Since I moved to Hawaii, I have really pushed myself out of
my comfort zone and tried to be more adventurous. It’s so crucial to make the
most of my time here and enjoy all the amazing activities the island has to
offer. In general, I absolutely love it! I’ve become a fan of snorkeling and
hiking, and tried stand up paddle boarding, swimming with dolphins, riding a
submarine, and even got into a shark cage. The time finally came to try
kayaking, something I had been so excited to explore as it’s a huge local
favorite. A friend of mine from work had some extra kayaks and luckily they’re
the kind you pedal with your legs rather than paddle with your arms, making it
much easier to operate. One of the most talked about things to do here is to kayak
out to the sandbars in Kaneohe Bay, off the East Coast of Oahu. So we finally
made plans to make this happen, and it all went down this past Saturday.
At first it’s a little weird learning to balance and not
topple over, but me and my friend did well for our first time and were really
enjoying it. So we pedaled out to the first sandbar, which took over an hour
since we were going against the current and the winds. It was a lot farther
than we ever imagined it would be when seeing it from land. When we finally got
there, we were so delighted. It was gorgeous! I had a waterproof box I had
bought just for this occasion, and in it were my phone and small wallet. I took
out my phone to take pics of the beautiful scenery and of course some selfies.
As I reached back over to put the phone back in the box, I leaned over just a
bit too much while a bigger wave hit me and my kayak capsized, flipping upside
down and knocking me, my phone and wallet into the ocean at about 20-30 feet
deep.
At first, I kind of panicked because I was trapped under the
kayak and had my life vest on so I couldn’t swim under to get out. After a few
moments, I was able to escape. I was hoping and praying I had closed the box
just in time to save my stuff, but the kayak was too heavy to flip back over to
check. Finally, some guy in small sailboat came over to help me flip it back
around and of course everything was gone, including my snorkel gear set which
was bungeed down to the kayak, so that surprised me and just added insult to
injury. I remember frantically swimming around trying to see if I could find
anything floating on the surface, but the current was so strong and it was
wearing me out. My friend who was still upright in her kayak was moving around
and looking, but couldn’t find anything either. I was just trying not to
imagine the sharks I’ve heard about in this area. Finally my other friend came
to rescue me and pull me into the sandbar.
I was devastated, not because I flipped over because thank
god I was okay and all that happened to me is I got wet and exhausted. But because
I felt so defeated since I just lost my entire life, both my wallet with my
state ID, Maryland driver’s license, and military ID, as well as my bank card,
credit cards, and all my gift cards. To make matters worse I scraped the hell
out of my foot on some sharp coral and then got the worst sunburn I’ve ever had
on my face, I guess due to my sunscreen washing off and the sun being so much
stronger where we were. But like everyone kept reminding me, it could have been
a lot worse. Some people pass out from things like this, which could have led
to drowning. It literally happens all the time on the news here with hikers and
swimmers dying from freak accidents. So I felt really thankful.
I will admit this had me pretty depressed at first. I spent
the last few days getting new IDs, cancelling cards, and getting my life back
in order. However, I met with my friend and life coach yesterday, and she
reminded me that everything happens for a reason, and asked me to list the
lessons I had learned from this unfortunate incident. It made me realize a lot
so I’d like to share the four main things I actually gained from what originally
appeared to be such a great loss.
1) I have some amazing friends. It’s easy to feel
kind of isolated and lonely at times when you’re so far away from home. But on
this day, the 5 people I was with were so good to me and had my back. One
friend bought me dinner afterwards, and the other loaned me cash and ordered me
a new phone. Plus they were all very concerned and comforting. I can't imagine how much worse this would have went if I was not surrounded by great people willing to help, so I am truly grateful.
2) Material things can be replaced. Yes, it cost me
$175 to replace my phone, $50 to order a new snorkel set, plus the cost of all
the gift cards I’ll never be able to replace. But that monetary value plus the
effort it took to get everything replaced does not compare even slightly to the
value of my life and safety. Life moved on and everything is back in order. I
beat myself up over this since I have never, ever lost my wallet or phone
before. But what seemed initially like my world had ended actually wasn’t even
that big of a deal in retrospect.
3) Life without my phone for the past three days
has actually been quite liberating. It’s made me realize just how glued to my
phone and addicted I really am, and that living in the moment is so much more
important. I’ve been more productive, slept better, and have spent time cleaning,
watching movies, reading, and resting. Being connected to the world via smartphones is SO
distracting and I never truly understood how much until now.
4) I should have never had those items with me to
begin with. While I thought I was being smart by not leaving my valuables in
the car, it was actually a mistake in hindsight. Yes, the pictures probably
would have been gorgeous and made great memories, but do I really need to
always capture every moment? Aside from posting pics on social media, I am a
very sentimental person and I love to look back on old pics and reminisce on
old memories later on. But honestly, being present and enjoying
the experience is all that really matters.
The reason I wanted to post this
is because it is proof that you really can see the positive in any situation. Something that
seems like it couldn’t be worse can always teach you many lessons. This is an
awesome example that I will never forget. And guess what? I would (and will) do
it again! Besides this unfortunate circumstance, kayaking was a great time and a lot
of fun. Next time will be a totally different and a better experience with
these positive lessons learned!
XOXO ❤️
XOXO ❤️
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