Nostalgia

Yay, a blog post with photos!! And there will be a LOT of them. I couldn't narrow it down.

I've been seeing a lot of posts on social media from friends that I used to work with. For a time, I worked at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Hawaii, which just celebrated it's 60th Anniversary.

Friends are posting pictures of a time and place that changed me so much. 

When I stop and think about it, it wasn't always that great of a place to work. I was, after all, a white student from the mainland, and many of the jobs were a work-study exchange program for college students coming from all over the world, so my job often hung in the balance depending on how many intern spots were needed.

But overall, I loved my time at the PCC. All I really think of is all the wonderful people that I met there, being in the sunshine, learning how to weave hats, headbands, and balls out of coconut leaves, watching the shows, the yummy food, and learning and growing so much as a person.

That time in Hawaii in general was just so good for me in every aspect of my life. Fun fact, that's where I was when I first started my blog about all the funny stories I had with my Tourette syndrome, shortly after I was diagnosed over there.

It's where I first met my now husband, though at the time, he was simply my best friend and we knew that dating was a bad idea. 

It's where I first failed-hard- and lost just about everything important to me.

It's where I learned to build a life I actually wanted. 

It's where I learned that I wasn't crazy for the weird things I had thought as a child. We had entire class discussions about stories and their importance.

It's where I wrote my paper on Tourette syndrome and how it affects communication, which eventually became my first book.

Hawaii has my heart for helping me become the person I am today.