Just like the Frank Ocean song, a feeling that I’ve been going through over the last couple of months is lead-astray. I look at my people my age getting married, finding a career, and being so sure of themselves. 
When I graduated college, I was motivated to be better and be ambitious. Over the numerous internships that have led nowhere and the many interviews that have done the same, I lost a lot of the drive I once had.  
    My outlook on life has also changed in the last couple of months cause I feel like life is fleeting. I realized I am at best when traveling and sharing my travels with others. I wish I could tell my 12-year-old self that you’d be okay and that it's okay not to have it together. 
    A little story about me is that I struggle with self-confidence daily. I often wonder if society never existed in my adolescence and would have the same mental battles. I have fought in my head daily on why I’m not confident to do this or that. My trust in people to be excellent has always been a fine line. The only real things that let me smile are my books and faith in God.  
    I don’t talk about faith with many people, but I know my relationship with God is uniquely my own. God has always been the one constant thing in my life. When the roads get windy, God is always the person to make it straight again. Listening to Jack Hibbs every Sunday puts my life into a positive perspective. I often think how a person doesn’t believe that there's a more significant being out there guiding you through the toughness of life. 
    Romance and manga have always had a special place in my life. Stories, an alternate reality, have always been my escape. I want a creative job because it revolves around a story. The world is made up of stories. Each new book, new tv series, new movie, and new anime all have one thing in common. 
    I stand here today saying I don’t know what I’m doing in life, and every time someone asks, It conquers so many unfelt emotions. One actual conclusion I’ve come to is to push myself out of my comfort zone. I admit that I’ve become complacent in life with being a hermit who does work from home. I just don’t want to look back at my 20s and be filled with regret. 
    Tiktok taught me that I’m not alone in life. I feel like my generation is extraordinarily extroverted and a hermit, like me. I hope I find a passion for being 100% confident in my life. I’ve been indecisive, and my greatest fear is failure.

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    READING, READING, READING, AND MORE READING !!!!
January 2022 was a whirlwind of reading, with many fabulous moments. It was hard to deal with as my family was grieving the loss of a close family member. From a newfound love of formula one racing to finally tackling a series inspired by Gossip Girl, every book I read offered a vast thrill ride. 

    The first series I finished for the month was the All In Series by Helena Hunting which I now deem the queen of sports rom-com. I spent the last book in the series Kiss for a Kiss and then the spin-off series about the children from Pucked and Lie for a Lie called Little Lies. I love it when the world collides into one series, and it offers so much to break down. It also made me realize how the brother's best friend trope is done correctly. You can see my other blog about the All In series on my blog feed! But I now wait patiently for Maverick to have his romance story! 
    The next series I started in 2021 and finished this month is called the Dirty Air series by Lauren Asher. I have a post about each book soon, but I can tell you that Lauren is on my top author's list. I also read the first book in her Dreamland series, Called The Fine Print, a Disney adult's ultimate dream romance come true. Rowan, the main guy character, has solidified himself in my top bookmen list. The text bookman is a grump to a softy! I understand that banter in books makes the best reads, and Lauren Asher knows how to make great dialogue. 
    Another book that does the banter to a T is The Love Hypothesis, which has been on my TBR list for months. If it weren’t because my friend wanted to read it with me, I probably would have never picked it up. Olive is trying to get her Doctorate at Stanford, and Adam Carlson happens to be an unexpected force she never knew she needed. Adam is also a grump-turned softy who finds out he cared for Olive long before realizing it! This one book I can say for sure is worth the hype!! 
    I was constantly advertised for Darling Venom. When books are heavily advertised, I’m often cautious about how good they are. I would like to say that this book provoked me and moved me in ways I never thought possible. I can only describe it as my John Green Preteen days meeting my mature days off now! It talks about the subject matter of grieving loss and accepting the love you think you deserve. 
    The last series I want to highlight is the Addicted series. I also started in 2021 and plan to finish next month. The first two books were good but not great, and I had yet to read a series of multiple people based on the same couple. I then read Addicted For Now, which introduced the dual POV to the series, and it changed the whole feel of the series. I will forever live the Cancun trip in the book, and it felt like I was living in the best version of a reality TV show while reading. 
    I then binge-read Kiss The Sky and Hothouse Flower, the following books in the series. Before I read this series, I didn’t understand how people got so emotionally deep with this character, and now being halfway through, I can agree I’ll be heartbroken when I reach the end. If you love Gossip Girl, you’ll love this series to pieces !!! 
    Last but not least on my fav reads of the month was Sweet Temptation which is my gateway into the mafia world of Cora Reily. I plan to read her Bound by Blood series soon, so I read this to get a feel for her writing. The book did not disappoint, and I held myself to reading at least one mafia book per month to keep the series alive. 
    If you want to join my reading journey, my TikTok is mnishy_reads, and my Goodreads account is open to the public. I can’t wait to look back this time next year to see my progress and journey. I can know for sure that I’ve never been in a better mood than when I’m reading.

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Helena Hunting: A queen of a sports rom-com 

Helena Hunting or as she sometimes writes as H.Hunting is known for her romantic comedies. She is an NYT bestseller and is a prolific blogger in her own right. I go into her writing after riding the wave of the Off-Campus series from Elle Kennedy. I was still hungry for more sports romances and a series called Pucked came along on my research for suggestions. 
    Now from the title alone, you can suggest what sport the book was going to revolve around and that it was intended for an 18+ audience. What I didn’t realize while reading it was how hilarious the reading experience would be. After reading her spin-off series All In in the same universe I now appreciate Pucked so much more. The Pucked series spans a bunch of spin-off books and sequels. I audio booked Pucked Loved cause it was based on Violet’s best friend Charlene’s relationship with Darren. I can tell you right now that storyline was balls to the wall crazy in all the best ways. 
 At the time, right after reading it I didn’t think much of the storyline but seeing how the two main characters make such an impact in so many other people’s lives is such a fun ride to read. Violet and Alex Waters become the universal couple that the series and spin-off books revolve around. Life for a Lie which is the first book in the All In series has Alex being the main male character’s teammate and later coach. Rook and Lainey became the couple that really made me enjoy the style of writing that Helena Hunting was bringing to the table. I can’t tell you much about the storyline because it will ruin the experience of reading the book but I can tell you that it would make the cutest Hallmark romance movie ever. The book also deals with a hated trope in the book community in a lighthearted in your face type of way. 
From Lie For a Lie to a Kiss for a Kiss, the All In series was an easy read full of great comedic moments. The golden gem of the series is A Favor for a Favor because Bishop and Stevie personify the grumpy sunshine trope. Stevie being Rooks’s sister is a Physical Therapist and Bishop is the teammate that everyone hates that gets injured. Stevie offers her services and the rest is history as they say. I can tell you right now Bishop is one of my favorite bookmen that I’ve come across in comedy settings. I found myself highlighting his dialogue like crazy and laughing at his attitude. 
The weakest in the four books was A Kiss for a Kiss because I felt like it was heavier and not as comedic as the other three books. It also dealt with an older couple in life that I can’t quite relate to at the moment. The series as a whole I would rate an 8/10 purely because it’s such an easy and enjoyable read. I admit I marked the first three books up to oblivion because there were so many funny quotes and moments within the story. 
    Kingston and Queenie is A Secret for a Secret were extremely entertaining cause it was opposites attract mixed in with a series of holy crap moments. I just loved diving into the crazy family dynamic of why families are as messed as they are and how when the daily finally get together it’s a meshing of yin and yang. 
    If you are looking for a heaver storyline that deals with some heavier topics the Spin-Off about Rook and Lainey son Kodiak and Violet and Alexs’ daughter Lavender is good for you. It’s how the two come to accept each other’s love while dealing with each anxiety. As someone who struggle with social anxiety this book struck a heart cord and gave me all types of feels while reading.  
    As this is the first sports romance series I have read since the Off-Campus series that sparked my whole reading frenzy, I hope to explore more in the future. I recently got one of my moms’ friends to pick up Pucked so hopefully, she laughs as hard as I did reading the story. Again I can’t reiterate enough how easy-going Helena Hunting’s writing is and how easy it is for beginners in reading to get into her writing style. I now patiently await Mavricks book which is a second book about Alex and Violets kids. I applaud Helena Hunting for creating such an entertaining universe around Hockey. 

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​My letter to 2021 

The year that gave a lot of memories, some good and some bad. The year I realized that the working world is extremely hard to break into and that the twenties are a time to figure out your life's path. My motto going into 2021 after 2020 was ‘go and explore because life is too freaking short.’ 

Dear 2021 thank you for the traveling memories and everything that you gave me. I got to do the wildest of hikes and explore more of So Cal while doing so. From Utah to the tip of Maine I got to travel the United States and get a bigger perspective of God's green earth. I didn’t get to go to Spain but I gained a camera full of memories and adventures to never shut up about. I also got to profill my lifelong goal of going to Orlando, Florida which is a win in my book. 

Dear 2021 thank you for giving me all the family memories and realizing how important it is to be around the people they love. At the beginning of 2021, I didn’t think my grandparents would be coming to my brother's delayed wedding. Low and behold though almost my entire family came out to the special occasion and it made me so incredibly happy. It was the month of July that made me realize the importance of being around the people you love. 

Dear 2021 thank you for understanding what it means to keep on pushing. 2021 will always be significant to me because it's the year I graduated from College. My college experience was extremely underwhelming and it made me realize what it meant to fully live out your life. I, unfortunately, will only have a brief set of memories for my college life and I can’t say they were all good. 

Dear 2021 you gave me my dream car. I’ve dreamed about owning a jeep since I was 12 and I can't believe I am a proud jeep owner. I want to use it to explore the world and be an off-roading queen. I can’t wait to create memories in such an awesome car. 

Dear 2021 thank you for letting me get through the rough moments. To be honest I’ve never been so lost in life. I don’t know what direction to go and I have been trying to get back into the church in hopes God can give me the answer. I applied and lost so many times and I hope I come out winning one of these days. 

Dear 2021 thank you for letting me explore new passions. A year ago if I told you I read 40 plus books in a year I would have laughed. I am now officially book obsessed and TikTok isn’t helping me out with the numerous recommendations it gives me every day. I also realized how much I love to create videos and TikTok has allowed me to explore a different side of content creation. 

Dear 2021 you let me turn 22 years old which is an odd age for me to turn considering I was singing 22 by T-Swift when I was 12 thinking I’d never get to this age. The twenties is such an odd time to be alive considering mentally sometimes I feel like I’m still stuck in my teens. I’m now realizing that teens see me as old and that older folks still see me as young. All I can say is what a weird time to be alive. 

My message to 2022 would be to keep searching for your purpose, keep pushing, and keep your head up high. My parents keep telling me that things will work out in God's timing and that it takes time to land. I guess I’m a little lost and a little impatient cause I don't know where I’ll be this time next year or even in a month. I guess I just don’t see a point in working a job that makes you feel trapped and pays the bare minimum. So as I am posting this I am manifesting that by the end of 2022 I can find a career job or make my passions into a proper career. 

On September 22, I ventured on another road trip, but this time with a bit of flying involved. It took an entire month for me to really decompress about and think about the trip. It left waves of impact on my life and a realization that my heart belongs to the exploration of life.  Every state we visited had something unique and adventurous to it, and you can't really put into words what every moment meant. 


The Florida section of the trip was 21 years in the making. For years I have begged my parents to take trips to Florida because of a bit of place called Orlando. The Dodgers also used to do spring training there, and  I got to go one year, which made me extremely jealous. Last year's road trip, we were extremely close to Florida cause we drove through Georgia. September 22, 2021, was the day my Florida dreams became a reality. 

The first 3 days in Florida took place in Miami, and right after we landed, the beach was the next destination. This will go on record as the second time I've ever just jumped into the ocean and had no problem adjusting to the temperature. 

The second part of Florida and really the highlight of the trip was Orlando. Day one of Orlando's adventures was checking out the waterpark Aquatica, which was on my life bucket list ever since I saw it on the Discover channel.  I will die on this hill by saying this is one of the most fantastic waterparks in the United States. The two different lazy river experiences, one being a lounging one and the other being the experience of a wild rapid. 

The second day of Orlando, or 1.5 if you count it, involved going to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. It was here where I discovered that Florida never gets cold !! I mean, it was 1 am, and it was still hot as hell, and I was sweating like crazy. The walking was insane, and by the time I got back to our cottage house/hotel, I passed out. The following day we were back in the park exploring Islands of Adventure during the day! I got to ride the brand new Jurassic Park rollercoaster, which was incredible!!  To the greatest human alive Tonya Alexander thank you for being the ultimate ride buddie !!

Talking about the cottage, Margaritaville hotel is hands down the best place I've ever stayed and was gorgeous. Unfortunately, during the four days, we stayed there, I didn't fully explore it because I had a full schedule planned. 

The last two days in Orlando have explored the dream destination what Disney world is. Day one was Epcot/ Magic Kingdom and day two was Animal Kingdom/ Hollywood Studios. My advice after going is that you should spend a whole day at Epcot cause it's a foodie paradise. I ate at a restaurant in Japan, and it was worth every penny. The food in general in all four parks was fantastic! The alcoholic drinks, not so much, unfortunately.  The takeaways, though, were that if I lived in the area, I would be at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios all the time. The engineers of Avatar need a raise because it was singlehandedly the best ride I've ever been on!! The 50s diner restaurant I ate at in Hollywood Studios was some of the best food I ate my entire trip !! It also took me to Florida to ride the coveted Rise of the resistance ride, which I'd gladly wait 2 hours to ride again. All in all, I hope it doesn't take me another 21 years to revisit these parks, especially since I have a cousin moving over there very soon !!


New England was a dream, and now I understand the appeal of traveling there because it gives off such quaint small-town vibes. Boston was magical because it was a bustling city with so much rich history between its skyscrapers. The people were friendly, and it was just so pretty to walk through. Besides, the random cemeteries were historical tombs.  Salem is also the cutest little town you'd ever come across because of its time of year. Not many people get to say that they visited Salem during October, and I'm glad it was a part of our trip.  Maine started out rough but ended up being spectacular. I could spend a whole week exploring both Bar Harbor, Maine, and Boston, Mass. Seeing as Maine was our last stop, I soaked up as much as the Atlantic seaboard as I could. I realized life would not be the same after taking a trip like this one and understanding the weight of being 22, and having visited almost every state in the country. 

 Pennsylvania is just as I remembered it from my 8th-grade trip, and between all the big cities were beautiful suburban areas. I always thought the state was kept up from the parts I've seen and always gave off homie vibes. I'm sure I'll be back in this state one day because my brother's dream is to go to Pittsburgh for apparent reasons. The Amish country was lush and green. The people were generous and friendly. The state as a whole is entirely different from southern California. People are just so much more content with life, and it's so much more refreshing. 

One of the significant highlights of Pennsylvania was running the steps of Rocky. I recorded my mom running up the steps, and it will be etched into my memory until they say I die. I am a huge movie buff, so accomplishing this small task was a significant checkmark accomplishment on my bucket list of life. A BONUS TIP DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THE ROCKY RESTAURANT! JUST TAKE A PIC AND SAY YOU SAY IT CAUSE THE FOOD WASN'T GOOD!!
 
Another notable state was Maine because Bar Harbor is where I would drop everything to come back again. I legit walked across the ocean, which was insane to think about, and it was something that brought a smile to everyone's face. It's fitting to say one of the last meals of our trip was eating a whole lobster by the harbor. Every cute seaside town in America deserves its own nod of acknowledgment because of how cute and quaint it is. 

I could go on for another two pages of all the little things that impacted my heart in each state, but it wouldn't give it justice. I can't put into words how special it was to see the specialties of each state. 

This trip taught me that I need to expand my horizons past the state of California and have a new approach to jobs. I have struggled with dealing with failure in some way my entire life, and the job market for the career I want seems too hard to break into. I have decided to expand on specific passions and wait for the right job to come, whether out of state. When I was applying to colleges, I really wanted to go out of state, but I knew I wasn't mentally prepared yet, and now, at the age of 22, I can say I feel a lot more comfortable. I know I'll struggle to adjust, but I know God put me on this earth to explore my passions for a reason. 

I miss the new England fall weather so much, and I got to wear sweaters. I'm honestly tired of Cali being 90 every other day because I want to wear leggings and a sweater again. I miss the vibe that the east coast gave me with its small quaint neighborhoods surrounded by the big city life. I am a firm believer that Californians live in a bubble and only know a particular way of life. The United States and beautiful and vast !! Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to themselves and hasn't explored its vast expanse. I am just starting out life, and I hope to use my life knowledge in a career that keeps the adventure going! 

​Around this time, my mom, brother, and his wife Ashley embarked on a 3-week road trip across America. The big reason is that we all wanted to get the hell off of Cali because life there was locked down compared to the rest of the country.
What would ensue in those three weeks would be fantastic and magical. Ashley is a person who hasn't gotten out much and seeing her able to see what the rest of the United States looked like was fantastic. There are some places locally that she had never been to at the time, which astonished me because I love exploring new places. This opportunity allowed everyone to step outside the Cali bubble and see the red essence of what makes America great. 
 I think I'm a seasoned Vet when it comes to road trips cause, at the time, this would have been the fifth one I've done across the USA. The first time being back in 2016 where I went across the northern parts of the country, and the second time being in 2018 where I flew into Texas and got to experience Nashville with my grandpa, which was great. The last one being in 2019 where we took our RV from Michigan to Cali with my little cousins. This was my cousin's first time being in a car for so long, and it built quite the memories. The fifth road trip, the 3-week venture, would be a combination of the two, with the middle attending my Grandma's birthday in Michigan. 
I got back to Nashville and New Orleans when I was still not 21 yet, but it was still fun. I hope to go back to Nashville because It is 10x better than vegas, just saying. The food is just as good, and people are 10x more friendly. I got to experience the real south for the first time, and it was alright. I love the beach we went to in South Carolina, and the BBQ food was just as fantastic. I genuinely wish that Cali had decent BBQ like the south has. If you haven't seen my insta, you probably don't know that I'm a massive foodie, and exploring foods on road trips is half the fun. 
My visit back to Yellowstone solidified my love for America's national parks. It also inspired the zion trip I would take on my spring break. I saw so much more wildlife this time around and got to see much more of a massive park. You could stay a whole week in that park exploring so many different things. Yosemite Was a little more underwhelming because of the lack of time we had to see it and the fact that you needed to hike to see a lot of the more minor details of the park. 
Through this experience, I realized how much photography has meant to me and how much traveling was a major player. I have a whole album of photos that I've shared with the world, and it made me want to keep pushing to perfect my craft. This fall, I have many plans for my business, and I hope to gain more followers on Insta cause that's the dream. 
I reflect on this because I will leave for another road trip in two weeks, in which I will fly to Florida and go up the eastern seaboard. Instead of going back to Europe, this was planned because it's still too hard to travel out of the USA due to covid restrictions. The fantastic thing is that after this trip, I only need to check off Oregon and Alaska to have visited all 50 states in America. 
I hope to share more fun times and blogs throughout the years. I'm in a weird time in life trying to figure out my next avenue. I want to pursue so many things, and my dream is to progress this blog even further cause I love writing, or else I wouldn't have majored in it in college. 

The 2020 Olympics are officially over, and I wanted to write this post to reflect what every summer and winter Olympics means to me. Every 2 years for 2 weeks, I watch the winter and summer Olympics and become a sports-crazed human being. Many people know that I don’t usually watch sports, except for the Dodgers, every now and then. 

    Ever since I was 8 watching the Beijing Olympics, I’ve loved watching every single unique sport that is highlighted. After studying journalism, I can tell you that the story behind these athletes is what attracted me most. These athletes train their whole lives to achieve the Olympic dream. Over the last five years, I’ve run into many people my age that think the Olympics is dumb and that it’s not worth much. I just find that they are uneducated on the guts and brute work that it takes to make it to the Olympics and represent the USA. 

    I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried watching the Gold medal moments from all the USA athletes over the years. The one that hit me the most is Allyson Felix’s last race in the Olympics, and realizing that would be the last time I’d ever cheer her on. Seeing her end her career with a gold medal around her neck is such a fantastic ending to a storyline. Another great moment in these games is the Women’s Volleyball team finally winning Gold after being close so many times before. 

    My bias for sports is and will forever be gymnastics and Figure skating. The artistry and athleticism that these athletes display are so underappreciated. Just look up Nathen Chen’s routine and see what I’m talking about!

 I’ve reached the age, though, where most of the athletes I grew up watching are no longer competing. Micheal Phelps no longer swims, Sanya Richards Ross doesn’t run track, Aly Raismen doesn’t do gymnastics, and Kerri Walsh no longer plays beach volleyball. I’m telling you this cause it all fits the timing of my current life and that from endings come new beginnings. 

My dream photographer goal is to shoot at the Olympics, and now that it’s coming to LA in 2028, I hope to make that happen. I encourage people to appreciate the beauty of the Olympic games! It’s the only time so many countries come together and celebrate one another’s achievements. They also allow more minor sports to be highlighted. I watched everything from Surfing to every track event these Olympics. I got up at 3 am to stream women’s gymnastics live, and it’s the only time I feel so drawn to sports. 

I’ve decided to write a post about this because the Olympics will forever be special to me, and as I get older, they have a new meaning. When I was a kid, I wanted to be the athlete having that special gold medal moment, and now I want to be part of the media highlighting such talents. 

p.s. the anime references that all the athletes made these Olympics put such a simile on my face. 

PC: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
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So I was in Hawaii about three weeks ago and I would’ve written this sooner I just had to decompress from the situation I found myself in. The opportunity to go to Hawaii arose from the fact that my aunt/cousin at the time was going and said she would love for me to come. My dad was concerned at the time because this particular aunt/cousin has shown some signs of irresponsibility in the past. Needless to say, I did not really care about the warning signs because Hawaii is a state I  had been trying to get to for a very long time. 

If you don’t know it’s one of my ultimate goals in life to visit all 50 states and take photos at every state. Luckily I’ve gone on many road trips and have visited all of the midwest and most of the southern state. (Florida is my dream vacation at this point) As you can see through my mindset was locked on the idea of experiencing Hawaii. 

Fast-forward to modern time I would have taken anything to just go to Hawaii with my family and live it out with them. So many things happened in the week I was in Oahu that I just wanted to hop on a plane to LA and come back immediately. When I’m more responsible when my 40 something-year-old aunt/cousin that’s sad. Anyways I’ll spare everyone reading this the details but just know that Hawaii was left as one of the worst states I’ve ever visited because of the issues I went through. 

My trip to Utah back in March was 10x better than Hawaii and I highly recommend everyone explore the beauty that is the Utah national parks. 

What my experience reconfirmed was that doing a vacation the way that you’re used to will forever be my comfort zone. I am an adventurer and am someone who wants to try local things and try stuff I can’t do back at home. The group of older people I was with in Hawaii legit went to fricken Yardhouse… for their first place to eat. That was just the start because they almost went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I was mortified because everyone knows I am a foodie and the people I was with caught on because by the end of the trip they were trying to order whatever I did because it looked the best. 

The one major foodie thing I did get to do and was because the roommate I was staying with (don’t ask questions it’s a long story) finally decided to go with me. The place was Leonards Bakery in Oahu. The research I had done on the bakery came down to the fact that they had the best Masaladas (Portuguese donuts) in all of Hawaii and they had been pulling tourists in for years.  As a donut enthusiast, they were fricken incredible and I highly recommend them! 

The tour that these older women bought was a day before cause they didn’t plan ahead even though they knew they were going to Hawaii months before was crap. The place the tour company took us to go snorkeling looked like a nasty cove and was extremely dirty. The food spot took us was a shrimp shack that supposed to be better than Giovanni’s but very subpar to even talk about. The dole whip factory was lackluster to me because I grew eating it cause of Disney and I didn’t even get the opportunity to eat a real pineapple while I was there. 

My biggest takeaways from the trip were that beaches in Hawaii have the bluest water I’ve ever seen and that the water felt clean. If you’ve ever been to a beach in LA you know how nasty the water can become. The second takeaway is that I now feel better traveling alone with strangers cause that basically what happened on my trip. Third I desperately want to know someone who has a boat because my best memory of Hawaii was going on a catamaran which was an idea I ignited. Finally, I learned what it meant to travel under the cloak of a parent. 

I hope one day to revisit Hawaii with friends (hopefully if I have any) and get better memories. I want to create positive memories when I travel cause it’s a means of escape and worry. I can back to Cali and felt little to no relief from my post-grad stress. Anyways, if you’ve made it this far into this story comment on your fav trip memory or why you think Hawaii is worth revisiting?

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