Home sweet home

Have you heard that saying, “you never really appreciate something until you don’t have it”? Well it is true. There are many things we often take advantage of and don’t notice until it is no longer there. I found that out this spring break. I never really appreciated Hawaii and its beauty until I left it this spring break and stayed in Utah. I know this sounds really cliché but it’s true. Hawaii is such a beautiful place. Everything about it is perfect. It is my home.

I often take advantage of the beautiful atmosphere, weather, and presence Hawaii has to offer. Here at home I am so used to clear blue skies filled with white fluffy clouds and warm weather. However, when I went to Utah the skies were blue but not the same. Instead it had a grayish tint to it and did not look as clear and pure as it does in here at home. There were also hardly any clouds in the sky, which painted this boring and monotonous picture in the sky. Also here at home I often take granted for all the green mountains and grass. All the mountains are covered in thriving greenery. There was hardly any green in Utah. Because it had been winter all the mountains were brown. Brown trees, brown grass, and brown dirt. When we were traveling on the highway I could see nothing but brown mountains and brown fields. Every corner we turned led us to more brown. The only thing that was not brown was the white snowcaps on some of the mountains. I never really realized what a colorful place Hawaii was until I went somewhere where there was no color. Hawaii has such a variety of tropical flowers that I always over look and don't take the time to notice. It is pretty sad that I never appreciated any of this until I lived a week without it.

Not only is the environment and nature completely different but the people are different too. In Hawaii people are very friendly and polite. There are many times when I go running and someone I have never seen before will smile at me and say, “hi”. It is such a simple action but has the power to make my day and make me happy. In Hawaii there is an unspoken sense of community. When I went to the mainland the people were cordial and everything but it just wasn’t the same. People did not take the time to smile at a complete stranger like they do in Hawaii. Hawaii is also a lot more racially diverse. It is very different on the mainland, with the majority of the people being white (not that this bothered me…it was just different). There are hardly any Asians. (Asian minority) I swear the only Asians I saw in Utah were people we were traveling with.

There are many things about Hawaii that I never noticed and appreciated until I lived without it. Going to the mainland was like immersing myself in an entirely different culture and atmosphere. By the end of the week, as much fun as I had, I can honestly say I was somewhat homesick. I was defiantly ready to come home. As soon as I stepped off the plane coming back home this feeling of comfort returned. There really is no place like home.