For many people, Hawaii and California are considered among the top luxury capitols of the United States.
So when given the option to live in either of those states or Oklahoma, a majority would likely choose the lush beaches and extravagant entertainment options of the western states instead of the vast acres of farmlands offered by the Sooner state despite its low cost of living.
Not Sione Fatongia.
Fatongia, a senior defensive end at Lawton High, was born in California and raised in Hawaii, and when he learned he’d be living in Oklahoma, he had no negative thoughts about the move.
In fact, he was genuinely ecstatic.
“When I heard I was moving to Oklahoma, I was more excited than bummed out,” Fatongia said. “I didn’t think anything about Oklahoma because I never heard anything about Oklahoma that much. Places like New York and California were all I heard about in Hawaii. When I thought about Oklahoma, I thought about the countryside. I kind of like the countryside, so I thought I was going to dig it over here.”
Fatongia lived on Maui, the second-largest of the eight Hawaiian Islands, for years before moving to Victorville, Calif., which is about 84.5 miles northeast of Los Angeles, in 2016.
Although there are several differences between Oklahoma and his previous states of residence, especially Hawaii, Fatongia has enjoyed his time in the country’s heartland.
“I’d go to the beach every day,” Fatongia said. “Over here, it’s hard to find things to do. Lawton is way different from anywhere in Oklahoma. I can relate things in OKC to Hawaii, but here it’s pretty much a countryside.
“There’s a lot of hunting grounds in Hawaii, and that’s something that’s relatable. Surprisingly, bull riding is a big thing in Hawaii as well. Oklahoma City is also really similar to Honolulu.”
Aside from the countryside living, Fatongia said his favorite part of living in Oklahoma is the kindness he receives from the people.
Oklahoma is often considered one of the friendliest states in the union, and Fatongia has experienced that firsthand.
“The people are really nice — that’s what I mostly love about this area,” Fatongia said. “In California, I don’t want to compare them overall, but the people I met were really rude. Over here is really friendly, and I can compare the people to Hawaii.”
Fatongia likes it so much here, in fact, he is considering staying around for the foreseeable future. At least through his college years, that is.
“I would love to go to (the University of Oklahoma), they have a nice school,” Fatongia said. “When I lived in California, I was thinking about OU as one of my colleges.”
Although most of Fatongia’s living transitions have been relatively stress-free, they aren’t without tragedy.
His father came down with a severe case of gout when Fatongia was still in his early adolescent years, and things only got worse as time progressed.
When Fatongia was only 7 years old, his father passed away from the condition.
“At that point, I was visiting one of my family members, so I didn’t know until I came back,” Fatongia said. “I knew he was in the hospital, I just didn’t know what was going on.”
According to mayoclinic.org, gout is a form of arthritis characterized by severe pain, redness and tenderness in joints.
Fatongia said his father’s love for diving and eating seafood led to the complications and his eventual death.
“He got it from overeating seafood,” Fatongia said. “Our family loves seafood, and he’d dive for markets and sell fish himself. He was really hardworking when it came to diving. He was one of the best divers I’ve ever seen. He had (gout) in his arm the first time, and his bone structure would pop out more. I’m not sure how it goes, but he basically kept overeating seafood because he loved it. It went away the first time, but the second time it came back in his leg, and he had to use crutches for a while.
“He just did not stop. He was in love with seafood because that’s all he did.”
After his father’s death, Fatongia didn’t have many options on where to go next.
His mother lived in Tonga, a Polynesian country comprising 169 islands, and though that was an option, Fatongia ended up staying with his aunt until his brother, Ernest, was old enough to live on his own and take care of Fatongia.
“Tonga isn’t a place to get out there,” Fatongia said. “It’s really compact and really small, and there’s not a lot of opportunities to get out from there. So my brother thought it’d be best if I moved with him. He’s been helping me a lot with sports and school.”
Ernest, now 23, enlisted in the military, which is how the brothers wound up in Lawton.
Losing a parent and moving thousands of miles away would be difficult for anyone to handle, but it is those circumstances that have helped shape Fatongia into the man and athlete he is today.
Through six games, Fatongia has tallied 17 tackles and three sacks.
Fatongia credits Ernest’s caring nature and his desire to do well by their father for the good life he’s experienced since coming to the mainland.
“It’s all because of my brother,” Fatongia said. “He’s always hyped, and he’s always backing me up.”