February 12: Writing Prompt #43-All About You

Explain why you chose your blog’s title and what it means to you.

If you look at the web address of my blog, you’ll see the original title (Life on An Atoll) chosen in 2010 when I was still living on Kwajalein. I think I’m safe to say that title is pretty self-explanatory. The interesting thing is that from 2010 to 2014 when we left Kwajalein for the states, I had random people contact me off and on to tell me they had a boyfriend or relative on Kwajalein or Roi, and they were coming to visit soon and found my site when they were looking for information concerning life on Kwaj.  I am sure my blog site will probably still pop up in a google search of Life on Kwajalein, but once we left the atoll, I wanted to make sure I retitled it and updated the description. I could have just started a new blog spot and left this one dormant, but I felt pretty attached to it as is and being a journal of my life (wherever it takes me) for over 4 years now (although 2014 passed by with only a single entry), I wanted to keep all the history together.  It may seem like I am living a completely different life here now, which would require a totally new blog, but it’s the same me, just a different location and job!

So, the new title, From Atolls to Apples, is explained a bit in my one entry for 2014. And I quote: 

“How did you end up there? That’s the question a friend recently asked me about my move from a small tropical island in the Pacific Ocean to the NW United States. I’ve actually been answering that question for years concerning my initial life altering move from Alabama to the Marshall Islands (and the answer is not all that interesting), but I honestly didn’t expect to be asked that when moving back to my home country (btw, the answer is still not that interesting).  My family’s move from the atoll to the Evergreen state famous for its apples happened like most major life changes….quickly, which is why this blog has laid dormant for so long. I’ve been busy adjusting to life back in the “fast lane,” so to speak. 

What does it mean to me? Well, it continues to keep me connected to the island where so many of my major life events have taken place, and it begins to connect me to my present life here in the beautiful state of Washington.  (Here’s the short list of major life events from my years on Kwaj: first marriage; completion of 2 college degrees; birthing 2 beautiful baby boys; trauma of divorce; meeting the love of my life; the beginning and advancement of my career; publishing 3 of my own children’s books; publishing an English-Marshallese children’s book with a class of 5^th graders; and finally landing a government job in my career field that brought us back to the states).  As much as I love Kwajalein and my years there (yes, even the hard ones because those were the years that I needed in order to become who I am now), I do not want my whole life to be DEFINED entirely by it.  I hope and pray it will be only one of the many unique and adventurous stops along my family’s life journey.  So, the title means I am part of the family of former Kwajalein residents and proud of that, but I am also ready for all the new experiences I will have to journal about as I discover and explore the Northwest and enjoy all it’s evergreen spaces!