Yes to everything scary.
Yes to everything that takes me out of my comfort zone.
Yes to everything that feels like it might be crazy.
Yes to everything that feels out of character.
Yes to everything that feels goofy.
Yes to everything.
Everything.
Say yes.
Yes.
Speak. Speak NOW.
“Yes,” I say. “Yes”

Shonda Rhimes

Monday March 9^th — 8pm

I was snuggled up in bed with my cat, Boop. I had showered, put on my nightly facemask, and taken a melatonin. I was ready to wake up to my alarm at 6am and be at work from 7am – 6pm. My phone vibrated and I decided it would be the last text I check for the night then I would go to sleep. It was my friends in a group chat and it said, “Nick’s Pub right now.” I responded that I was in for the night but would see them tomorrow. See, my friends and I, we’re close. See each other everyday kind of close. Order an extra beer at dinner for the missing person close. So, when Shelby replied to me “Nikki B. you’ve never turned anything down” I realized I had to go. What I had realized that my time with them was limited before I leave for Hawaii and I need take advantage of every moment I have left with them. Not only that but I was going to say yes to everything life has to offer, new challenges, new adventures

Monday March 23^rd – 8pm

I was snuggled up in bed with Boop but not because I chose to be. Because I had to be. We are quarantined here in St. Louis until April 22^nd. The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has taken over the world. IT has flipped people’s lives upside-down. Over the last two weeks we saw the number of cases grow and spread exponentially around the world. All non-essential businesses have shut down. All businesses that can, have been moved to almost entirely remote working, and universities have moved to fully remote classes for the remainder of the semester. While somewhat inconvenient, I have been trying to see the positives in this. Because everything is virtual, I save driving time and gas getting to and from work and school. I am able to flex my work schedule, start earlier in the morning or work later in the evening allowing me to work more hours and save more money.

Today — April 7th

I guess you could say that so far my “Year of Yes” has turnes into a “Year of Mess” with COVID-19. School and work are not even the biggest changes I’ve felt. As I mentioned before, my friends and I used to see each other almost every day. Mondays, we went to Nick’s Pub for trivia night and free pool. Wednesdays we sometimes got margs after our late classes, Thursdays we often find ourselves back at Nick’s. Fridays we go to Mi Ranchito, we have a standing table and our waiter Jorge knows all 8 of our orders. Saturdays we frequent a club called Ember…we call it Amber’s House. Man, what we all would do to be able to go to Ambers house this weekend or see our favorite bartenders at Nick’s. Sundays, we try a new restaurant that nobody in the group has been to. I never thought that I would have to celebrate 3 of my best friends birthdays over facetime. This quarantine is hard, one of the hardest things that my generation has gone through, what continues to get me through is knowing that there are 50 days until I am in Hawaii!

Moving Forward

I still have every intention of going to Hawaii on May 27^th. My flight is still scheduled as planned, my cat has been approved to fly with me, and I recently signed a lease for an apartment downtown for my first month there. After talking to two friends from the islands who went back there during this crazy time, I’ve learned that it is possible I will need to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. This means the same thing that is does for us here in the continental US right now. I could go outside and hike and explore but I would need to socially distance still. This being said, my job hunt just got a little harder. Companies are not hiring right now, and I might lose two weeks of potential in person job hunting. I am ready for the challenge. Everyone who knows me knows that I am ready to take on almost any challenge. That’s what “Year of Yes” means. I was reminded in a class recently that it can be detrimental to assume that everything will always be the same. It is important to plan for the long term for when something doesn’t go as planned and that is a specialty of mine. What I struggle with is living in the moment, remembering that everyday is not given, and that everything can change overnight.

Dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

Walt Disney

Inspired by my recent trip to Walt Disney World, I thought a quote from Walt Disney himself would be appropriate for this post.

For those of you wondering, I do have a plan. A good one if you ask me but I’m biased. As much as I love spontaneity, I also am very type A. Just ask my roommates. I like lists, I like spreadsheets, and I like a well thought through plan with safety nets in place. So it only makes sense that for something as “crazy” as moving to Hawaii, I would ensure that I have several safety nets and plans A through Z as backups. That being said…things are getting real. On January 12th I bought my plane ticket to Honolulu! A one way ticket to be exact. I know what you’re thinking though, what if she doesn’t find a job there? What if she hates it? Well I said it before and I’ll say it again…I have backup plans!!

The Plan

Now that I have bought a one way ticket it’s time to kick the job search into high gear. I have already set a goal to apply for 5 jobs a day but now, I have to do more. It’s early though. I don’t expect many companies to take a shot on a girl from St. Louis who won’t even be arriving until May (4.5 months from now). In fact, after months of research I’ve learned that it is nearly impossible to get hired before you are on the islands. Many islanders live by the philosophy that they will believe it when they see it that a mainlander is moving to the island. This makes them skeptical to hire, especially so far out. That won’t stop me though! Soon I will be calling companies, mailing resumes, and continuing to apply online. I even had my first phone interview this week, it went great! I will do anything to find a job on Oahu before I go.

Should I not find a job, I have plenty of money saved up to buy a return flight to St. Louis on short notice. My current plan involves staying in Honolulu for about 6 weeks job hunting. I will stay in an AirBnb or with friends on the island. This is because again, it is nearly impossible to find an apartment where the landlord will lease to you before you are on the island, nor would I want to get tied into a year commitment without a job secured. This also gives me time to properly explore neighborhoods in Honolulu and the surrounding area as well as take a few days each week to explore jobs and housing around the north shore. 

Next question you probably have is related to the cost of living. It is HIGH, I know. I am not accepting any jobs that do not pay enough to support that, pay off my student loans, and save for the future. I understand that it would be ridiculous of me to accept a job paying less than my current offers in St. Louis when cost of living is 3x higher than St. Louis. Don’t worry, I have at least 3 spreadsheets with various budgets and savings plans for the next 1-3 years in order to stay financially stable.

You’re also probably wondering what I will do with my cat. Well after extensive research I’ve found that it is incredibly difficult to get animals to Hawaii. Most airlines will not let you fly with your pet in the cabin to HI due to the regulation HI has on importing pets. Hawaii doesn’t have Rabies and several other things and we all intend to keep it that way. I have gotten my cat all of her necessary vaccinations to fly and to be imported to Hawaii. I have gotten the testing done and she has received the all clear to be imported. The next step is to get all of her paperwork filed and sent off to Honolulu. They have very strict procedures that require me to file her health certificate no more than 14 days before her arrival in HI and it must be mailed and arrive in Hawaii exactly 10 days prior to her arrival. If I follow all of these rules then I will be eligible for Direct Airport Release which means as long as we both arrive during Quarantine office hours, she will be able to be released to me in the same day. Our plane is scheduled to arrive at 2:30 PM so this should not be a problem. However if we were to arrive after quarantine hours, she would not be able to be released until the next morning between specific hours. I will also be charged for each night she spends in holding which I definitely don’t want. Should I not follow all of these rules and procedures, Boop will be quarantined up to 120 days, so I will most definitely be on top of the entire process so that Boop and I can arrive safely and together to our new adventure.

Finally, let’s say I move to Hawaii and find a job but in 6 months or a year I realize it isn’t the place for me. I can always come home. I am fortunate enough to have 2 sets of parents and a ton of extended family who love me enough to let me come back to St. Louis until I can get back on my feet here. That being said, I will not be leaving the mainland until I have enough money saved up to be able to support myself in that time in addition to being able to purchase a quick flight back to St. Louis if needed. In the wise words of someone (I don’t remember who)…”prepare for the worst, hope for the best.” This is exactly what I am doing.

“You just have to trust your own madness”

Clive Barker

For 18 years I have been working towards one goal. To graduate from Saint Louis University with a job at Boeing. On paper, I have it all. I have the job, I will graduate in May, I drive a new car and I live in a 3-bedroom 3-bathroom house. What I have realized this past year though, is that almost none of this is really what I want.  It is what other people want for me; it is what I am supposed to want. What is missing is my happiness. I hate my job; it is far from what I want to be doing and after several conversations with my boss there is no moving to my ideal industry anytime soon. Boeing is determined to keep me in accounting and after 3 years in accounting, I am burnt out. That’s not to say I don’t love Boeing, but I have started to realize that dreams change, and plans change. This year I am going to trust my madness and follow my heart.

While talking to my roommates recently I jokingly said, “I wish I could just pack up and move to Hawai’i.” To which they responded, “Well what is stopping you?” That was when I realized that I truly am capable of anything I dream of. It was time to stop limiting myself. Sure, Boeing was a very admirable goal to reach for and achieve, but I would never be satisfied had I stopped there. I crave adventure and change. Grant Cardone said in his book “The 10X Rule” that it is better to fall short on a goal of making $1M than to fall short on the goal of making $100k. There is no shortage of success so why limit yourself? 

Now that I have decided to stop holding back on what I really want out of life, I am trusting my own madness to make it happen. People have told me I’m crazy, people don’t believe I will make it happen. Those people don’t know me. What I want out of life is a slower pace lifestyle, to be outside and be healthy year-round, to be near a beach, and to constantly be able to push myself to try new things and experience new ways of living. That’s why even though Hawaii began as a joke around the dining room table, it has become my reality, my limitless dream. 

I have not made this decision lightly. I have done hours of research and there are more late nights where that came from. I babysit twice as much to save money for it. I apply for at least 5 jobs every day that are positioned in Hawaii. I am determined to make my dream a reality. I am scared to leave Boeing and St. Louis, but most of all my friends and family. However; I am excited to learn so much about myself, to have a new adventure, and to make new friends. I want to grow my career and put my International Business degree to use in the travel industry. I am ready to hike all the time and not have another winter again for the foreseeable future. I have my backup plan. I have a full-time job offer at Boeing for after graduation. I have enough savings to be able to get off the island in a year if I have to come back. But I will not let the island chew me up and spit me back out. It is daunting, it is overwhelming to plan, but if I wasn’t scared, I wouldn’t be doing enough. I wouldn’t be growing and if you aren’t moving forward, you’re moving backwards. Let’s move forward in 2020. Let’s find your Hawaii. Let’s learn to trust your own madness.

Stay tuned for more updates on what exactly I’m doing to make my dreams happen!