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Ala Moana Beach Park. A non-tourist beach located .5 miles from my house.

Shimazu Shave Ice, aka the Best on the Island.
Especially Melon Bar Creme/Lilikoi/Lychee flavored. YUM!

I'm excited to go home for Christmas break! Today I secured a ride to the airport and printed off my ticket, which costed a whopping $1700. Ridiculous right? I guess that's the price for paradise.

Here are some reasons why I am looking forward to going back to Hawaii:
(1) I can see my family. My dad is my best friend and I miss him every time I watch a football game or read a news article that he would find interesting. Wow I just got teary writing that so I'll stop talking about him. I also love my little sister. We have a five year age gap but we are still very close and I admire her so much. I can't wait to watch her play soccer. She is on the 7th grade soccer team and she is a starting left fullback, which means that she is quick enough to handle the offense's best forward and her left foot is strong even though she is right-footed. She is a much better soccer player than I was and I can't wait to cheer her on. I'm also excited to see my mom. We haven't always gotten along because our personalities are polar opposites, but time away from her has made me appreciate our relationship much more. She is even taking two weeks off of work to hang out with me and drive me around wherever I want to go.

(2) The sun. Provo is freezing cold--the low for tonight (12/6) is 7 degrees. That is a single digit. This is easily the coldest I have ever been in my life and I dread walking outside. I've actually planned my route to maximize  walking indoors and minimize going outside, which is really hard for me because (1) I love the outdoors and I hate staying inside, (2) I'm a bit of a germaphobe, so I cringe every time I have to touch a door handle to open a building door, and (3) I have been craving shave ice for weeks but I don't want to eat ice when there is already ice on the ground. That would give me frostbite.

(3) The beach. I love the beach so much and I miss it almost as much as I miss my family. I'm planning to wear my bathing suit under my clothes on the plane so that when my dad picks me up from the airport at 4pm Hawaii time he can drive me straight to Ala Moana Beach Park, my favorite beach in the world.

(4) My friends. I'm excited to hear about all of their college shenanigans and see some familiar faces. High school friends are great because you can laugh at old stories and feel like they really know you, as opposed to college friends who haven't known you as long.

(5) Living in a house with my own room. Living in the dorms feels like staying in a crappy hotel. It can be really fun hanging out with your hallmmates but it sucks to lie awake in bed while your neighbors are screaming at 3am, or walk in to your room hoping to sleep/change clothes/whatever only to have your roommate's guests inside.

I have always appreciated living in Hawaii, but I've never wanted to go back so much in my life. College is fun, but I'm ready to chill at home!

photo 1: hawaiilife.com
photo 2: ryantakumablog.com