The Story Behind “Teyukz” – From Restriction to Exploration

Why “Teyukz”?

That’s a question I get often — and the answer is personal, layered, and rooted in my journey.

In Kosraean, Teyukz is a word that expresses a sense of not knowing — a feeling of being clueless, unsure, or drifting. It’s also a gesture, an expression often used when someone doesn’t have a clear direction. Fittingly, that’s how I often felt growing up — a curious, adventurous island boy with a restless spirit, held back by the boundaries of a strict upbringing.

Island Roots and Disciplined Walls

I grew up in Kosrae, one of the stunning islands of the Federated States of Micronesia. Life on the island was beautiful — lush, rich in community, surrounded by the endless blue of the Pacific. But within the walls of my childhood home, life was governed by structure and discipline.

My father — a respected man in the community — served as a police officer and later as a public defender. With his background in law and order, our household was strict. Curfew wasn’t negotiable. If you missed it, you paid the price. And I did — often. I was what you’d call a repeat offender. Not because I wanted to be disobedient, but because I longed for freedom — the freedom my friends seemed to enjoy without question.

While they ventured off to swim, climb, explore, and live out their childhood wonder, I remained on the porch, watching the horizon and dreaming of all the places I wasn’t allowed to go. It wasn’t resentment I held — it was longing.

Discipline, Love, and the Unspoken Dream

Looking back now, I see the love behind the rules. My father wanted the best for us. He believed in discipline as the foundation for respect, success, and a good life. And he wasn’t wrong. That discipline built the man I am today.

But the little boy in me never stopped dreaming — dreaming of chasing the ocean, touching distant lands, and living the adventurous life I used to only imagine.

Teyukz: A Name, A Mission

That inner child — the one who used to be told “no” — still lives in me today. And Teyukz is my way of giving him a voice.

There’s another word in Kosraean: Sarukwel — meaning to drift, to roam without destination, to chase the horizon just for the joy of it. Together, Teyukz and Sarukwel represent the soul of this site — the freedom to wander, the courage to be unsure, and the beauty of being in motion, even without a map.

Over 17 years ago, by the grace of our Heavenly Father, I was blessed with a job at Delta Air Lines — a career that reconnected me with that long-lost dream of exploration. But even now, after all this time, I feel that boyhood fire still burning inside — the longing to see the world, to explore it fully before the inevitable passage of time slows us down.

This Is Why Teyukz.com Exists

This website is not just about travel tips or scenic photos. It’s about freedom reclaimed.

It’s for the dreamers.

The late bloomers.

The ones who didn’t get to wander when they were young — but now, finally, choose to write their own journey.

If you’re one of them — if something inside you still yearns to see, to roam, to feel the world firsthand — then Teyukz is for you.

The journey is just beginning.

Thank you for being here.

Let’s drift together — somewhere beautiful.

Peace and love,

Teyukz