, I was already doing in my everyday email life—I felt pretty proud of myself. Ever since that lecture, I have made sure to follow that same etiquette in emails, as well as text messages and phone calls. I don’t want to sound like the Princess Of The Year, but I absolutely hate when I come into contact with someone who is a bad communicator. It makes me cringe just a little, and it makes things a bit more awkward than they need to be. Trust me, I’m awkward enough as it is.  

I have learned that some people really aren’t bad communicators purposely. They may genuinely be unaware that they aren't that great at it, or they’re just used to their way of conversations and they may think it works for them. I will never call anyone out on being a not so great communicator; but, what I will do is write up a good post on what I have learned as “Text Etiquette”. And I feel I should share these tips with all of my friends here! 

^^I seriously have no clue why the wall behind me looks so warped. My girlfriend was my photographer for this!

Texting DO’s:

• ALWAYS consider who you’re texting when it comes to the type of conversation, language, response, etc. We all know you would not send the same type of texts to your coworker that you would your best friend or significant other. 
• Proof read your texts! Auto-correct can really take things from a normal conversation to a really strange one, real quick. One time I was texting someone I worked alongside a professional event with. When I tried to type, “Oh, I’m so sorry” (he had accidentally spilled his coffee on himself and I was attempting to sound sympathetic) autocorrect turned my “sorry” to “dirty”. It got weird. So just keep slip ups like that in mind. 
• Always respond! Unless you really don’t want to talk to that person, ever. 
• Text back within the hour. Taking forever to respond really shows a lack of care.
• If you’re already actively engaged in the conversation, try to reply within 5-10 minutes of each message. No need to be glued to your phone and responding back in five seconds (but if you do, awesome! I like you).
• If you are unable to text back quickly, or it takes you many hours to do so, simply apologize when you do return to the conversation. Show the person on the receiving end of the message that you care that you couldn’t get back to them sooner.
• Answer back in full, but no need to write a book reply.
• Know when to end the conversation. Drawing out a text is pretty annoying, and it can make the conversation awkward. Pay attention to when it seems like the other person is wanting to end the conversation. You’ll know.
• Make sense of what you’re saying in messages. 
• Use punctuation. You don’t have to be a grammar wiz, but at least separate sentences!

Texting DON’TS:

• Be a rude texter. Convey positivity and seem happy to be engaged in this conversation.
• Text (or take a phone call) while out with friends. Unless it is an emergency, put your phone away. The person who is texting you will understand once you explain that you’re out with friends and will talk to them later. They will probably even respect you even more for this— they can then assume that you will give them this type of attention and respect if you’re ever out with them. 
• End every single text with an ellipsis (…)- this makes it seem like you’re either wanting to say more, or you’re irritated.
• Text about super serious things such as extreme* illness or death. If you can call the person, do so. If it absolutely has to be handled in a text message and there is no way possible for you to call, either wait (if possible) or send a quick summary in a text and inform the person that you will also call about it. Serious conversations require a phone call or in-person meetings to properly support and comfort the other person, as well as yourself.  *A quick text about migraines, cramping, minor cold, stomach ache, etc. is fine. Especially if you’re texting someone to let them know you won’t be able to keep your plans with them because of one of these reasons.
• Overload message with emojis. Especially if you’re communicating with someone on a more professional level. I love emojis, but there is a common sense limit of not using them in excess. (Exception: best friends and significant others)
• Be a short texter. One word texters are the worst. Unless it’s a quick message to quickly confirm or inform someone of something, try to avoid sending short messages. These can seem very curt and uninviting. 
• Respond to someone’s long, heart pouring message with “k”. Self explanatory. 
• Call in response to a text.  At least say, “I’ll call you about this” first and see if they are available to talk. 
• Text anyone more than twice (unless you both are extremely close and that’s normal for you both- my girlfriend and I do this. Sometimes we do it just because. Lol). 
• Leave someone hanging in the conversation. Don’t start the conversation, engage, and disappear. That’s rude and a waste of both of your time. 
• Text in all caps and use excessive punctuation. IT SEEMS LIKE YOU’RE YELLING AT THE PERSON! AM I RIGHT, OR AM I RIGHT?!?! It definitely feels spazzy. 
• Put a non iPhone user in a group text. For the love of EVERYTHING, please don’t do this. Especially before 9:00am.
• Text someone you’re not that close with in the late hours of the night/early morning. Consider their sleep schedule, time zone their in, and if they may have significant other. 

Now, go forth and prosper, my friends! Text away. Text your parents back, text that new cute interest you bumped into earlier, respond to your sibling's message from two days ago, stop avoiding your boss' texts, and text your granny a few heart emojis (considering everyone's granny has an iPhone these days). Feel free to even email me! I will happily respond! 

0