About Me — Taressa Watson

How I came to write from Pele’s rainforest.

A few weeks back

I was invited by Quy Ma to write an “About Me Article.” I don’t find it easy to write about myself, so I kept putting it off. When I finally nudged myself into starting, my first attempt turned into two days of cathartic writing.

“BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.”

I don’t think my descendants would want to read the biographical sawdust I was spinning, so why would any other readers?

I started over.

Here is the condensed version of “Who Are You?” and “What Do You Write?”

My name is Taressa Watson. I live and write in Volcano, Hawaii which is located near the summit of Kilauea in the Ola’a Rainforest. Our little community of Volcano Village exists because people have been coming to explore Volcanoes National Park and the Volcano for as long as there have been human inhabitants on these islands.

The largest mountains making up the Island of Hawaii — Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea — are sacred places to Hawaiians. In their traditions, Kilauea is the home of the Goddess Pele. There is an atmosphere of creative spiritual energy present in this place. What else would you expect of a location where new land is constantly coming into being?

Consequently, creative people are drawn here. Our community has a unique mix of artists, musicians, writers, gardeners, park scientists and personnel, and service/ hospitality folks who welcome visitors. They have become my tribe.

How did I come to be in this place?

It’s a long story that deserves its telling, but here are the highlights.

I was born when my father was serving in the United States Navy. His assignment was on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific fleet, so my formative years were spent in San Diego, California, and Bremerton, Washington. I believe this is the source of my affinity to both ocean and rainforest.

My parents returned to the Midwest after my father completed his enlistment. It was there that I grew up, got married, and raised a family. But the older I got, the less it seemed like home. It felt like something was missing.

After our children were grown and gone, we started traveling more. We always chose ocean destinations. They were fun, but none of them had the effect on me that Hawaii did.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, everything was familiar and when we left, I was homesick for this place I’d never lived. We returned on our next vacation.

We ended up buying a condo on Maui not long after and thought we would retire there, but an unexpected series of events led us to change the course of our life and move the next year. It was a wonderful but busy life. I wanted to pursue creative hobbies, like writing, and do volunteer work, but I ended up managing another business and working long hours.

How could we slow our life down?

The answer came from a close friend. He was born and raised on Big Island and thought we would find what we needed here. And he was right. After seven years on Maui, we moved to our current location in Volcano Village.

Life moves at a different pace here. I still work, but I’m self-employed. Being in control of my own calendar has allowed me to pursue hobbies, community work, and a local writers group. I added Medium.com to the mix in late 2020.

What have I written and what do I write now?

As a kid, I liked to write fiction, poetry, and humor. I hated reports, essays, and research papers. But as a working adult, I had to learn to like them.

Most of my jobs required some version of reports: month end, statistical, inventory, safety, incident, payroll, competitor analysis, and loss prevention. I wrote instruction manuals, advertisements, and evaluations.

But as I approach my 60th birthday, I’m living what some would call my second life. I can explore writing as something purely creative. The short bio under my profile picture says I write fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and blogs. It’s a spectrum that leaves me able to follow my urge to expand my knowledge and experience.

For now, if I enjoy the writing process and my readers get some enjoyment in return, I’m happy.

And the book I started with my writer’s group on Maui? It’s been returned to its “work in progress” status. But the details are for another story.

Other places where you need to write about yourself…