THREE'S NOT TREES

Aloha and greetings to all! My name is Matt Higashida. Hope you watched my previous video called “EXERCISING WITH FRIENDS AT BOWLS”. This video you’re watching now is called “THREE’S NOT TREES” and I hope you will learn a little more about what I’m doing to keep living the dream.

In my journey of fighting cancer, I’m truly grateful and thankful for my family, doctors, friends and people that I have met along the way. This surfing spot called THREE’S is where I’ve had the opportunity to continue enjoying my favorite aerobic exercise; meet more people; share my time with friends; live with no regrets; and make the moments count.

It was a blessing to be in the water at the same time with Carissa Moore, who is such a humble, respectful, low key, local girl who was also a 3 time World Surf League Women's World Tour Champion at the time the video clips were taken in the summer of 2019. I told her best wishes for the rest of the season and, Thank You God, she became a 4 time World Champion later that year. Carissa continued to become a 5 time World Champion in 2021 and also won the Olympic Gold Medal in the Inaugural Olympic surfing competition in Japan. She is also qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games. Best wishes again Carissa and we’ll be cheering for you back home in Hawai`i!

As a cancer survivor, I want to say, “Thank you God for healing and helping me through some really dark times.” I also want to thank my family, friends and people who prayed for me and sent their positive thoughts my way.

On a bucket list snowboarding trip to Oregon, I was inspired by a conversation with my dear college friend, Masaki Shimada, to write my signature song called “Keep Living The Dream”, which is also the name of my YouTube channel where you can find other videos related to my cancer journey.

I’m convinced that everything is interrelated and interconnected. As the food we eat is very important to providing the nutrients for a healthy immune system, encouraging and uplifting friendships are vital to maintaining good health, too. We can choose to focus on the positives, balance work with play and “Keep Living The Dream.”