Islander Lifestyle

September Prompt-a-Thon | September 2nd | childhood

When I think of my childhood, I remember the sun beating down on me, its relentless heatwaves causing beads of sweat to form on my sunbaked skin. I remember the cool ocean breeze, swirling past me, carrying the smell of saltwater and refreshing me from the sun.

I recall the green that swallowed the jungle, hiding away all its many creatures and Taotaomonas who lurked in the shadows. I recall the delicious fruits that grew in the jungles surrounding our old little house, being able to walk with my grandparents to pick mangoes, star fruit, or coconuts; I always loved watching my grandpa husk a coconut and cracking it open with his machete.

I remember the smell of the rain during monsoon season, how the water would flood the streets and having to use buckets to catch the water leaking through our tin roof. Typhoons were always the worst. The whole family would gather at my Uncle Manny's house and we would wait it out together. Afterwards, we would always have to rebuild our roof and replace it with new tin.

Every holiday, no matter which one, the entire family would come together at our place and we would have a huge bbq. We didn't have a backyard like houses typically do, it was more like our yard had a house in the middle of it. Our kitchen wasn't even indoors. Our kitchen was outside, out in the open with - yup, you guessed it - nothing, but a tin roof over it.

My childhood might not have been glamorous and we might not have had the most money, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Guam is my home and I am proud to have grown up on our wonderful, little island.