After seventy days, three islands, twelve project partners, and an epic final feast with views of Honolulu, our group has now parted ways. As we’ve all been back to our normal routines, we’ve asked ourselves, “Did we really just do all that?” Whatever motivated each student to step on that on February 15th and fly across the country to travel with complete strangers, we applaud them! It takes courage to do what others aren’t doing- to walk your own path. Many expressed that this gap semester went above and beyond their expectations.

The Aloha State gave us adventures and memories to last a lifetime- and all full of ALOHA: kindness, unity, humility, patience, and compassion. We surfed on 3 islands, SCUBA dived in one of the best dive sites in the world, snorkeled with mantas and sharks, saw countless sunsets, hiked volcanoes and waterfalls, and dig our toes into sand in hues of black lava, olive green, and white powder. It’s amazing to now reflect on all that we did!

We thank everyone for your hard work, your openness, and your commitment to learning how to be a better human being on our fragile planet.

To Laurel, thank you for your leadership and your elegant slips through the sea and mud.

To Ari, thank you for your storytelling and your conquering of coconuts.

To Sabrina, thank you for your compassion for all creatures, especially horses and gargantuan spiders.

To Will, thank you for your multitude of meals and powering through 60 cuts and bruises.

To Katie, thank you for winning Hunger Games and feeding us all so lovingly.

To Tyler, thank you for your ukulele serenades and your love of sunsets and the ocean.

To Rebecca, thank you for emanating Pitbull and consistently “staying chill.”

To Kevin, thank you for your martial arts sansei lessons and ink-stained hands.

The growth each of us has experienced has been exponential and we can’t thank you enough for the past ten weeks! We hope it was an incredible seventy days for all of you and that it’ll only be the beginning of what is to come. We started as strangers and we ended as a family.

We first become travelers; then we become storytellers. Now you have your own stories to tell.