Moving to the island of Oahu provided me an opportunity to live and become my very best self. I didn’t really know it at the time, but I was about to embark on a journey to fill the hole in my soul. Being able to head down to the ocean and dive into that crystal blue water that you see on television was like a dream come true. I was absorbed into a community pretty much as soon as I set foot on the islands. To look like a paddler and then to be one took time, effort, and sacrifice. Some people will never realize how much work we put into cohesively work with our team and become champions. Yes, it was meant to be fun, but if you wanted to be good, you had to go “all-in”. The outrigger paddling community was just like any other, it had its drama and moments that were whelming and overwhelming. We struggled for a while as a team but after hours and hours of practicing and learning to read the ocean — We found our rhythm. The motion of the ocean is a real thing. If you ever meet a paddler, you will know. We are the athletes of the island, everything that we do is considered a “paddling thing”.

The ladies of the paddling world are strong and powerful. We can lift 500 lb canoes like they are delicate plumeria petals. Our synchronized strokes create graceful choreographed dances across the glassy top of the water. I have never felt so in tune with my mind, body, and soul. But the amazing thing was that I could actually share this with my teammates, sisters. I was happy and my heart was bursting with new life. I discovered ways to connect with nature and respect its power. There were several times when I found myself being overtaken by the ocean and I knew that I needed to decipher its own unique language. The ocean is otherwise known as moana or kai, is such a living entity filled with energy and emotion. Several people, I have known throughout my life tell me that the ocean can invoke powerful feelings and sometimes conjure manifestations of mother nature herself. Whenever I felt down, I would just walk straight into the ocean and never look back. Once underwater, there wasn’t silence, but the sounds of life. click click, whoosh The fish feeding on the coral, the churning of the swells, and if you listened closely the ocean was calling…

With my eyes shut, I would stay submerged as long as I could and once I surfaced, my eyes were opened. It was amazing and refreshing. The ocean renews, it heals, she allows us to begin, again. So thank you or mahalo to you Hawai’i and the oceans that surround you. I am so appreciative of your love and aloha. A hui hou.