i swam with a sea turtle

got back from hawaii monday morning. feel like i haven't had a moment to breathe and i'm still playing catch-up.

my dad's side of the family decided to do a family reunion in hawaii for our grandmother's 80th birthday. everyone but my immediate family lives in korea, and it was really nice to see everyone together in one place.

we went to oahu and also flew out to maui for a day. oahu is pretty crowded with tourists, and the fact that last week was the pro bowl probably didn't help much. we did a lot of tours, felt like we were trying to jam in a lot of activities. guess my aunts and uncles didn't want to miss out on anything, because we pretty much did everything--tours of the city, polynesian cultural centers, shopping, cruises, went out to the beach, visited pearl harbor, but my favorite was by far snorkling in hanauma bay--that's where i swam with the sea turtle. he was really big and at first i was terrified (you could hear me screaming through the mouthpiece above water), but after realizing that he was harmless i was just fascinated by it, mostly by its size. felt pretty small next to it and all i could do was stare in awe at how beautiful it was.

maui is the complete opposite of oahu. oahu is more city-like with (beautiful) beaches, and maui is nature wonderland / paradise. it started raining when we took off and right as we landed the light showers had passed and we were greeted by a double rainbow. i've never seen one in person and words can't explain how happy i was.

being around 14 members of your family 24/7 isn't necessarily the easiest thing in the world (sister and i had our own suite, thanks dad). if you ask me, it's the biggest test of love. things are bound to clash in one way or another, but at the end of the day, you're a family. and family is unconditional love. my parents taught me that, through the way they raised my sister and me, and also through their relationship with each other. patience and understanding were definitely two things that everyone faced in hawaii, but we also reminded ourselves how much we love each other. i will always remember hawaii and the times our family had together. parting at the airport was really difficult, everyone was in tears. saying goodbye to my grandma and grandpa was the hardest. it seemed that my dad couldn't bring himself to say a proper goodbye because he was so sad (he's the oldest son of three, meaning i'm the oldest grandchild). i've always been grateful to my parents for everything that i've ever been given, but it was then that i realized how hard it must've been for my grandparents to let go of my dad and let him make a life for himself in america. i love them so much and hope that we all get together again soon.

hawaii certainly cleared my head as i felt pretty burnt out with just about everything before i left. it made me realize what's really important, and i feel like i gained a little more insight on what i want in this lifetime. for that, i'm also thankful.

it's cold in nyc though, i miss wearing flip flops.

xxmon