My Hawaii Reflection
I’m not good at writing, especially reflecting, that’s why I obviously took a biology trip to Hawaii and not a writing workshop. I honestly like living in the moment, taking pictures, and just looking back at all the good times the most. Even after being back for over a month I’m still doing that with my pictures (All 1600 of them) and I’m going to try and make this reflection as honest and filled with what really happened and what I really felt about and during this trip as possible.
I honestly believe that these islands have some kind of magic radiating out of them in everything, everywhere, the trees, the people, the animals, even the water. I want everyone to understand that this trip honestly did change my life. Now, I can already hear your scoff of disapproval at my choice of words but this trip honestly did. And you’re thinking now ‘How DID this trip change her life?’ Well… it started with not understanding a beautiful culture and then learning to respect it and love it with all my heart.
Pineapple, beaches, and tropical paradise is what most people think of when someone says the word “Hawaii”. When the Hawaii trip that I went on was first being offered I couldn’t get it out of my brain…I was going to this tourist hot spot and I was going to have fun with all my friends laying on the beach, tanning my day away. I was one of the people that thought that Hawaii was some tropical paradise that was the ultimate vacation destination and nothing more. (Spoiler Alert: That idea changes quite drastically during my trip) I personally thought that this magical trip to Hawaii was going to be taking tours everyday to different tourist spots of Hawaii and doing little work sheets to get a credit. Easy enough, why not go do my little work sheets, take my vacation and come back and get my credit. Everything seemed so easy and not to mention the trip was centered around biology, a subject I could easily smack down and do well on. I was completely wrong about this trip in just about every way.
That opinion of Hawaii first changed when I met Miss Hartman…that woman has forever changed my opinion about how weird I’m allowed to be in public. I love her. I met Miss Hartman (We all just call her Hartman) when the Hawaii fundraisers started and the group had gone from a whopping 80+ people down to around 10 or so. One day, as we were having a Hawaii meeting Hartman had found some photos she had taken during her stay in Hawaii on the same trip when she was our age. In those photos she showed the mountains she had visited and the people she had worked with in the tide pools and in the ocean. Those kids were covered in dirt, standing in the rain, and sun burnt but they were all smiling. You could tell the kids in the photos had worked so hard and definitely not having a vacation but they were happy about it. That’s the moment when I realized this trip wasn’t a vacation, it was hard work. I was going to be tired and a little sore and be in a classroom but I wasn’t dreading that notion, if anything…I was excited and happy about it. I realized that this wasn’t a vacation. This was going to be adventure.
Four schools pulled together to make this trip a whole, Roncalli, Brown County, Whiteland, and Batesville. The funny part about two of the schools that went, Whiteland and Batesville was the teachers. Miss Lynch and Miss Hartman used to be teacher and student back when Hartman was my age in Batesville. These two are the FUNNIEST, and COOLEST cats you could ever know! (And I am not saying that just to get bonus points) The first time I met Lynch was at the dive shop where both Batesville and Whiteland girls were meeting each other for the first time and getting their equipment. I politely introduced myself trying to make the best impression I could. Her first words to me were “You seem mature.” I thought after talking with her for a while she was just going to be another teacher on the trip reprimanding us left and right on our trip to paradise. (Newsflash: I WAS WRONG!) Before going to Hawaii it didn’t feel real. I had met the teachers, they seemed nice. I met the Whiteland girls going, I knew most of them. And I was going to Hawaii with my friend Erin…sweet! The idea of going off to a tropical island by myself for 2 ½ weeks didn’t seem real. It honestly felt like a dream. Things got real once we got to the airport and 3 in the morning, very real.
My summer had gone by without any excitement whatsoever. I felt like that summer utterly nothing was going to happen. When I put my Huakai (which DID NOT mean “Journey” in Hawaiian but “Sea Eggs”) and got to the airport for my flight…oh man that was THE moment. I had a panic attack with my baggage double checking to see if I had everything and my ticket. In short it was the most nerve wracking moment in my life, not to mention it was going to be my first time in a plane. I luckily got through security and made my way onto the plane. It turns out Hartman HATES planes, I had a buddy and luckily made it through my first plane ride! That was only the first hurdle in Hawaii once we actually finished our second flight to the island I had no words to what I thought about it. None at all.
When our plane landed I saw black everywhere. Our landing field was surrounded by lava rock, not exactly the white sand beaches and the palm trees I was expecting. It didn’t really matter to me though, I was in Hawaii…I wasn’t going to complain. We high tailed to Hapuna Beach and I was sold…this was Hawaii. You could see the look on the people’s faces, you could smell it in the breeze, and you could tell by the way Uncle Dennis and Monica (Our trip coordinator and one of our teachers) were talking to each other that this trip wasn’t just a biology trip to a pretty place. This trip was going to be a life changing experience for a lot of people.
Those islands are magic. There is no way I could experience that kind of magic anywhere else. On this trip I’ve had so many opportunities that I would never get to have any other time in my life. I’ve met some of the greatest friends I could ever make! (My Batesville friends!). I’ve had so many firsts on this island, with these people that I wouldn’t trade for anything. So many laughs were had on this trip as well. I hope that two years from now I can help Lynch and Hartman with the next blog on the next trip. This trip opened my eyes in so many ways! That ever lingering question of what I want to do with my life is answered with a little help from Lynch. The family problems I was having at home are officially gone. And I have more confidence in myself than ever. Hawaii is magic in the sense that it has the power to cleanse your mind and your heart in every single way. I love Hawaii with all my heart as well as the people that went with me on this trip. I hope that someone who reads this, anyone, will look past my horrible grammar and strange topic jumping and see what I’m trying to convey with my reflection. I’ve changed with this trip and I love it. The people there are wonderful, the program is superb, and the memories for me…they’ll last a lifetime.
