From Honolulu to Santa Barbara - Happy New Year!

Although as I type this we are already 2 weeks in to 2020, Happy New Year Everyone. Here is an update of what is going on with me. 2019 was a whirlwind of a year. It has challenged me in so many ways. I honestly didn’t know if I would have the courage to do what I did last year. I never really thought I would actually move away from California, let alone LA. And to move to Hawaii. Who is this person? But I put it out there and it was manifested for me. I knew I wasn’t going to live in Hawaii long term. I thought it would have been a bit longer but 14 months on a beautiful island ain’t bad. And now I know what it take to live there so maybe I will retire there. Who knows. What I do knows is that living in Hawaii has changed me for the better. 

Hawaii is a wonderful place with an amazing culture and beautiful people. One might ask "then why leave"? I guess I may ask myself the same question later in life but what I can tell you is that right now I just need more. I need to be close to family, friends and a community that I miss being a part of. I need that in my life. Hawaii is simply no replacement for those things for me. So the plan was to move to Portland in April 2020. I was already working remote for a company in Portland. Both my wife and I loved the Portland area and it was a lot closer to LA than Honolulu. But to quote Woody Allen, “If you want to make to make God laugh, tell him your plans”. 

In September 2019 I got a call from University of California - Santa Barbara to interview for the Director of Client Success position. I had several rounds of interviews and in November I flew to Santa Barbara for a last round of interviews and to take a tour of the campus. I accepted the offer around Thanksgiving and currently I am ending my second full week in my new position. It has been awesome. I love the campus, the team, my boss and the work. I feel this is the right fit for me. I fly back to Hawaii on Saturday, January 18th to start to pack and move while enjoying my last month and half living in Hawaii. We plan to be moved to SB by March 1. I am excited to start our life in another beautiful location and what is more perfect after Hawaii than to come to paradise that is close to home. Hawaii has been amazing and I am so glad we both got the chance to call this magical island home even on a short term. It has been challenging for sure but so worth it. So back to California we go but quite a bit different this time. 

As I start to plan the move back to SoCal I am reflecting on my time here.  As I stated previously, sometimes you have to remove everything from your life to see exactly what you need in it. I am so grateful that I have had this experience and now when I return to the islands it won't be as a tourist but as a former resident and that's pretty cool. Leaving here is bittersweet. I have learned a lot about myself here. And now I feel ready to come back to SoCal to a different yet beautiful city and set down some roots and be a part of the community that I love so much. Santa Barbara to me is another dream come true but this time within driving distance to LA! I think I am going to enjoy it there. I think this career path in the UC system is a good thing for me. Only time will tell but I feel very optimistic of the next part of my journey. I never expected life to hand me such gifts. All I know is that I will continue to pay it forward when I can. Right now I plan to take moments out of the chaos to truly appreciate what has been provided for me. All I can tell you is none of this would have happened if I didn't take a risk. Risks are scary. But ultimately rewarding. I will miss Hawaii. I know that now but I am glad to be coming home to SoCal.