Right now, forces in my life suggest a different path.

Sometimes ideas other people plant in your head blossom into something nobody saw coming. When my friend J. half-jokingly suggested I should come along to Maui if she visited, she set off a chain reaction of events that has me applying for a position at the Maui location of my current employer, seriously considering a move from one end of the world to another, in terms of both location and personality.

In considering such a jump, I needed to understand whether I did so for my own benefit, or for hers. I realized, after discussing the island with C., that Maui represents an adventure, a step in the direction of my spiritual growth, and a conscious decision to redirect my life.

I’m far too young to worry about such a move as a lifetime decision; if I don’t find what I’m seeking in Hawai’i, I can simply move elsewhere. In fact, I’m sure that I won’t spend more than a few years on the islands, for the simple fact that I feel I’m not done with my education. Right now, forces in my life suggest a different path.

J.‘s desire to live there heartens me; I don’t want to be dependent on anyone for my well-being, emotional or otherwise, but having a good friend on Maui while I’m there seems like a wonderful counterbalance to the upheaval in my life that would result from moving halfway across the world.