The Sunshine State

The warm summer of 2021 will always be a cherished memory. I visited the mainland for the second time, the first being when I was five years old. Sixteen years made an entirely different experience for me. I have so many fond memories from that summer spent in the sunny state of Florida. Such as, going to Disney World, visiting family, and even meeting some family for the first time. There were so many new adventures. I saw a billboard for the first time ever (we don’t have them in Hawaii), rode in an airboat on a river where I saw alligators, fed giraffes at Brevard Zoo, and went to Daytona, “the world’s most famous beach.” That summer, I learned two different meanings of “going away.” Although I had many fun experiences in Florida, the reason for my trip was to attend the funeral of my great grandpa. I said goodbye to my great grandpa for the last time. Both meanings involved physically going away, but each meaning had very different feelings attached to it. There can be many different meanings of “going away,” but that summer illustrated what it meant for me.