Aloha O’e Hawaii, Aloha Gig Harbor

     It isn’t easy leaving home. Especially when the home is warm beaches, the sunshine, and shakas (Hawaiian gesture) or a simple “Howz it?” to any random person you pass on the street. Now here I am, from the “Aloha State” to the Evergreen State”. From the perpetuating warmth to the seemingly everlasting cold. But there’s a unique type of beauty that this state possesses. And I’m not talking about the obvious miles on miles of glorious trees against the skyline that seems to paint the sunsets, or the sparkling pacific beneath the snow covered mountain tops, or the opportunity to breathe in the essence of nature, untouched. I am simply talking about the people. The friendly attitudes of so many who call this small town home are absolutely copious. Constantly being able to turn in any direction to see a smile on a classmate’s or teacher’s face is such a wonderful reminder of home. Gig Harbor High School is very different from my old school, Moanalua High School, on the island of Oahu. For starters, there is no fifteen-minute break after the first period, which now that I see it on paper seems like an unnecessary privilege. Following the same schedule, everyday is a different experience as well. In Hawaii, we only had four or five classes to attend every day, and the following day, you would follow a different schedule. For example, on Monday, the schedule was 12347, while on Tuesday the schedule was on 1256. But I don’t mind attending all of my classes in one day. I actually like it a lot better because that means the classes are a lot shorter. Here I’ll only have to sit in class for 45 to 55 minutes, while in Hawaii I was in class for 60 to 90 minutes, and if you are like me, your attention span is only so big. I found myself in a pickle on the first day of school, when I wasn’t hungry at lunch time which apparently starts at 10:30 for all of those who eat first. That is something I will get used to I guess, but it was almost impossible to pass up the abundance of different kinds of foods here. I was completely amazed to see that you could choose between a chicken sandwich or a Sloppy Joe, or nachos, rather than just having one choice of a main meal or the monotonous salad, which either way failed to please my taste buds. The health guidelines in Hawaii didn’t help my case either. Here, desserts are served! Like tempting sugar cookies coated in a thick layer of bright pink icing, or chocolate iced donuts with the cute little rainbow sprinkles from the snack bar that offers even more completely unhealthy snacks, that are undoubtedly unsatisfactory for our health. Finally, I am living again. My best experiences so far have come from the period six choir, the sanctuary of the meistersingers. I was super nervous first walking in. That class is literally a family. Everybody knows everybody. So, of course, there was me, just sitting in a chair being completely antisocial while almost everyone was out of their seats talking up a storm to their friends. But it wasn’t long before the first smiling face approached me and introduced herself. I immediately felt a part of the amazing atmosphere that each of the students had created. It really demonstrates the philosophy that music unifies individuals. I am not going to lie. The first few days for me here were not exactly unicorns and butterflies. I was so stressed that I was falling behind everyone already at the beginning of the year. But let me tell you that once you step foot into that choir class, and you hear your voice along with fifty others, combined as one, everything else just disappears. It gives me that sense of hope that work is just work, and school is just school. Everything, in the end, is going to be just fine. I think it is going to be an amazing year.