My gosh... how time flies!!!
It feels like just yesterday I was climbing off of that big plane, breaking into hysterics.
I don't think it's really a secret that coming here was not my idea of a good time. I'm pretty sure I cried about it every night after we found out.
Before this we lived in Imperial, California. It's a small town, but I grew to love it more than anything.
The thought of being ripped from the people I cared about so much was impossible for me to bear. As soon as we got here I went into a sort of state of depression. That summer I completely shut myself into my house. It didn't matter who came to the door, what they wanted to do, when they wanted to do it. I was set upon staying inside and wasting my life away on a computer, dreaming about what all of my old friends must be doing without me. My family was thrilled with the new home, and so they were eager to get out and experience as much as possible. I made sure to stay a grump on all of our outings, sometimes refusing to eat, or even crying right in the middle of things. I wonder why they bothered taking me out after that.
But they did.
It's three years later now. And I'm wondering: what on earth changed so that what used to send me plummeting into a cold, dark pit of despair is now my favorite place in the whole world?
Well I have the answer for that question. It's love. Sounds cheesy, I know. But now that I'm thinking about it... Imperial was just a little town an hour away from the border. We were even more the minority there--in our own country! It got up to 120 degrees in the summer and we had to drive two hours through the mountains to San Diego to get a lot of things. Heck, for almost a year we lived in a travel trailer. The only possible explanation for my adoration of the place is my love for the people.
Now that I think about it... I'm still not too fond of Japanese culture. I mean I have nothing against it--it's just not my own. It doesn't feel like home.
But I love my little island of Okinawa, Japan. I love the feeling of warmth and security I get when I think about the people. I love that I have a million and one friends who I can all trust with the deepest of secrets, or just have an awesome time with. I love that I have freedom and I get to learn more about the world and the exotic forests and I love having a real best friend and growing up and making new, quirky traditions that only work because we live here. I love the security blanket the military provides for everyone and having new people move in constantly and the politeness of the locals. I love that I would be able to leave my car keys on the hood of my car and come back and they'd still be there. I love getting to go to FamilyMart and jump off the seawall and take pictures and go to Family Fun Land and American Village and Cocos and Sushi-Go-Round. I love the little herds of Japanese children that wander around town in matching hats and the tiny cars and crazy Okinawan drivers and the completely bipolar weather. I love that it gets hot in the summers and cold enough to actually wear a jacket during winter. I love the fact that I actually found my niche in highschool, like I so doubted I would as a child. I love being referred to as a "drama kid." I love spontaneous adventures through the back-roads of the city with Sarah, I love long walks with Alicia, I love my lover-twin Abby, and staying up talking about everything with Bailey. I love the mini "family" we've created with Cody as the father, Sarah as the mother, Bailey as my older sister, and me as the baby. I love the amazing group of youth we have here and the fact that I can look at anyone and, for at least a second, I see the love our Heavenly Father must have for them.
So thank you for these three years, Okinawa. They have been marvelous--full of growth and love. I'm giving you all of my teenage years. Do good with them.
Here's to another two.
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