Capsun's Corner – by Capsun M. Poe

…we thy children sing!

That’s the opening line of Konawaena High School’s alma mater, if you didn’t know what that was all about.

I took a day off from work yesterday to attend my 10-year class reunion back here in Kona for two days.  And of course, I flew Hawaiian Airlines to come home.  If you don’t know why, you’d better read this.

With the reunion looming, I’ve spent the last several weeks thinking about where I thought I would be in my life when I met up with my old classmates.  Not that I wanted to be super-rich or uber-famous, but where I am today is not quite what I had planned.  Probably since seventh grade, I had wanted to be an attorney.  That was my dream until my senior year in college when I took the evil LSAT, which helped me decide perhaps law school wasn’t for me (read: didn’t get a high enough score).  It also didn’t help that almost every lawyer I knew up until then had encouraged me to pursue other career possibilities.  So although I work on policy issues and I work around a lot of attorneys at the office, I am not an attorney myself.

I did get a Master’s degree in Public Administration instead and now my thoughts surround my wedding next year and I am contemplating a potential PhD program (I told you I was a glutton for punishment) – so I’m fairly happy and satisfied with my life’s journey thus far.  I mean, when I go to work in the morning, I feel motivated; and when I come home, I feel fulfilled – corny perhaps, but true nonetheless.  Still, after not seeing many of these folks for over a decade, I wonder how many people are in the same boat as I am and had to change their lifelong dream.  Maybe even more interesting, I wonder how many went and did exactly what they set out to do.  Either way, this is the perfect opportunity to build up my connections on Facebook and LinkedIn.

What about you?  Can you relate to this story?  What is your life’s dream and how close are you to achieving it?  I may write about my reactions and impressions from the reunion later.  Who knows, maybe I’ll meet someone in need of a new blogger…

Just for fun, in no particular order, here are some famous Konawaena High School alumni:

• Ellison Onizuka, a NASA astronaut who perished in the Challenger explosion
• Shane Dorian, a professional surfer
• Billy V (Bill Van Osdol), local radio personality, celebrity, and all-around nice guy
• Kaleo Wassman, Bret Bollinger, and Yesod Williams, all members of the rock band Pepper – I went to school with these guys
• Lokelani McMichael, triathlete/surfer/model who was the youngest person to complete the Ironman Triathlon – went to school with her, too
• Nelson Daranciang, former writer for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin
• Capsun…oh wait, that’s me!  Not famous enough, unless having a (so far) daily blog on WordPress counts.

Mahalo!

Tags: Hawaiian Airlines, konawaena, reunion