If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
I used to think that, too. "Man, there's no way I'm living in Hawaii... once I get out of school, I'm so out of here..."
my 14 year old son says that ALL THE TIME. his sisters reply is my favorite "how u gonna move away?? u 14 and still scared of da dark!!!"
i think its quite normal for teens to want to move away. i think its a must that children move out...and away so they can experience life and the world on their own terms. my husband and i said those same things...then years later it turned to "man...i no can wait for move home"
for years i relished being out from under Mom and Dad's thumb...NOW...i savor every moment with them....and of course Mom's cooking!!
"let 'em go...bumbye dey learn!!" the same way us old foggies did!!
Didn't your "help" just consist of preparing a property report for that family's mortgage company? (Which, as I recall, is what you do for a living.) And weren't you paid for doing that job?
If you personally helped that family (i.e., if you personally gave them a loan) then that's one thing, though it's unusual (to most folks) to brag about it.
But if you were just doing a job and got paid for it, then shame on you for trying to make it sound like some noble effort on your part.
I don't think any of us could respond any better than this one - Thanks LikaNui!
"Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
– Sydney J. Harris
I don't understand how anyone WOULDN'T want to get out and see the world. I'll never understand people who grow up in one town and never leave. The world is big and worth exploring. Just seeing it first hand gives you an education NO college can teach you.
Anapuni, did you grow up in the place you live right now? I think I remember you talking about moving to Hawaii in another thread. I'm not coming down on you, so don't take this the wrong way, I'm just saying, would you like to still live in the town you grew up in ? And, did you learn anything from the place you grew up in, or the other places you moved to subsequently?
Now, what have you learned from living in Hawaii ? Add all that up, and that's alot of experience and knowledge, which makes you that much wiser, and when you look back think about your life as you get older, you have alot of different memories, and wisdom from having experienced so many different things.
I lived on Long Island for 31 years, and by the end of my time there, I felt trapped, like I did everything I could do there. I moved to LA and felt like I pressed a "reset" button on my life, like I just got myself a second chance at life. I can't tell you how refreshing that was, and how everyday felt so new.
Wanderlust is part of youth, and curiosity usually leads to learning. If those kids stay put they'll never learn anything about the way the rest of the world is and what it has to offer, and about different cultures and cities. That kind of stuff is invaluable. Travel IS education.
Then when they return to Hawaii, they can appreciate it for all it has.
And, being that Hawaii is such a wonderful place, if they didn't grow up in a messed up family situation, or have other outside bad experiences to make their growing in Hawaii experience bad, they most likely will.
Last edited by tikiyaki; September 12, 2006, 04:56 AM.
Tikiyaki - HELL no, I would never want to live in Des Moines Iowa again! Thats where I grew up, went to high school. I left as soon as I good - not to come to Hawaii, just to leave. I always knew there had to be someplace better. Spent a few months in Nevada, then went to So. Cal. then back to Iowa for 6 months & then I left forever. I've been back one time in 39 years & that was only for a death in the family.
I've lived in Hawaii for 26 years - 1963 to 1979 and from 1996 to now. But I think its WHERE I lived here on this island and WHO I've spent time with that helped me adapt early on to island customs and culture.
My daughter, who is 38 moved to mainland last year - kind of the opposite of most local kids who move away. Many of them are coming back by her age. She will be gone for a few years but she will also come home - its just the way of life for those of us who are lucky enough to have been born here or been fully accepted into the culture here. There are many who come here to "live" but never get involved with island life - I think they are the ones who have problems. I've never had those "fitting in" problems I think because I was open to changing to fit the place, rather than trying to make the place change to fit me.
Thanks for asking me.
"Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
– Sydney J. Harris
Anapuni...those life experiences make you what you are. If you stayed in Des Moines, you would not have the perspective you have now. If these kids just stay in hawaii, they won't have any other perspective than the one they have now. Everyone has to grow, and travelling is a great way to do it.
Keep in mind too, that you moved to Hawaii as an adult (middle age? I'm not sure, please clarify) and that is the time in life when you want to slow down, and your priorities change. These kids want the things they can't get on the islands. They want visceral experience. You can't fault them for that. The fact that they said they wanted to come back to retire means that they still love their home, but they wanna see the rest of the world too.
They're lucky enough to grow up in a place unlike Des Moines, or Long Island, that they actually WANT to come back to to retire :-)
Keep in mind too, that you moved to Hawaii as an adult (middle age? I'm not sure, please clarify) and that is the time in life when you want to slow down, and your priorities change.
Well, I don't want to admit to my present age so will just say that I was a "quite young adult" when I arrived here to live in Wai`anae for my first year in the islands. and I definitely was not in the mood in 1963 to slow down & take life easy - still had a lot of living to do. But, I was very happy to remain here for many years. The only reason I left was due to a very traumatic family situation that really left me no choice but to leave. and I returned when it was time for me to return - I can't give you any concrete reasons except that it was just time.
"Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
– Sydney J. Harris
I'm a teenager and I feel like I'm "so not coming back here" once I'm gone.
But that's because I know I won't be able to afford it until I'm way-y-y-y-y into my career.
Hawaii is awesome. But it seems too stifling for a teenger. Can't go anywhere without having to pay for a $600 plane ticket.
Although, it's a fantastic place to raise a family.
I've got lots of friends that moved away for college and stayed away. I stayed home for school and work. At the time, it really looked like my decision was a poor one. Lack of competitive pay, expensive housing, lack of life experiences, an overall a general sense that I was not one of the adventureous people.
Today many of those friends would love to come home but can't - they've built their careers in industries that don't exist here and aren't willing to sacrifice to return. Not being haughty about it, it's reality.
Today I feel totally vindicated in my decisions. Like my friends, those teenagers will live to regret it.
Comment