Breaking convention

Hey all, Jan here. Let me tell you a little about myself.

My name is January Ireland. January Aloha Ireland. I was born on May 19, 1988 to Allison Couper Ireland in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Brown hair, blue eyes, a less-than-perfect swimsuit tan (just in case you thought I was some skinny blonde bimbo). I go to the University of Hawaii, West Oahu. My dad's name is Hank, and he's living somewhere in the north east. I've never met him.

My mom never hid the fact that my father has been MIA. It's unconventional I know to be growing up without a father, and to fly halfway around the world to see him.... then again, I've always been an unconventional girl. Despite living in Honolulu all my life, I'm really not a beach girl unless I've got an umbrella and a stack of books. My friends here are pretty cool... a couple of white girls also missing a parent. Funny how that works. Their situation is different from mine... their parents decided to take permanent vacations from life and move their entire families to Hawaii. They moved to Honolulu expecting to lose their troubles... all they lost was respect from their own children. Divorces, drug addictions, pornography... But I digress.

My mom is my hero. She's raised me the best she could, as a single mama. I love her more than words, but I feel like a piece of me is missing. So I created this blog, thinking that I could connect to some strangers out there to help me find my dad, Hank. I've tried everything from private eyes to newspaper ads.. I even posted to Craigslist hoping in vain that Hank would be feeling a bit bored, check out the personal ads, and find a posting that seemed a little too coincidental. I had this whole fantasy of my father bursting through the doors of our little house, white horse and all... I guess I have a bit of a complex. But growing up without a parent makes me feel.... incomplete.

Mom's never contacted Hank ever... she never told him about me. I think she feels guilty, after all these years. I've been telling her since I was 10 that delaying in telling him about me wouldn't make that guilt go away. She agreed, but hasn't done anything to change it.

So I'm changing it. I'm going to the north east after my spring semester ends. Hopefully I'll find him there.

Keep checking back here for more info. I'll be documenting my search as much as I can, for memory's sake. I'm not sure what I'm expecting.... but hopefully, something will happen. Hopefully I'll find my answer.

Any information on Hank, email me at januaryalohaireland@gmail.com.