Rainy Days in American Samoa
A pop of pink in a jungle of green. I actually really enjoy these two colors together.
Day 9: Pop of Color
Day 8: Treasure
Chocolate covered strawberries. This is my absolute favorite thing in the world. They make my life heavenly on any given day.
They remind me of the first time I was in Vegas with my Nana. They had chocolate-covered strawberries in the room as complimentary and I had no idea they existed prior to that. You could say it was love at first bite. Not only do they taste amazing, but they bring back happy memories of a time that once was. That is something I will always treasure.
Day 7: Big
My friend Mona’s wedding in Manu’a
Samoan churches are BIG and beautiful. This is only one of hundreds you will see no matter which island in the you go to. You can see the European influence on our church styles instead of the traditional Samoan fale. Thank you to the missionaries who came to spread the gospel to our islands that influenced the building of these immaculate churches. Samoans are very religious. If there is one thing we do not lack in American Samoa, it is unique, big and beautiful churches.
Day 6: Solitude
Solitude: the state of being alone, or a lonely and uninhabited place.
What does this word look like to me?
Empty beach. Sunny day. Ocean water. Coconut trees. Serene Solitude.
Day 5: Connection
Painting my ancestors graves in Levuka
My connection to my Scottish roots
Less than a third of Jock & Agnes Sword’s descendants in front of the road going up to my great-grandparents home on top of Mission Hill
About to jump off the Levuka Bridge
In May of this year, I was able to attend the first ever Sword Family Reunion for my great-grandparents Jock & Agnes Sword’s descendants held in Levuka, Fiji. The four photos I have chosen above from the reunion represent the word “connection” in different ways to me.
- Photo 1: painting my ancestors graves gave provided a way for me to give back to my great-grandparents, Papa’s siblings and their families. This activity connected me to a past I never knew.
- Photo 2: the Sword family crest/coat of arms. This connects me to my Scottish heritage.
- Photo 3: This is less than a third of my great-grandparents descendants. The reunion connected me to my Pacific region family.
- Photo 4: I jumped off that bridge in Levuka regardless of sea snake stories. I wanted to have a story to connect to my Papa and my dad who both jumped off that bridge during their childhood years. This bridge doesn’t just provide a physical connection between separated land masses. It connected me to my dad and my Papa’s experiences.
I chose to write about my experience in Levuka because I have finally made a connection to my Fijian ancestry.
I never had a real connection to my Papa’s side of the family because I grew up in American Samoa and his family is from Fiji. I’ve always had questions about his parents, his siblings, his hometown of Levuka and what life was like for him being born and raised in Fiji. My dad has told me stories of trips they’ve taken to Fiji with my Papa (his dad), but I never felt a connection.
Going to Levuka connected me to my Papa’s family in more ways than one. I saw how different yet similar many of us are. I experienced a very unique combination of cultures seeing as my Papa’s siblings settled in various places around the Pacific region. I learned to value my Fijian heritage as my dad always has. I heard stories of joys and heartaches that made the Swords who they are from different branches of his family, my family. I cultivated a love for people, my family, whom I never would have met if not for this reunion. I witnessed a wonderful connection between the children of the Fijian Sword siblings, which has been passed on to my generation of cousins.
I can now cross Levuka off my bucket list of places to travel to. I am thrilled with what I have learned about my connection to Fiji. Next stop is the origin of the Sword name, where my great-grandfather is from, SCOTLAND.
Day 4: Bliss
The end of the Lower Sauma Ridge hike. Learn about American Samoa’s National Parks
I like hiking. I don’t care for the exercise portion. I enjoy the moments that come when the hike is complete. I enjoy the blissful sceneries. I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. I enjoy the secret pools like the one picture above at the end of a trail. I enjoy the hidden beaches. I enjoy nature. I enjoy being able to say “Oh yeah! I did that hike” followed with a story of my personal adventure.
This is why I chose this photo for Developing Your Eye’s “Bliss” challenge. Part of it was to post a caption and the link was optional. I just thought of it as an opportunity to advertise our beautiful National Parks, which truly are blissful experiences.
Day 3: Water
My rendition of the “One Shot, Two Shot” challenge for Day 3’s theme, Water. The idea of the challenge was to take the same scene horizontally and vertically.
Today I decided to go for a walk/jog along our sea wall specifically for this challenge. These photos do no justice to the actual view while you are running/walking along the coastline. Then again, I was using my iPhone. Can’t go wrong with iphoneography.
Day 2: Street
The “street” bridge connecting Ofu & Olosega
If there is one thing about American Samoa you must know, you can not get lost. There is one main road that goes around the entire island. We have some of the most amazing views while driving. This is from a trip to Manu’a I took a while back. Probably not taken on the best of days, but still beautiful none the less. I took it from the back of a truck while we were driving from one island to the other.
Day 1: Home
View from Maugaoali’i taken July 9, 2016
When I use to live in America, I use to get a lot of questions about where I’m from. I was proud to say American Samoa. Regardless of the ignorant stereotypical replies I would receive, I enjoyed showing off photos like the one above. I love my beautiful island home. The scenic hikes are just the icing on the cake. American Samoa is about the Samoan culture, the history, my heritage, my people. No matter where I go, American Samoa will always be home simply because this is where my heart is.
When I think of home, this is what I think of. #DevelopingYourEye
Discovering Me via Social Media Freedom
The last time I was here was December of 2015. Before that, I was here in August of 2014. Coincidentally enough, the amount of time I’ve spent away from blogging are my two of my four favorite numbers 16 and 7. It took me 16 months from my August 2014 post to finally return in December 2015. After that, I was too caught up again in life (or maybe it was social media) to commit to blogging. I was lost in trying to live a life to please others.
During the second week of June, I decided it was time for me to get rid of my biggest distraction, social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat had taken over my life and I was literally using these tools to advertise myself (basically), cyber-stalk (in the most non-creepy way possible), covet, set a foundation for gossip and relinquish boredom. I didn’t realize I began to depress myself because I was too busy looking at what everyone else was doing instead of living the life I was meant to live and being more productive. My breaking point hit when I found myself upset my family and friends would do things without me and also frustrated with my boyfriend because he wouldn’t post anything about our relationship. I decided I needed to disappear from the social media realm for a week at most to get my head on straight.
It has been a month since my “social media freedom” and it has been awesome. I’ve gotten hooked on books again, focused on my goals and less involved with the unnecessaries. My circle has gone back down to those who care enough to call or text. The motivation I now have to do what needs to be done has risen. The need to advertise myself and portray “social media” me is diminishing slowly. The cyber-stalking has disappeared (obviously because I have no way to seek out what people are doing). I no longer compare my relationship to others. The news I read is actual news about what is going on in the world. Best of all, I feel happy.
Discover happiness in freedom, or sitting on top of a container 🙂 PC: Sati
For the next ten days, I’ve personally committed myself to the “Developing your Eye” photography challenge to get me back on the blogging track. I need to do something small before I commit myself to bigger things. In this process, I hope to reignite my love for blogging and “develop an eye” for the beauty that surrounds me through people, places and personal objects.
Samoan Sword 