I love adventures. The goal recently has been to go on as many adventures as possible. The last two weeks have been filled with so many fun things. I am finally seeing the parts of Hawaii that I have been missing out on for two years.
The first adventure last week was to ancient temple ruins by Waimea beach. That place is pretty creepy in the dark. There were only a few of us there (and no boys) so we didn't stay there too long. I really want to go back in the day time so we can go exploring and see it all. After we left the temple, we went to bagger's beach. I had never been to this beach before so it was really cool. The ocean water was so warm!!! The ocean is a lot warmer here in Hawaii than in California, but this was exceptionally warm!! We gazed at the stars for a bit (my favorite thing in the world) and then headed back home after a successful adventure.
Me, Jordan, and Kristal on Bagger's beach
The next adventure was down into town! Kelts, Kristal, and I went down to have a fun girls day! We met interesting people every where we went that day. I think my favorite was the man in Sephora. He kept giving us perfume recommendations and telling us the story behind each perfume. He definitely knew what he was talking about. Any girls day is not complete without food, so we stopped at Cheesecake Factory for lunch. And of course I had to get my favorite peanut butter cheesecake!!! I absolutely loved it!!
My roommates and I had been trying to go see the WWII bunkers for about a month now, but something always comes up. We were determined to go this weekend though. Jordan and I went alone the first time and made it into the bunker with all the movie props at Kualoa Ranch. We didn't really know where we were going or what we were looking for, so we just wandered around in the valley afterwards. Animals running around in the bushes+pitch black because of the intense cloud coverage=two scared girls. After exploring for a while we left and were determined to come back and find the ladder to the upper bunkers. The next day we went back with more people and found the ladder. The place was not that scary, but it was intense. The bolts holding the ladders to the wall were coming out and were gone in some places. As you climbed up, the ladder would shake. I felt like it was going to come off the wall at any moment. It was really fun and worth it though. I want to go back again with a better camera (not just my phone) so that the pictures will better show how amazing this place was. The lookout over the ocean was AMAZING to say the least!!!
some of the graffiti inside
on our first attempt
part of the group
right outside the bunkers...this is what we could see
inside the bunkers
At the top of the bunkers thinking we were going to die faces
the boys
this wall was my favorite (the picture does not do it justice)
I normally try to keep my personal opinions on certain subjects to myself, but I feel like sharing some of my knowledge today. First off, I am not saying I am an expert on this subject (pretty far from it actually) at all. I honestly feel like the world needs more love and not just "I love you when it is convenient for me," but real unconditional love.
Love is something can is not made or created overnight. Every single day you have to work on your ability to love others. There is so much to love about the world, your life, and those in your life. It is developed slowly and over time. Sometimes you don't even realize how much you really care about a person until that love is put to the test. Love cannot be faked either. It is really easy to confuse love with lust or other silly emotions, but it cannot be falsified.
Mistakes and mess-ups in life show that we are human. They show that we are growing and trying every single day. It is not our job to judge others or the situation they are in. We just need to be their with our love and support. Friendships are some of the greatest relationships we have in this life. Your love should be extended to others no matter how they are doing in life. Sometimes people need your support and love to help them get through their tough spots in life.
We do not always get to choose who enters into our lives, but we get to choose how we treat them. We need to remember that everyone is has their own back story and we need to respect that. If we just try to understand others and have compassion towards them, we will start to see a whole other side of them. Love helps us see past the surface and into the souls of others.
We also need to remember to let people love us. We cannot shut ourselves off from the world. It is really hard for people to love us if we refuse to let them. Love requires the effort of two people. Most people forget that over time. Love needs to be exercised, expressed, and strengthened every single day of our lives.
Remember to smile and to love. The world is a lot prettier when we love. :)
So on Sunday, I was in a car accident. It probably was the scariest moment of my life. I am glad to say that we walked away in really good shape from being in an accident. One of my roommates has a hurt shoulder and all of us are really sore and tired. I have had a headache for 3 days, but I will take a headache over broken bones or anything else any day of the week. So here is the story of what happened....
We were driving on the H-1 freeway in bad traffic. We would be stopped one minute and then would speed up and start going 30-40 miles and then stop the next minute...basically it was typical Waikiki traffic. Traffic was stopping and we stopped with tons of room in front of us (and I mean like at least a whole car's length of room). I didn't see the car coming, but Sharee did. She screamed and then I felt the impact. There was three hits. They went very fast and honestly it took a few seconds after for me to realize what had just happened. When I got out of my car, I realized that we had just been rear-ended by a limo. We were hit hard enough that we ran into the car in front of us and they hit the car in front of them. It was a 4 car accident and was not fun at all. All three of us were fine right after the accident, just really shaken up.
My car looked pretty okay right after the accident compared to the limo, but as time passes, my car started leaking green fluid and other fluids. That was not cool. I still do not know if my car is fixable, but we are taking it one day at a time. Here are some pictures so you can kinda see what happened.
My car and the car in front of me.
My car and the limo.
My car did some damage to the limo.
More of the limo damage.
I don't have a great picture of all of the cars, but my car had some damage, but not too much from my perspective.
The limo.
The front of my car.
Another pic of the front of my car.
The back of my car.
The back again.
We all went to the hospital afterwards to get checked out. The shock was wearing off and the pain was starting to set in. It was no fun, but we tried to make the best of the situation. Because we were in a car accident, the nurses put all three of us in neck braces. It was quite the site to see. We were at the hospital forever, but I am glad they really checked us out. They were not kidding when they said day two or three would be the worse. My body is slowly starting to hurt more, but it will be better soon. However, I keep finding all these new bruises on my body and I keep wondering when I hit them or what caused them. We will all recover in time!! However, we are so grateful that we have a week off from school to rest and feel better.
Me in my neck brace....i think this was the furthest thing away from attractive you can get.
Sydney, Me, and Sharee in our lovely hospital attire.
Winter semester is finally over. Can I just say that I am excited by that??? I was talking some really hard classes and not enough education classes for my liking! However, my schedule for summer semester is looking pretty good at the moment, which makes me really excited. During the last few days, I was able to get in some solid beach time which was really nice!! Every time I go to the beach, I text my sister Ashley a picture of me and the beach and her responses have slowly turned from "that is really cool" or "that looks really pretty" to "I think you should be studying" or "the beach...again???" or "I am so jealous!!" It makes me laugh every single time she comes up with some new response.
To help celebrate the end of the semester, my roommates and I had a big adventure. We started off with some celebratory Martinelli's on Friday afternoon. It was so delicious!! Then Mads, Mckayli, Lindsay, and I went down to Haleiwa. We ate at this delicious sandwich place and had some amazing acai bowls. Then we headed back up to Sunset Beach. Sunset really is my favorite beach of all time. I love how the water is always so clear so you can see the bottom of the ocean, no matter how far you are out. And the sand is amazing. I have this problem when I go to the beach. I have no idea why, but I always have so much sand on me by the time I leave. No one else can be covered in sand, but somehow I manage to bring lots of the beach with me without fail. I really like Sunset sand because it does not stick very long. It comes off very easily and when you have a lot on you, that is a major plus.
After laying out on the beach for a few hours, we walked down to Ted's bakery for some delicious Chocolate Haupia pie. It was so yummy after a long day in the sun. Then we headed back to Sunset and all our roommates met up with us. All nine of us hung out on Sunset beach (and in the water) to watch the sunset. It was really cool and I got to mark something off my leap list. On Saturday morning, a few of us roommates got up, walked down to the end of Laie Point and watched the sunrise (once again, another thing checked off my leap list!!!). It was a really cool experience and some great bonding right before everyone left.
Right before finals, Sharee, Sydney, Lindsay, and me decided to take the day off from studying and decided we were going on an adventure. Everything we do here is spur of the moment and I love it!! We decided that we were going down to the south side of the island. The first stop on our adventure was Dog the Bounty Hunter's house. There is nothing more to see at his house than his cool gate, so we just stopped by and took some pictures!!
After Dog's house, we went to this really cool place called spitting caves. It really isn't hard to get to, once you find where you are going. It is like a two minute walk from the road down rocks and then you are out on the rocks next to the water. The coolest part about spitting caves was we saw two whales jumping out of the water. They looked like they were chasing each other for a while. It was really a cool place and we had a cute little picnic up there!!
The spitting cave right after it "spitted".
This is a picture of the spitting cave, but not a very good one.
Me...but not a very good picture.
This picture does not do enough justice for how amazing the view was!!!
After spitting caves, we stopped by our friend Zach's house for a while. It was really nice to be in a real house again. It made me miss home and my crazy family and warm bed!!! He took us to China wall and it was a really cool place. It basically is this huge rock that goes right out into the ocean, great for laying out on the south shore, and the waves come right up to the rock. The waves are big enough that guys jump off the wall, grab their surfboards and go. It was really cool to watch!! I am really sad I didn't take any pictures here (I don't know why I didn't either).
Then we headed off to Wal-Mart and found the Easter Bunny. We were just trying to be silly and take pictures with this blow-up Easter Bunny just because, but this mom saw what we were doing and thought it was such a great idea that she made her kids take pictures with it!!! We all got a great laugh out of that experience.
So anyone who knows me knows that I hate silence and love music. I literally have an obsession with music. I am always trying to find some new song or new band to listen to. Lately, I have been trying to make the perfect beach playlist (it will be posted once I perfect it) and this has inspired me to make this post. I feel like some really well made cds have been released lately and I am in heaven. Here are some of my latest favorites:
1. One Direction
I do not think that I will ever get over my obsession with boy bands. In elementary school it was Backstreet Boys, in middle school it was O'Town, in high school is was Jonas Brothers, and now it is One Direction. They are so amazing, cute, and their songs are really catchy. My favorites are What Makes You Beautiful and One Thing. Don't Judge....
Here is What Makes You Beautiful. Their music video is almost as good as their song.
2. Fun.
They used to be known as The Format. They just released a new album called Some Nights and it is amazing!! This album is probably one of the best put together albums I have heard in a while. The flow of songs is just amazing. The mix from an upbeat song to a slower pace song to the song with an emphasis on piano is just perfection. To really get a complete feel for their album, you really do need to to listen to it from beginning to end. We Are Young is not the only good song on the album and I feel like many of the other songs have been unappreciated.
Carry On is one of these many overlooked songs.
3. Say Anything
This band has been a favorite of mine for a very long time. They are very different and that is why I like them. They are a band that I could never get sick of. My favorite song by them is Crush'd. I really am a hopeless romantic and if any boy could ever write me a song like this, my heart would melt.
4. Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is a band I always come back to. I go through phases where I am obsessed and then feel like they are too overplayed. Taking Back Sunday is probably my favorite bands to run to.
5. Blink-182
They will forever be one of my top three favorite bands. They are so AMAZING!! Like I do not even know how to put into words how amazing they are. Every single album has a little different feel and vibe. They are just amazing. No matter what mood I am in, there is always a Blink-182 song that perfectly describes it. I am currently obsessed with "Up All Night" from their latest album, but some of their earliest stuff will always be my favorite.
First Date is always a classic!!
My life right now consists of going to class, the beach, eating, sleeping, and repeating...and I LOVE IT!! I go to the beach pretty much every morning for about an hour before class and then depending on the homework situation, I may go again in the afternoon. My tan is coming in very nice!! As finals approach, I am having less beach time, but that is okay. School needs to come first and I have a lot to do before next Friday!! I still cannot believe that the semester is almost over, but I am glad it is at the same time. This semester has been one of the hardest ever, but I loved it. I felt like it was one of the first times I have been challenged and learned something in every single class. However, I am excited to have more education classes next semester.
Looking back on this semester, so much has happened. No one event has been that life changing, but life has changed for the better. First off, Amy will be joining me out here in the fall!!! I cannot wait for her to get out here!! All the adventures, beach time, and family dinners will be amazing!! Only 160 more days until she gets here!! Secondly, life is great!!! Everything is just working out so nicely and I am having the best time of my life!! I really feel like I am a grown-up and not a little kid anymore. I am halfway done with school and cannot wait to be done. School is great, but I am excited for the day when I am the teacher and no longer the student.
I have been setting a lot of goals lately and have been working on them all. My top goals for right now are do good in school (always a goal), stay a nice shade of tan, and keep up on my fitness. I have almost reached my goal, but I just have a little bit more work to do. It the intensity of the semester I lost track of my goal, but now I am back on track. I love goal setting because I love feeling like I am doing something and have accomplished something. We will see how these goals go!!!
