I’m brushing my hair when I notice movement to the left of me. It seems to be in slow motion, and it feels like I’m watching a movie. It is a complete out-of-body experience. I think I know what I am seeing, but I can’t bring myself to believe it is true. For a second, I think maybe I’m…

I love wandering the aisles of Flora-Dec and Party City Stopping here and there, You think this is aimless, which is why I go alone And why you should go to Home Depot without me. It is a meditative walk for both of us, Done solo is best for what transformation is possible.   On…

I crawled through the streets of New York City, strolled across the Thames, fell victim to heatstroke in Versailles, and explored wartime ruins. You may find it hard to leave the comfort zone of home and family, but one cannot strengthen themselves or become wise without exploring their boundaries and pushing themselves beyond their comfort…

My transition from middle to high school was more difficult than I expected. I graduated from middle school with sixty kids, half of which planned on moving away or going to a private high school. This left me with only thirty familiar faces when I started at Kealakehe. Although my hometown seemed small, I loved…

The walk down into Waipi‘o Valley on the Big Island is easy, but the hike up isn’t, for the casual stroller at least. I’ve tackled that steep incline twice in my life, so long ago, once with my family, the other time on a class field trip, the first at age 10, the second at…

when meals come straight to her door– a black cauldron roils contents of gall of goat, eye of newt, pineapple sliced by Grim Reaper’s scythe, splash of Devil’s Springs vodka– the fire sizzles and spits. The doorbell rings, a chorus of Trick or Treat! The buffet calls from outside her dark door. Treats of chocolate…

It was a typical night for me as a 9 year old. I walked around outside of the house to say hello to my precious pets,  a cocker spaniel, Aladdin, especially close to me. Behind the fence with him followed a rowdier larger adolescent dog, Chico. As I opened the latch to the fence, Chico…

Around 8:00 a.m. I walk onto the lanai with a hot pot of coffee and my laptop. Harri stumbles after me. The theme song to our favorite cartoon begins to play and suddenly he comes to life, singing and dancing next to me on the loveseat. I begin singing along, wrapping my arms around him…