Tia moved to Utah when she was 7. She was originally from Texas. She says she really only considers herself to be from Utah. Almost exactly one year ago, she moved to Hawaii. When asked why she decided to move here, she paused for a second, and then finally came up with the right words, "I just...loved it?" She says her cousin was the first one to move to Hawaii so that she could be with her boyfriend. She came to visit her and as she puts it, simply "decided not to go home." She says this has been one of the greatest years of her life. She tells us, "if you guys were to end up here in a year, I wouldn't be surprised." She says the island has a certain power to it that just attracts people. What strikes me and Katie as interesting is that she is one of many to refer to the island as powerful. She says there's no such thing as a honeymoon phase with Hawaii, and that the island only gets better over time. She says sunrise and sunset are times when she feels the island is most powerful. When we asked her to extend upon the power of the island, she finds her response hard to put into words. "The water," says Tia. Being on an island, the water is so vital to Hawaiian culture. Whether that's snorkeling, scuba diving, or whatever else, she says the Hawaiian people are never not embracing the water. She says she didn't always realize this until she saw the waves on the north shore during winter time. This is a surfers paradise. She couldn't even comprehend how powerful the water could really be till she saw the enormity of these waves. Oddly enough, the day before there had been a swell on North shore, she said. "What is a swell?" I asked. Basically, it's just a day of massive waves. She even tells us that there is one point on the island where the soul leaves the body when you die. It's at the head of a mountain, facing the open ocean.
Her biggest challenge moving to Hawaii was the change of money. She nervously laughs and says, "it's a little more expensive here." We laugh along with her, because even though we had only been there a couple of days at this point, we knew the words "a little" were a bit of an understatement. She says the adjustment isn't bad as long as you know how to work hard. She says she had two jobs at one point and that it isn't uncommon for people to have as many as three jobs at one time. When asked if it's worth it, she cuts us off almost mid sentence, "Yes. It's hard, but it's so worth it." A lot of people new to the island struggle with being far away from family, and she says this has been hard, but her family has always thought of her as a "wanderer." When she speaks of being a wanderer, it's hard not to be enticed by her words. She speaks of risking it all to move somewhere totally new and far, not just to a city next door to Utah. I don't think she means this to demean anyone else's choices, but rather, it's just her preference.
She doesn't intend to stay in Hawaii forever though. "There's so much more I'd like to see," says Tia. After her time in Hawaii, she plans to travel to the Philippines. She echo's the same sentiments I've heard from other people living in Hawaii. It's just so expensive. To accomplish all her travel plans, she knows she'll need to move somewhere else to save money.
She knows she'll be back.