The Greenwood of the Round Table

My family is fairly informal with our dinners, but we do however sit down every night for a home cooked meal together, without our phones or devices. We like to have a few bites of our food before saying grace. Now we are not a religious family but we are thankful, so we say a few words that my grandfather always used to say. When other people come to our dinner they are often surprised by how open we are with our parents.

In contrast, when I was younger, my best friend was Chinese. She and her parents both spoke English, but their grandparents that lived with them did not so when we would sit down for dinner, they would begin talking in this foreign language. They would all have chopsticks and even though I knew how to use them, I always got a fork. I always felt very out of place because I never understood anything they were saying and felt like everything I did was wrong.

I think dinner is one of those things that you get very used to in your own house because it literally happens every night. Because of this regularity, when you go to someone else’s house, the change is confusing.

~Sahale

The Birth of Their Girl & The Family

Sahale is a very unusual name followed by an unfitting last name. On paper my name often confuses people because my first name sounds ethnic but Greenwood sounds pretty anglo-saxon. My mismatched name has never held me back, but instead helped me.

Having my unique name sets me apart, and honestly is a great conversation starter. When people meet me and figure out how to pronounce my name the most common response is "that is beautiful, where is it from". Then I get to tell the story of how my dad proposed on top of Sahale Mountain and how is means high, holy ground. I love my name because it has meaning. And the meaning isn't that my parents just really liked the Native American word for high, holy ground, but because it was the start of my family. It is perfect that this was the origin of my family because we are a a family that loves the outdoors and my name tied me back to all that.I was also very excited when my whole family got the chance to mountaineer Sahale Mountain this summer.

My name has never held me back but instead stowed me how to be confident and different. 

~Sahale

The Coastal War
My family is from all over. We are basically from every European country with no real ties to any of them. We love to celebrate St. Patricks Day but just to have a good meal and party, but there is no real meaning behind it.
I think more than just my heritage, where I have lived describes me the most. I have lived on the East Coast/ South, LA area and orange County. The only place in the United States that I have not lived is the middle of the country, which personally, I am okay with. After living all over the place I can officially say  "WEST COAST IS BEST COAST".

I think that each of the places I have lived has showed me different lifestyles and people allowing me to see more of the world and develop more as a individual. Living in Virginia we were still considered an East Coast State and I had some very preppy friends who were always at the country club. But it was also southern enough that at my brothers school, the boys were divided into two teams for sports and pep rallies. The teams were called "Lee's" and "Jackson's" after two famous Civil War generals. In LA I was exposed to diversity, California wilderness, and the LA/ Hollywood scene. In the OC I have been exposed to the super rich, the over sheltered, and the surfer dude.
Every place that I have lived, I think is very beautify and I am very fortunate to be living there but LA has resonated the most with who I am and who I think I want to be. Which is why I was very happy that since my dad's new job was going to take us out of Newport and Sage, that it was back to LA.
~Sahale