Lucky We Live Hawai‘i

Getty Images Plus, viaductk, Composite: James Nakamura

As I sipped an Aperol spritz, peering at the golden stretch of Kaimana Beach below, the couple next to me on the hotel lānai pointed out that it was the dead of winter back home in Alaska. Lucky we live Hawai‘i, I thought. But it wasn’t the warm weather or picturesque setting that had me thinking this. I was there for a cooking class, learning how to make orecchiette, agnolotti and campanelle from an S.Pellegrino Best Young Chef in the U.S., before indulging in a five-course meal the team created with our handmade pastas (and my expertly chopped basil). 

A lot of the close friends I made in my 20s left the Islands in the past few years.

There are many ways to take advantage of living in this city beyond the beaches we’re famous for. I never really think the things I do are out of the ordinary, until I talk to friends who spend their time mostly at work or at home. For me, it’s crucial to have hobbies and interests that include community involvement, shopping local, taking classes and making connections. 

I’ve been a member of the Hawai‘i Potters’ Guild for years. There, folks are quick to suggest favorite glaze combinations, purchase each other’s work and come to art show openings. And they’re always ready to help struggling newbies. As for me, handmade goods are my go-to gift, if only to clear out some of the hundreds of bowls, goblets, teapots, soap dishes, chip-and-dip platters and candles I’ve amassed since 2018. 

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I’ve been involved with the Hawai‘i International Film Festival since college, when I volunteered in exchange for free movie passes. Two years ago, I served as a juror for the first time, then joined the screening committee in 2023, viewing more than 100 incredible short-film submissions from local and international filmmakers. Outside of my committee duties, I make a point to hit the theaters as much as I can during the festival, where I often run into the friends I’ve made through years of volunteering.

And speaking of local storytelling, I’ve been reading more local books lately, including a few that won some of our inaugural HONOLULU Book Awards. They’re some of the best books I’ve read this past year. 

At the farmers market, I buy locally roasted coffee and centerpiece ingredients for my favorite dishes to cook: kabocha soup, fried oyster mushroom sandwiches, star-fruit apple banana bread, even veggies to pickle. You’ll often catch me with cold-pressed juice or an ice pop purchased from vendors I’ve made eye contact with. When that happens, I can’t resist saying hi and buying something.

Every month I try to go to at least one new restaurant, which sometimes means a hosted 10-course meal at the latest sushi place, and other times a scoop of ice cream on the West Side. For a while, I tried a new workout class every month, too, learning to boulder, spin, shavasana and hang upside down from silks. I don’t make a habit of that anymore (my wrist hurt for weeks after incorrectly punching one of my friends in a boxing class), but I did recently go to a free women’s self-defense class at a Brazilian jiu-jitsu studio in ‘Aiea, just for fun. A few days later, I donated blood, which I’ve done regularly since I was 17. It’s just one more way to feel connected to a community that offers so much. 

A lot of the close friends I made in my 20s left the Islands in the past few years. We all know the spiel about the cost of living, housing prices and job opportunities, and I won’t disagree. But one friend who left—born and raised here—once told me he thought that Honolulu was boring. That is something I’ll never agree with.