Writer, sister, traveler…still figuring out what else. — Introducing Myself Reading others’ “about me” posts made me question how much I have to share about myself. Especially now, feeling isolated and aimless while basically unemployed and living at home again during a pandemic. However, I think for a shy 22-year-old I’ve experienced a fair bit so far. I’ve lived in…

It’s still tough, but I wouldn’t want anyone else as an ex — “Maybe we should just call it now,” Jonah had told me as we sat together in the late summer night, soon after I found out he had been lying about wanting to move to Portland with me. (I had never asked him to; he had offered, to my delighted surprise…

Spotlighting notable books by relatively overlooked publishers — I’ve been taking a book publishing course in grad school (if you couldn’t tell by my recent surge in posts about the publishing industry), and while poring through too many articles for my research paper on university presses, I discovered that November 17th was actually the last day of University…

Don’t count them out yet — Between accessible online travel tips and a global pandemic, one might guess that there is no future, or even a present, for travel guidebooks. Granted, there has been a significant decrease in sales, especially following the 2008 recession and the proliferation of smartphones. …

Seven miles of trail, ten waterfalls — A couple of the things I looked forward to most about moving to the Pacific Northwest were the beautiful nature and having “real seasons,” unlike my native Los Angeles. Luckily, my new university has an active outdoor recreation program that organized a trip to Silver Falls State Park, considered the…

Scholastic’s cowardly reaction to book bans — Note: affiliate links used. In response to book bans and related legislation targeting librarians and teachers, the Scholastic book fair has now made it easy for schools to affirm that they do not want corrupting books such as You Are Enough, a picture book celebrating our differences and inspired by…

At least this time, tuition will be covered — Usually don’t share life updates on here but I’m too excited (and nervous ) for my next step to keep quiet. In a few weeks, I’ll be moving to Portland to pursue an MFA in nonfiction writing, and to work as a teaching assistant to cover tuition and some expenses. …

No matter how close you are to them — I know, there are already too many online criticisms about the recent final season of Ted Lasso. But the show’s trivialization of anger as a response to discovering a close friend is gay deserves discussion, if only because it perpetuates a too-common way of thinking. Isaac avoids Colin, shuts down…

But tipping culture isn’t a long-term solution for workers — A recent Los Angeles Times article examined how tipping culture feels out-of-control for many in the United States, with more “tablets with quick-tap default tip options” and increased societal pressure to add a gratuity. As a barista myself, I’ll concede several points. Certainly, I thought of this article when I…