At eighteen I was really unsure of what I was going to be doing with my hot off the press adult self and I was really feeling the pressure to choose. To keep it simple, my mom wanted me to go to college and my dad wanted me to go into the military; I had no idea what I wanted to do but I knew it was not either of those options. Not very surprising, my parents were disappointed.
At the beginning of the summer I had gotten a job at a plastic forming factory. For some reason all through high school my mom refused to let me get a job but the moment I graduated she was breathing down my neck to get a job and pay rent if I was staying home. How nice. Anyway, this job was horribly gruelling. To give you an idea, I would be sweating so much that every time I lifted a box over my head sweat would run out of my glove and trickle off my elbow. I have a stubborn streak, thanks Dad, and didn’t quit because everyone thought the little blonde girl will never make it.
I say this because I was miserable. Between my parents, my job, and my crappy car that was always an issue, I was ready to leave. So quite impulsively I decided to buy a ticket for Maui a month away from the day I bought it. I had made a friend who had lived there for a bit as a kid so I decided Maui sounded warm enough and far enough to do anything else except what I was currently doing. Four weeks is enough money to save, right?
My parents did not think I would go through with it, but that stubborn streak reappeared so I cleaned out my room, donating and throwing stuff away, then packed up what was left in a suitcase and moved to Maui with 1,000 dollars in the bank.
This was the first time I had ever been to Hawai’i or anywhere really. I had been to California a couple times but that was the end of my illustrious traveling career at that point. I successfully got on my flight and sat rigid as a board scared shitless that I was legitimately going through with it, even so I would never admit that. I kept telling myself if I hated it or failed at being an adult I could come back as soon as I could get a new ticket.
As soon as I got off the plane the humidity hit. Walking down the stone halls leading out of the airport, I saw the palm trees getting beat up by the wind. I grew skeptical. I’m from an extremely windy place, in the spring people think rain and flowers except where I’m from spring means wind so strong it’s ponytail season. Once I made it out front and stood there for a second I couldn’t help but think, Oh this is a mistake.
Thanks for reading! Left it on a bit of a cliffhanger, gotta keep you all coming back for more somehow!
Ashley Grace 