Reinventing Home: The Interview

Wendy Omuro is the creator of the newly transitioned blog site rediscoveringmaui.com.  Her site began as reinventingwen.com which was influenced greatly by the recent passing of her father and wanting to travel down a different path in life and rediscover herself.  After writing a few posts, Wendy realized that her passion lay in the magnificence of her surroundings.  Her home of the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii.

Wendy grew up on the gorgeous island of Maui as the youngest of five children.  She coined herself as the black sheep of her family because she never seemed to follow the straight and narrow path in life. "I took detours, back roads, and ended up in a couple of ditches along the way," she explains about her life's journey thus far.

Wendy's passion for writing started at a very young age.  As she described to me it was love at first "write" when she first picked up pencil and paper at the age of five and dabbled in writing lyrics for songs.  She took piano lessons and would write lyrics to go along with her original music compositions.  As a child, Wendy also kept a journal.  She still has her very first journal, a small yellow book entitled, "Happy Day" written on the front cover.  This is where Wendy would pour her heart onto paper and tell her dear friend Diary what was happy about each day.  This was a gift from her mother that helped to create an open dialogue with herself and expressing her emotions each day.

"My mom must have bought that journal for me the day my dad was released from the hospital," stated Wendy. "He was in there for quite sometime and the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. Looking back I recognized my mom not only encouraged me to write about my feelings at a young age, but to do it with a positive outlook.  I believe she purposely bought the book with the words "Happy Day" on it to prompt happy thoughts.  Looking through the pages nearly every single journal entry started with the words, "I'm happy today because..."

Wendy began the transition of her website in what she calls her backyard adventures to rediscover her surroundings and share her love with the world as she explores the island she calls home through new inspired eyes.  The very thing that strikes me when going on an adventure with Wendy is her excitement, warmth and genuine love she has for the great island of Maui, but also her incredible zest for life.  You feel as if you are right there with her.  And even though she is a virtual tour guide, her craftsmanship of description allows you to see the beautiful sky above you, to breathe in the soft breeze by the water, and to feel the loving community that makes up this gorgeously divine paradise surrounded by ocean no matter what the actual distance for the reader may be.

In the beginning Wendy wanted to focus her blog on the reinvention of herself with Reinventing Wen.
"The true inspiration behind my blog, Reinventing Wen, came to fruition after my dad's passing in January.  The incredible legacy he left behind, combined with my mom's unwavering strength and positivity during that difficult time, caused me to reassess my own personal journey.  Prior to my dad's passing, I was already taking the first steps in pursuing my passion of writing, but knew that the life of a freelance writer would be full of challenges.  I had doubts and second thoughts about the path I was on.  But as soon as my dad passed, and I grieved the loss for a few months, something inside me changed.  I felt like I needed to let go of everything holding me back.  The doubts, the fears, the huge mountain in front of me and instead, let the voices of love, support, encouragement and optimism resonate with my heart.  I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason and that there is a Divine purpose for every soul. Now that my dad is amongst the angels, he is shining the light for me and illuminating this path I was meant to be on."

After writing several posts for Reinventing Wen, Wendy explains, "I began to notice that those posts lacked focus and I realized that my desire to rediscover my surroundings, went hand in hand with my ongoing mission to reinvent myself.  This journey of reivention will never end for me.  I feel that everyday is a new opportunity to better myself and now that Maui's in the mix, I have an even greater opportunity to better my community, and give gratitude to this incredible place I get to call home."

When asked if she has ever lived outside of Maui Wendy responded, "I moved to Missouri when I was twenty-one. After spending a few months there I packed everything up and road tripped out to Washington, where I ended up living for several years.  But my heart has always remained loyal with Maui. My favorite thing about Maui is the people.  Everyone feels like family.  A sense of ohana (family) and aloha spirit, is prevalent in the culture here, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

What are your dreams and goals for your website? What are your dreams and goals for life?
"I think my dreams and goals for my website and the things I envision for my life, mirror each other. I dream that my website grows into something that helps people see the good in themselves and others, draws attention to the importance of gratitude on every level, and reminds them to look for the beauty in the world around them.  I hope that as I make my way along this journey of reinvention, I'm able to inspire others to do the same, if that's what their heart's crave.  I want to keep writing, hopefully publish a few books down the road and keep on the path of living a life with Divine purpose, the kind of life my dad lived and the kind of life that my mom continues to live.  They have always been my biggest cheerleaders and will forever be my heroes.  I have a never ending list of support with all of my siblings, my loving boyfriend and incredible friends.

What advice do you have for anyone who is just getting started to live out their own dream in life or who is on the edge of taking the leap but too afraid to jump in?
"My advice would be simple; stay the course.  Try your best to approach the obstacles with a grateful heart and look for the lessons in each situation.  Learn from them, adjust and proceed with a positive mindset.  Forget about failure, because you know you're strong enough to pick yourself up and try again if that happens.  Tune out the negative criticism of others and focus on the voice telling you to follow your heart and do what makes you happiest.  It's always better to try and "fail" instead of not trying and wonder.  In the wise words of author Kobi Yamada, "Sometimes you just have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down."

Thank you Wendy for sharing your Spirit Launcher story with us all!  You are a delight and a true inspiration to the world.  Thank you for sharing the beauty that is Maui and the beauty that is you!  To see what Wendy is discovering in Maui go to http://www.rediscoveringmaui.com/.

As always with love,

Jennifer

Follow me on Twitter @jfremion.
Email me at jfremionfw@gmail.com.

©2013. Jennifer Fremion. All rights reserved.