>come to papa.

there's not a whole lot that beats a relaxing tuesday evening

blowing bubbles with your nephew.

i forgot how much i love southern summer nights.

it's good to be home.

 

 

>tennessee.

i packed my bags and said goodbye to hawaii. just for a little while though. 

i'm currently in tennessee. i'm here with ONE. a grassroots organization that is striving to help extreme poverty in africa. we are working here at the bonnaroo music festival. basically i'm too excited and too tired to write more. i haven't slept in a day. thanks 6 hour time change. alexis doesn't come till tomorrow so until then i have to relax in this hotel by myself. what a rough life ;)

i'll blog more tomorrow about it all. basically it's going to be a wonderful and long week and i could not be more grateful for this opportunity. 

xx

L

>something pretty for your ears.

mass amounts of studying=mass amounts of music listening. enjoy my two new favorites on repeat.

>look how they shine for you.

when i was younger and i was asked what i wanted to be when i grew up, my response was always the same, an astronaut. i was set on it. then one day i watched apollo 13 and decided from that moment on that i never wanted to be an astronaut. kind of sad right. parents, never show your kids that sad movie. so although my dreams have changed, i still have a little part of my heart that clings to my nerdy side of love for space.  i could go on and on about how cool i think the galaxy is. i recently did a project about stars for my science class and it just reconfirmed how much i enjoy learning about it all. we talked in class today about how we come from stars. it reminded me of this lovely video that nich and kenz showed me. perfection at it's finest. i've been in a study mood lately so if you're wanting a peaceful soundtrack to listen to, i recommend this beauty from 8tracks. goes along with my peaceful mood of wonder. how infinite this universe is.

>amuurica.

today we celebrated the american dream of this lovely gem, giselle. she became a citizen last week so we threw her an america party in honor of her. basically it was an excuse to dress up in red, white, and blue and test out our pre-4th skills. summer is here and oh so lovely.
xx
L

>best friends came to hawaii.

so remember how excited i was for my friends to come? yeah, it was basically wonderful. i made a video of some of our trip together. it was so nice to have them here. i miss them all already. sorry that the quality isn't the greatest. the video was too big to upload in HD on vimeo. but enjoy!

>a walk to beautiful.

i had the chance to watch a documentary today called, a walk to beautiful. if you have a free hour, i recommend it. the documentary followed the lives of 5 ethiopian women who are sick and trying to get better. these women are forced to get married at a young age and then they get pregnant. many times when they give birth, they are not healthy enough because they are so young and work so hard. therefore, they will sit in labor for a week and eventually have a stillborn. after removing the dead child from them, they are often left with a "leak"
basically, these women are left with damaged bladders and have zero control over their urinary track. the women are shunned from their community and forced to leave. they are abandoned. however, the documentary focuses on the hope of a hospital that will offer free medical treatment and surgery to cure them. the only problem is getting to the hospital which is often a long journey for many of these women.
i was very intrigued by the entire documentary mainly because it's a situation that i've never heard of before. it's estimated that over 2 million women suffer from obstetric fistula. seeing the pain and suffering these women go through, not only physically but psychologically was heartbreaking. it's refreshing though to know that there are some kind people that are trying to help these women at the fistula hospital in ethiopia. if you want to know more you can visit their site here.

>junk of the heart.

the beaches in georgia and florida are packed with seashells. hawaii on the other hand. none. not really sure why that is. but one of my favorite things is to snorkel and search for any type of seashell i can find. i started a collection last fall, but kind of forgot about it. so today when i was at sunset beach, i decided to give it another go. my favorite shells to collect are the odd ones, the ones that aren't smooth and perfect. i think there's more to them. 

goodness, sometimes i wish i was a mermaid, because the feeling of being underwater is so much more peaceful than everything that's going on above. while i was diving i was a little startled to feel two taps on my shoulder. to my surprise a huge polynesian man held his hand out and gave me two shells he had found. one of the nicest little things that have happened. it's always refreshing to see people sharing the aloha. happy day.

>memorial day.

memorial day was yesterday and normally it's filled with cookouts and sparklers outside on a hot summer night in the lovely south. this year however, was my first away from georgia and it was spent where else but the beach. it was brittany and grace's last day here so we soaked in the rays and spent some time snorkeling before they packed their bags and we headed to town. before the airport though we made a stop to watch the floating lantern festival down at ala moana beach park. if you're okay with big crowds and willing to shimmy your way through the crowd for a good sight, then i say it is definitely worth it. everyone had a chance to grab a lantern and write their remembrances on the lanterns and then light them and float them in the ocean. the pictures don't do it justice. i was up to my knees in water trying to snatch pictures but it really was just so packed that it made it tough. a big thank you to all those men and women out there who serve our country. i don't think they ever get a big enough thank you for all that they do for us. 

x

L

>so incase you're wondering.

this is the expression i've had all day, because tomorrow my best friends come

>play day.

sometimes you just need to put the studying, phone calls, and responsibilities on hold

and just go to the beach.

of course first making a stop at the local fruit stand to pick up some mango and pineapple.

and maybe even throw a paddle board on your car too. first time i've ever tried.

definitely not an expert, but i did indeed have quite the lovely day.

xxx
L

>moments from the canal.

i go in these phases where i kind of disappear from the blogging world.
i think it's just because sometimes you need a break from the web.

a lot has changed lately. new semester. new home. new roommates.
new job. new friends. new responsibilities. new opportunities. new.
i have this love/hate relationship with change. but so far it's turned out to
be all good.
life in hawaii has infinite possibilities. infinite possibilities for change.
infinite possibilities for hope. that's kind of how i'm feeling lately.
so much of what i've always known is changing and i'm not exactly sure
what the future holds. i just know that if i keep living and loving this
blessed life i've been given, the wonders are infinite.

>surprise.

story time.

i was rudely awakened last friday morning by 3 text messages, a missed call, and a voicemail, all from david.... this is what i saw...

alright, come on... now i had to call him. david continued to explain to me how he thinks he should come out when brittany and grace come out. i don't exactly remember the entire conversation b.c i was half awake. i think i heard the phrase YOLO in there though... i told him i would call him later when i was awake.

go back to sleep. wake up. i was at the disney resort all day. didn't call david. go to bed.

wake up the next morning... bright and early.. again. to 4 text messages, 2 missed calls, and a voicemail, all from david... again. tired and annoyed i pick up my phone to see this...

after laying back down for a little bit, i picked up my phone again, reread everything and processed what just happened. please excuse my language, i was in shock.

DAVID IS COMING TO HAWAII! 

i can't even believe it!! 3 of my best friends will all be here in about 3 weeks and i am so unbelievably excited!!! 

oh and just on a side note... i also got this text later too...?

yup.. my friends back home saved a chipmunk, named him dale and fed him and got him healthy again. random? i seriously wish i was there to see that little guy though. too cute.

i miss my friends back home, i'm too excited for some of them to come out here :)

xxx

L

>and i'm back.

it's been awhile. finals week came and went. i survived. and then we had a week of vacation. i lived it up to the fullest. and sadly it is back to school for me now. summer term. which is actually not bad at all. i'm taking 2 classes and 1 online so i don't have much to complain about. quick update via instagram

easter came. homesickness definitely kicked in around that time. but it was such a great time with my friends. we made easter dinner together and i learned how to cook a ham! my mom would be so proud.

i roamed around campus barefoot (which isn't exactly out of the normal for me) but this time it was in honor of toms.

i miraculously passed all my classes with A's and B's. with a few freak outs in between. still don't know how i didn't fail one class.

i saw one of my best friends graduate and then celebrated all week long with my friends that school was done!

i devouted more of my time to my long term relationship with the beach. spent it at sharks cove where catherine almost got attacked by a seal. still laughing about that.

and spent many days at the disney resort on the island. amazing. stevens parents were there so we became registered hotel guests for the week as well. perfect. that place is heaven. it's so fun to feel like actual vacationers in hawaii instead of students.

the break was so wonderful, but sad too because so many of my friends went home for the summer.

i am all moved in to my new house (the canal house) with my new roommates, which i love dearly. this semester is going to be great, i can already feel it.

xxx

L