Okinawa, I'm here.

I arrived on this beautiful island on Wednesday. I've been dealing with a lot of emotional stress, so I've not really been my usual self. I'm trying to get things squared away here so I can go on my merry way and enjoy that thing called life.

I keep reminding myself that I have an amazing boyfriend, family, and friends waiting on me back in the states. It's keeping me going and I would like to thank those of you who have reached out and been there for me this week. I love all of you very much and you're all so close to my heart. And I'm going to miss my Okinawa friends dearly, don't think I've forgotten you!

I will tell you guys that this week's Ten Things Tuesday is going to be pretty awesome. I've found so many amazing things that I can't wait to share with you, so get ready!

August is quickly approaching and I couldn't be more excited. I'm starting school again, finally! And I'm turning 24! I can't wait to celebrate and have the cutest little party in the world. Oh, and my sweet little Paco is turning the big O-N-E on July 17th! Maybe he'll stop chewing on everything? I surely hope so! The sweet boyfriend bought us tickets to see Bon Iver at the end of July, so we're super excited for that & all of our other upcoming adventures.

Help Japan!

Are you wondering how you could help the tsunami/earthquake relief for Japan? There are many organizations that are accepting donations. I prefer this one....not only do I get a cute shirt to show my support, 100% of the profits are given directly to Global Giving to aid Japan. $20 plus $5 shipping and you've made a difference. You've helped Japan as simple as that. After living in Okinawa for a while, this disaster has pulled on my heart strings and brought many tears to my eyes after barely making it through some of the footage. Click here to pre-order your shirt from Respire Apparel now!

I finally checked out some news feed on the damage done to Japan. I've been avoiding it because I didn't want to see how bad it really was. My eyes filled with tears. I feel such a connection to that country after living there for six months. The death toll just reached 1,833 and there are still 2,369 missing. My heart is breaking.

Okinawa did not get hit with anything from this, thankfully. Check out a map, we are quite a bit away from mainland Japan. Matt & all of my dear friends are okay, for those of you asking.

My flight has been postponed once again. They put out a waiver for people who do not feel they should travel through Tokyo at this time and are issuing new tickets if requested. I'm not quite ready to leave and I don't really feel comfortable traveling with everything that is going on there right now.

Please keep that beautiful country in your thoughts.

Okinawa, you'll have to wait.

 

I postponed my flight by a week. I'm just not ready to leave. I didn't want to pack and I definitely didn't want to fly for twenty-some hours. I love North Carolina. If anything has my heart, it's definitely this state. As much as I miss beautiful Okinawa, it can wait.