How I moved to Hawai’i

Aloha!

I know this is long overdue…. but here it is! The reason why I moved to Hawaii.

The most common question I got asked when I moved was: “Out of all places, why Hawaii?”

Me: “Well, why not?”

There were so many reason that led me to move here. So here it is. Bare with me.

I would say my journey started when I moved away from Savannah to Kennesaw. I moved to pursue a degree that was closer to what I wanted to do. It seemed like the right thing to do. Unfortunately, there were many signs that kept telling me that I did not belong there. I tried giving it a chance, telling myself  to weigh it out and that everything will fall into place but that was not the case. Within the first couple of months I was struggling to get used to the lifestyle. I moved without knowing anyone and I even got into a car accident that totaled my car (then my second car got broken into later on). School was not what I expected. I didn’t feel like I belonged there even though I kept trying to convince myself that it was the right decision. In other words, I was not happy. So I decided to do something about it.

In July, I began thinking on what I really wanted to invest my future in. I knew I had to get student loans so if I was going to do it then I wanted to do it right. I researched schools that had good programs in my field. During my search, every time I had to pick a state Hawaii would always be under Georgia in the list. Before I clicked on Hawaii, I remember thinking, “For some reason, I am going to click on this and it will lead me to where I need to go.” I clicked on Hawaii, clicked on the University of Hawaii at Manoa and I fell in love. I said to my self “This is crazy?! But what if I could do this?”. So then it began.

I made a decision of taking off a semester, something I never wanted to do. I knew that taking off a semester meant that I had to work extra hard and as much as I could so I could save up for the big move. It was a big risk. I had no idea if was even accepted yet?! I began working two jobs, one full time and one part time. I would be up for work at 4 am then be home around 10:30pm. I decided to keep quite with everything and just work my butt off. Everything was still uncertain but I was determined. There was nothing but self motivation. My family naturally though it was crazy. (Could you blame them?)

November came and my time was ticking. My lease was ending, school was about to begin again and I had to make a decision to stay or leave. Then one night, my father FaceTimed me and read a letter from the University of Hawaii. I had gotten accepted and things were finally starting to come together. I put my car for sale, turned in my resignation letter and bought a one way ticket to Hawaii.

Although my time in Kennesaw was not the best, it was definitely much needed. It pushed me to pursue my dreams and I met a lot of amazing people along the way. I definitely miss a lot of friends and family but everything has been going pretty well. I have a new job, met amazing people and most importantly I am happy.

So my message to you:

If you have dream or goal (long term or short term) just go for it. The only way you achieve it is if you just START. Don’t worry about what people will think. The point is for you to be happy and feel good about what you are doing. You will never know your limits until you push them. Never stop believing in your self. Do you boo… do you.