1.4

Sometimes, the pain of my past crashes on me like a wave, as if it happened yesterday. It’s amazing how emotions work. One minute, everything is great. I’m healthier and soaring through life like fireworks racing to the sky. Another minute, I’m just as angry as the day I arrived in Sulani and haven’t accomplished a thing. But I’m wiser now and know what to do with those feelings. I take that negative energy and make it positive, pouring it into my work. In times when I can’t see my way through the darkness, I call upon the ancient wisdom of the island spirits. Sometimes, they answer me through a random thought. Other times, I hear them speak to me, but it took a while to tune my ear to their voices. I thought I was going crazy the first few times, but my neighbor, Keala (may she rest in peace), helped me understand what a gift I had. She’s the one who taught me all about Sulanese culture and traditions. She even suggested I had been chosen as a vessel to perpetuate the culture. The spirits ordered my steps and led me to the island. I don’t know about all that, but if there is any truth to it, I suppose it’s cool to be chosen.