It was but one short year ago that I was at Applebee's with Dallin, Adyson, Adam, Kale, and a few of our other friends after the Masquerade Ball, when I received an email announcing my acceptance into BYU-Hawaii. With squeals of excitement, I thought of the opportunities ahead.  Now, I have been home for a little over 24 hours, and that island adventure I so craved is officially over.  

I couldn't have asked for a better freshman year of college.  Within the next few weeks I shall be receiving the certificate awarding me my Associate's Degree, and though my schooling is far from finished, that first experience away from home is.  I'll admit I shed a lot of tears saying goodbye on Tuesday, because I realized that I might not see my friends ever again.  It's crazy to think I've known some of them for less than four months, and the rest for only seven! We've shared so many incredible memories in such a short amount of time, and that will forever mean the world to me.

The past few weeks of adventure have included the boys telling me to get on top of the car and then lifting it off the ground... a dance up in Honolulu followed by a middle-of-the-night run to IHOP {and my first-ever Monster-- boy was I PSYCHO}... snorkeling... finding a wild, empty beach and watching the bros surf... too much Taco Bell and the boys' favorite Baja Blast... a rooftop sunrise... tempera sushi in Haleiwa... a Valentine's night in a beach-parked car... continuing to tell stories after security has yelled at us five times for curfew... laying in the sand jamming to music from junior high... trying to find alternative ways of throwing insults rather than flipping each other off... playing games that make our cheeks ache... running around getting soaked in the rain.., Oh gosh, the fun felt like it would never end.

Even the island itself taught me so much.  Beyond offering so much nature and beauty, there were people from all over the globe.  I loved having my Korean roommate Yeonkyung AKA Ana, who would laugh at the crazy white-girl ways of Allison and I {apparently we said "like" too much}.  It was amazing hearing three different languages from my table in the cafeteria.  Of course, it was so eye-opening to learn about the Hawaiian culture and history, and it made me appreciate my own that much more.  

I hope that I can be as heart-broken to leave the people and places of my mission as I was to leave Hawaii.