Catching Up: PART I. HAWAI'I

       So since I'm just starting this blog, but have been alive for twenty years, it seems to me that we should get all caught up. There's actually a lot to learn about my life thus far! I was born and raised on the Big Island. Leaving Hawaii was life changing. While living on the Big Island I didn't realize how much the island was a part of my identity. Coming to the mainland has been challenging. My sister once related homesickness with shards of glass. When you're home the pieces are inside your skin so there is no pain; it is when you leave and the glass is pulled out that you notice the agony you are in. Hawaii is a special place. But it's not just the stereotypical paradise you might be thinking of. So here's a few images from home:

Wailuku River in Hilo

Posing with friends at Old Airport Park

Cows and windmills near South Point

Me and a friend at our high school graduation

 My favorite place, Waimea in the foothills of Kohala Mountain

My grandmother and mother at my grandfather's grave in the Hilo Veterans Cemetery

 An amazing Hilo sunset over Mauna Kea

Sunset from the Upper Road highway between Waimea and Kona

Hualalai Mountain from stand up paddle boarding at Anaeho'omalu Bay

Ali'i Drive in Kona

My parents at Kona Brewing Co.

My puppy Kikko at home

Two turtles lounging at the Marriott Resort

 Natural fireworks on July Fourth, sunset in Waikoloa

Mauna Kea Beach

Submillimeter Array and the sunrise from the Mauna Kea summit

Underwater shot of algae at Golden Ponds

My sister and I saying hello to baby horses above our high school in Waimea