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.