"As you make big changes in your life, there will be people who just don't get it. That's ok. You're doing what's right for you and your life, not theirs."
About halfway through senior year, I realized that I had to start thinking about where I wanted to live. I had my top two: Maine and Boston. I remember jokingly saying to a coworker "maybe Hawaii". We laughed it off into dreamland oblivion, and it became a forgotten idea after a few days.
Fast forward to about a month ago: I was sitting at my desk when I started to feel stuck. I have great coworkers, great hours, and great pay, but there was something missing. I'm not saying I need to be cutting out shapes and gluing them to paper all day, but I knew I needed something to get my creative juices flowing. I thought back to that moment with my coworker, and again I thought, maybe Hawaii. After that second consideration, I went full speed ahead and didn't stop until I had a one-way ticket with my name on it.
When I tell people that I'm moving to Hawaii, I get one of two responses—seriously, it's down to a science. It's either "Well, I heard it's really expensive out there, so good luck," or "I wish I could just up and move to Hawaii".
I've come to realize that there's a lot more hiding behind those responses. These are the responses of people afraid to take a risk. Let me lay down what my life could look like right about now. I could work in cubicle land with a starting salary of 40k a year and two weeks of vacation—which I would spend in Florida on some spring break reenactment—live in a comfortable home, make steady car payments on a brand new car, and go out to eat with friends—but only once a week—because twice would put me WAY over budget. Look around, this is how most of the people you know are living. I decided I wanted to live for something more. I went to art school, so I'll be damned if my life isn't half as creative as I was taught it should be.
What will I do when I get there? You know, for once in my color-coded agenda life, I'm not really sure. Up until now, everything in my life has been planned down to the minute. It didn't take long while reading "Why you should drop everything and move to Hawaii" blog posts for me to realize that my uptight, punctual life is not going to fly on the island. So I decided to start slowing down now. I'm going to Hawaii, and I'm going to spend time with my grandfather (who I rarely see, for obvious reasons), and then I'm going to figure it out. Will I work at one of the awesome ad agencies on Oahu? I hope so! Will I accept that job placement is hard and take a job as a nanny for some awesome family and their two-year-old? You're damn right I will.
I've always been the one to take the road less traveled. When all signs point to no, I'm still shouting yes. I have never let anything hold me back. If I want something, I go after it, and I either work my butt off until I get it, or accept defeat, knowing that I have tried my best. Hawaii will be no exception. It's either going to work or it won't—just like pretty much every other life situation that has ever come my way. But as my mom taught me growing up, you won't know if you like it until you try it. Oh, and from dad, GET A JOB!