Blog

I Figured It Out In Maui

Back in November, one of my bartenders came in to work and said “Tickets to Maui are $255 from Oakland?” I thought to myself “Shhhhh–t I’ll figure out the plan later, I’m copping my ticket today.” I had already been for my 25th birthday a few months ago. But the plan was to go back in 3 months if I had made progress on the goals I set back in October. I was hitting my goals at work and kicking ass off the field. I also knew I would have had my last day at work (I put in my notice!) so it seemed like the perfect gift to myself.

The night before the trip, I had a going away party at work. As you can imagine, the spirits were flowing. Ended up missing the flight in the morning. But I hadn’t secured my hotel accomodations yet anyway (eeeeek) . Yeah, I’m pretty sporadic, last minute and random. Something about not having a plan excites me. Anywho, I ended up finding an apartment (extension of a main house) in Kihei to rent for half  the price of the resorts and hotels. The beach was a 7 minute walk away. I knew from the last time that I would barely ever be in the room. Plus I’d rather be where the locals are anyway. They know what’s poppin’ and where to go. I stayed in a resort before and it was beautiful but just not the experience I was trying to get.

The first thing the owner of the house said when we pulled up was “you look like my girlfriend!” My first thought was “c’mon dude not all black women look alike…..buttttt he must be cool cuz he down with the swirl…..YES!” He ended up being a sweetheart. The place had everything I needed. The essentials. Don’t get me wrong I love traveling lavish but I love being able to travel more. Traveling lavish will keep yo ass at home and only going on trips once or twice a year or not at all. I’ll keep those trips for when I’m feeling fancy.

I spent 6 days in Maui.

I feel extra swaggy with these shades on.

Early morning run by the beach. Had to fill my lungs with that Maui air.

Late nights by the beach.

Snorkeling and whale watching! (side note: I was never properly trained to swim. I knew how to tread water but I figured mimicking what the swimmers did on TV would at least make me look like I knew what I was doing. I had the form and movements down. Always been coordinated. I pulled this on my college swim teacher. Ended up killing my swim final after only attending class twice. I swim pretty good now.)

I’m READY for a REVOLUTION too! (I need health insurance, student loan assistance…..)

The presence of the Lord is here!

I think I may be more of a monkey than other humans. I love climbing trees. Chill. Don’t take offense. I majored in Biology. Humans have damn near the same genome as Apes.

Ambrosia Martini Lounge had that smooth jazz.

and that ratchet NO LIMIT!! Make em say UGGGGHHH!

YES!!!!

Black sand. I slept at this beach. On the Road to Hana.

I swear they “catch to order” forget “make to order.” That fish was so fresh!! Paia got everything you need. I’m tellin ya! Hippie town for sure!

Big Beach. One. of. the. most. beau-ti-ful. beaches. ever. And I’ve been to a lot of beaches too. RIP My Hair.

I came to life on this day! I hiked to see Waimoka Falls. Everything started to make sense. What am I suppose to be doing? What is my passion? What wouldn’t I mind doing for the rest of my life? So many questions were answered in my should have been 2-hour but really 3.5 hour journey due to much meditation and photo ops of course.

It is so important to be still and let God speak to you. What better place to be still than here.

My plan was to start a business after I quit my job. I had already talked to investors and started that whole process. But eventhough my dream was to always own my own business, I wasn’t too sure if what I planned was it. I always knew my lifestyle of traveling every 3 weeks was going to be a major problem in the early stages of development. I was ready to be committed but to the right thing.

It came to me. Almost like how it’s portrayed in the movies. “Lauren you must figure out a way to make a living from traveling the world and sharing your adventures and experiences…..It’s no coincidence you started traveling by yourself at the age of 5, or that you had stamps in your passport before highschool, or that you’ve managed to take advantage of any opportunity to go abroad through school, or that you find joy in connecting with the people and culture of every place you go all while snapping awesome pictures.”  God is so funny sometimes. I wanted to attend school abroad not for school but just as a financed way to explore. I looked up jobs abroad not because the job was awesome but as a way to live in another country and have the money to do so. I always described my dream job as “something that required me to travel all over the world but required me to have a remote office (laptop, iPad, iPhone) with me everywhere I go”

I had had my “A-HA” moment! And boy did it feel great! Do I know how all of this is going to work out? No. Do I have a rich grandfather or father who can bail me out? No. But am I willing to do anything but follow my passion? No.

I figured it out!