Fortunately, we were mostly near the coast and my link with the ocean started with surfing. Surfing is a wonderful sport because it is an intense and personal interaction with the ocean. Years later when I went on to college, surfing was the link that connected me to marine biology and kept me involved through my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I began my first prolonged island experience. Here are my insights into islands.
Islands are metaphors for an oasis.
In a cosmic sense galaxies, stars, and planets are islands of the energy and material for life. Mars, for example, is an island of the raw material for life. Earth is a water planet and an interacting complex between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Islands on Earth's seas are unique in that they clearly display the dynamic interplay between these global systems. The Hawaiian islands are a remarkable archipelago located in the middle of the Pacific.