Finding Joy In...

Adventure.

June. 5. 2013

    Please excuse my absence as I have been enjoying every possible everything.

The feeling of overwhelming freedom has engulfed me ever since summer has begun- & it is absolutely stunning. 

I feel no diction will ever do these feelings justice.

The rush that overcomes my body when I wake up with the sun regardless of how late I fell asleep, the aroma of the crisp buttered toast & brewing coffee in the early morning, the chime of the waves as they crash along the shorelines at 1 in the morning when my friends & I dare to take a late night dip in the pacific.

It's  the most simple things in which I find thrill.

As of lately my days have been running into each other & overlapping- I can't remember which day I did what or what day of the week it is. I've become an expert at the late night drive, I've mastered the skill of compiling necessities into my van for the unexpected adventures.

Learning to live a little more. To do what I want & find as much joy as I can with every opportunity. Living a little more daring, on the edge. 

I love it.

I'm infatuated with learning about everyone. 

Hunting for new friends & adventures.

Summer Accomplishments (thus far):

• sneaking into the resort's hot tub
• open trunk beach nights
• thrifting
• early morning beach star gazing
• stay cations
• Bike rides
• mountain runs
• long walks
• luminescent algae 
• BBQ's
• waimea bay night jumping
• Bonfires
• beach days

There are so much more, but for now I'm about to take a walk to the market to get breakfast sushi with  Pete.

Until next time, 

Bye.

Find me elsewhere:

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Facebook: Mikaela Harbowy

A Day At The Bay

On a Monday

May. 28. 2013

   A day well spent if I do say so myself.

My skin is tingly, my face is red, my hair is dreading & my skin has deepened.

Yesterday was Memorial Day- with no original plans I began my day at the beach with my Mom & her friends (which are my two aunts) Not quiet the way I pictured my Memorial Day but I was pleased none the less.

   Okay, well as soon as I got a call from some of my friends I bailed.

I ended up at Pete's dad's house whilst awaiting the arrival of my friends. Even thought Peter wasn't home I got to chill with his step mom, Kylie (she's spectacular) & we got to experience some intense bonding time. She was there to experience & help with the first time of locking my car keys in my car. Luckily I left my windows ajar & we were able to straighten a wire hanger, attach a bungee cord to it with a hook & fish my car keys out. It was memorable none the less. 

With the arrival of Rachel we made our way down to Waimea & set ourselves closest to Jump  Rock** We ran into a couple friends who accompanied us. Our final crew consisted of Rachel, Tanya, Noah, Kekahu, Becky & Lani. An eclectic group if I do say so myself but a fun one in the end. We snorkeled, we dove to the depths, we climbed rocks, we found refuge in floaties & inner tubes & rolled around in the sand until we were coated from ears to toes.

Immaculate would be the synopsis. To be able to spend my day with a group of friends from all over, bringing their own style of leisure with them and spreading it through one another. The feeling of being able to sit 20 feet under the ocean & feeling the pressure & silence. To look up & see the sun rays gleaming through the salt water surface. The sense of relief and calmness when you kick off the ocean floor & the sand disperse  beneath your weight and you float to the surface. The first gasp of air inhaled when you're finally back where the sun lies on the ocean.

I love being able to see the new world stored beneath a surface. Rachel & I met a turtle friend while venturing out to the smaller islands. He was a green sea turtle, a medium sized fellow with a scruffy shell that hosted some sea friends and algae. But he was our special friend,  he represented strength, he kept on swimming & living even though he was missing his front flipper. Assuming it was bitten off by a shark a while back since it was in the process of healing, to play it safe Rach & I swam in.

We made new friends that day, along with new memories of #tanyahaslife & whales are a conversation starter. With little battle scares of baby jelly fish we will spend our next few days finding salvation inside while our new summer skin heals. 

Later that night we ended up at a house party BBQ type of get together & that was just awkward. Dev, Rach, Noel & myself found ourselves bailing & adventuring to foodland to get candy & plan events. It was fun being an SBJJ for a few, though. 

Until next time, 

-Bye.

Find me elsewhere:

instagram: @mikaelaharbowy

Facebook: Mikaela Harbowy

tumblr: wishihadswag.tumblr.com 

Sunday Summary on a Monday

 Week 2

May.27.2013

     

     I have officially began the best summer of my life. 
     I really don't know if it's truly going to be, but I can only set my hopes so high.
      
 Please excuse my absents, the concluding week of my junior year was insane, hectic, dare I even say chaotic! I had copious amounts of homework, tests & finals- so much that I thought i'd might actually flunk my school year. The teachers just kept it right on coming weather we were ready or not.

  Kicking off summer the right way my first order of business was to take a much needed cat nap with Peter, to say the least I was passed out on his living room sofa with my mouth opened wide and I ended up skipping snack fest & I NEVER skip out on snack fest!

  The succeeding days to follow consisted of a lot of gas money, eating & experiencing new things. Day two summer started at six in the morning, took my daily outside shower, got dressed & headed out the door all the way to town. My first stop was UH to do some volunteering at the Special Olympics. I got hooked up with this sweet gig by my friend Rachel, she's representing the East side of O'ahu's Miss America's Outstanding Teen (I know, my friends are amazing) We ended up having a blast interacting with the participants, exchanging autographs with some of the football players & people with special needs, played some soccer & even got to say hello to some furry friends all while serving up free shave ice to anyone spectators passing by.

 After volunteering we made our way over to the districts high school to watch one of Rachel's good friend's & main director of a large dance academy in his annual dance concert for Hype5-0. The show was spectacular! People of all ages were shaking what their momma gave um' & it was overall a great experience.

 As soon as the concert was over we rushed out to head back all the way to North Shore so my parents could meet Peter's parents for the first time after a year & a half, YIKES! The steak dinner went swell & everyone was so filled to the brim, towards the end of the night Pete & I met up with some friends for a full moon bonfire down at the beach. We went for a jump off the Waimea rock & were entertained by some random military men & their beer & good spirits. They walked across the burning coals & told their stories with such enthusiasm. To say the least my day was engaging from start to finish.

   Yesterday I got to spend some quality time with an old friend before she moves away across the Pacific & continental U.S to Maryland. We shopped & ate & laughed. I helped her lighten her load by bringing home- two garden gnomes (which sat comfortably in the front seat) a dessert rose, a bed of lavender that's budding, a wooden bear, her beta fish & some other miscellaneous nic-nacs that were weighing them down. We also went thrifting & i discovered some treasures. A red flannel, a cardigan & a nice summer tank top.  

   Today is Memorial Day & I intend to spend it with my family( mostly my mom & her friends) down at the beach on this gorgeous sunny day. 

Until next time, 

                                                                                                                                            -Bye.

Find me elsewhere:

instagram: @mikaelaharbowy

Facebook: Mikaela Harbowy

Sunday Summary

  Week 1

May. 19. 2013

        

    Begin the countdown: T-minus 5 days remaining until the start of summer freedom. 

    Words cannot begin to express how incredibly ecstatic I am to be so close to endless summer days, where I forget the day of the week & everyone breaths sweet freedom. Where sitting inside becomes unbearable & adventures are never ending. 

Summer, please come faster.

    This past week was extremely busy. With class finals & graduations up the yin yang, it was difficult to find time to just relax. With just one week left I need to make up all my back up work & begin planning out my work plan for the AP summer assignments. 

    Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday:

This week the only things that were worth writing about are; 

• Graduation
• Pad Thai Date Night
• Cheer-leading

This week was the last week for the senior class & on their last day on campus my friends & I all took a group photo to remember the crew. 

Rolling into my senior year I wanted to try something new & totally out of my comfort zone. Since i convinced my friend Rachel to get back into soccer she convinced me to cheer with her. Something I swore i'd never do, which totally supports the cliche of "never say never"

Following my first cheer practice (that I must admit was a lot more difficult than I ever thought cheering was going to be) my friend Rachel & I went on a spontaneous dinner date down in Haleiwa at Haleiwa Thai. We had Pad Thai & Spring Rolls- which was AMAZING & hit the spot- then we went to Scoop o' Paradise for some home made ice cream. Raspberry Cream Fudge was a bit too heavy after such a big meal for two so it made me uncomfortably & regretfully full. 

INCOMPLETE

The Act of...

Living.

May, 16, 2013

Today was the day, the day of the Kahuku class of 2013's graduation. As I watched so many of my friends, mates & peers make their final appearance as high school students I couldn't help but face the fact that in exactly one year from now, i'll be exactly where their feet are planted.

        & then it hit me--

Live as you are now, before your youth passes you by.

       

         I convey this in the sense of taking every moment as it is given to me. To appreciate the aroma of home cooked meals, the comforting silence of my friends after muscle sculpting laughter, the sensation of the first brush of salt water on my sun rung toes. All the moments you let pass you by because you fail to find pleasure in simplicity.

         I reside in a small community that is best described as a family. A family of five regions who compile onto a campus five days a week to grow the seeds of character. To watch People that I have known since the naked baby days move onto adulthood I felt a sense of nostalgia fill me from my toes to my ears. I often forget to enjoy the company of the humans who surround me & often find myself wishing I was far away from where I wander. It's an inevitable act, I am a teenage victim of the wanderlust travel bug.

There's still copious amounts of moments to discover pure bliss in my lifetime, to create the Golden Hour* I imagine that the people in movies & stories would experience on the daily. But truly, I live the life of the golden age.

From the moments where I can feel the setting sun engulf my face and illuminate the translucent water & I rub the sand between my toesies where I watch the fleeting rays slip beneath the infinite sea accompanied by Peter, to the moments where my soul is full of contentment  because my endorphin's are flowing simply because of the rustle of the leaves in the trees that make me happy.

         I will attempt to capture these fleeting feelings before my time has expired,

Until then,

-Bye.

Daily synopsis:

My Thursday was brimming with stress & tears. With mixed feelings of happiness & denial. I read Shakespeare & ate Pad Thai prior to bidding adieu to the senior class & wore a vintage tie dye shirt because I felt ugly. I cried but mostly I felt happiness.

Golden Hour: It's a phrase I've coined as my own. It pretty much means the moments where you blink your eyes shut but as you begin to open them they move in slow motion & your body captures every ounce of happiness that the environment emits. Where the sun shines so bright that everything looks like it's coated in droplets of gold & everything goes silent but the amazing people or place you are surrounded by are still moving & finding enjoyment in the moment. Where the happy soundtrack begins to roll in your head & in that very moment you feel perfectly alive.

Find me elsewhere:

Instagram: @mikaelaharbowy

Facebook: Mikaela Harbowy

Tumblr: wishihadswag.tumblr.com

        

This Is the...

Start.

May.15.2013

-First impressions have never been my specialty. 

In all honesty, who has actually mastered the act of summing up who you are in a handshake & a name exchange? It's a defining moment in every relationship; but this is me- taking a whack at it.

    Hello, my name is Mikaela Harbowy. (Insert awkward smile & chuckle here)

I'm 17, born & raised in HAWAII & I'm a self proclaimed expert at enjoying the act of living.

    If I had to articulate myself as a human in three concise words they'd be:

Blunt, Vivacious & Young. 

  To be quiet frank I'm not too sure on what else there is to say besides the standard discussion of my hobbies, my family, my interests & other miscellaneous topics that would attribute to an actual introduction.

  Until next time, 

-Bye.

Find me elsewhere:

Instagram: @mikaelaharbowy

Facebook: Mikaela Harbowy

Tumblr: wishihadswag.tumblr.com