Dead Leaves

At any given time throughout the year Hawaii will more or less be undeniably beautiful, sunny, and comfortable. Heavy clothes required for survival in blistering cold are never needed. People can generally walk around freely without having to worry about so much as a sunburn and the threat of mild ridicule from a few tan lines. This fact about Hawaii makes for a wonderful place to visit and even to live.

My life up til the past few years has been very temperate and sunny; relatively free of responsibility and worry. Virtually anything I needed was provided for me in the shelter of my home, family, and friends. However, I never stopped wanting something more: to be independent and to experience life on my own terms. Such a desire has lead me to pursue my dreams, and of course it would mean I'd travel to the place of which many a wistful song have been written.

Season changes are far more evident in California in relation to Hawaii. The air begins to get cooler and the days become noticeably shorter. The complete lack of humidity makes the air uncomfortably dry. I have to wear several layers of shirts and jackets not even for comfort, but mainly not to be blue with hypothermia. Often times the season changes here make me wish that I could be back home. However, sometimes it's beautiful to experience change.

As I have moved out to California, my responsibilities and anxiety about life have piled up like dead leaves. My world has tilted away from the sun, away from my sources of life, comfort, and security. Now, I have to face the cold chill of the "real life" where I have to don the parka of responsibility and adulthood. But this is what I've always wanted. I have the opportunity to explore the vast wilderness of the world, the excitement of life, and try to create something for myself and hopefully a foundation for those that come after me.

As much as I wish to be forever in the place that represents what I've always known to be secure and carefree, I know that at the very least it will always be there, and that I can always find comfort in a place where the seasons never change; where the seasons are perpetually frozen in warmth.