In early January, I came across a WordPress.com post on Twitter about a new writing challenge called Bloganuary. In a nutshell, they give you a prompt every day in January and you answer it in a blog post. It sounded like fun, so I decided to give it a go. Things didn’t quite work out, though. I rarely finished my responses, and I often skipped prompts altogether. I feel kinda bad about that.
Despite the fact that January (and thus Bloganuary) is over, I still wanted to finish and share some of my favorite responses from the month. Here they are, bundled into a single post.
Day 1: “What advice would you give to your teenage self?”
I would say to younger me, “Stand up for yourself.”
I’ve always been bullied, but middle school was by far the worst three years of my life because of it. There were several reasons for my classmates to pick on me: my weight, my glasses, my acne, my good grades. They hated me, and they made it their mission to make sure that I knew it.
When Iโm having a bad day, I relive the many times someone called me a name and I just took it. I think about what I could have said and wallow in shame for not having said it. The truth is, I was afraid of confrontations. I’m not good at on-the-spot insults. My hands shake, my heart pounds, and I fall apart. I was also afraid of getting in trouble. The one time I stood up for myself, I got into an actual fight and the principal blamed the whole thing on me.
What I’ve learned (from my dad) is that while confrontations are uncomfortable, they’re sometimes necessary. If someone says something to you that you don’t like, you have to let them know. It’s all about diplomacy. There’s usually a way to get your point across without letting the situation devolve into a fist fight. Being silent makes people think you’re scared of them, and they will continue to disrespect you.
Day 2: “What is a road trip you would love to take?”
During my school years, we took field trips all over Florida, my home state. We went to Tallahassee, our capital; St. Augustine, which has historical significance; and Tampa, home to the Busch Gardens theme park. I either don’t remember the details of those trips, or I remember the details all too well (in a bad way).
I would like to revisit those places to experience them as an adult. It would be kind of like that episode of black-ish where Dre took his whole family to Disney as VIPs to create better memories of his childhood trip there. I would start right here in Orlando. I want to go to Disney, Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, EPCOT, Sea World, Gatorland, and the Science Center (on adult night). Then I would work my way up Florida to the other places I mentioned, adding a few new landmarks like the major beaches along the way. I would take plenty of pictures, try all of the fancy restaurants, ride the rides, and get a bunch of souvenirs.
I’m not sure how I would actually get to these places. It wouldn’t be on a school bus without air conditioning or seatbelts, that’s for sure. A private tour bus would be comfortable yet expensive. I’ve always dreamed of riding the train, but I would still need a car or rideshare to get to the individual places in the cities. A car would be nice if I could drive, riding up the highway pumping my favorite tunes.
Sadly, lack of finances and the whole COVID situation means that this trip won’t be happening any time soon.
Day 4: “What was your favorite toy as a child?”
When I was a kid, I was the Barbie Queen. I loved Barbies (and Barbie-like dolls) more than anything in the world. By the time I stopped collecting them in my early teens, I had at least 100 dolls, an RV, an apartment that folded into a mini suitcase, a camping set, three cars, loads of furniture, and piles of clothes and accessories. I loved going to stores like Walmart, Kmart, Big Lots, and Toys-R-Us to check out the latest stuff.
I had Barbies of every color. My parents believed in the importance of buying Black dolls, but they didn’t restrict me to only Black dolls like my aunts did to their daughters. I was free to chose any Barbie I wanted. And I did! Besides the standard Barbies, I had Skipper dolls, Chelsea dolls, and several variations of Ken and Steven (aka “Black Ken”). There were the Disney princess dolls like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Nakoma from Pocahontas, and a Black Rapunzel. Then there was Sabrina from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Britney Spears wearing her iconic pink waitress uniform from the “(You Drive Me) Crazy” music video, MC Hammer in his purple poofy pants, three Spice Girls, and one of The Misfits from Jem. My mom displays these dolls in the China cabinet in our living room.
Day 9: “What do people incorrectly assume about you?”
People often say that I never change. Whenever I run into an old friend or classmate, the first thing they say is, “Wow, you’re still the same!” They always say it negatively, like it’s a bad thing that I still look the same, dress the same, like the same nerdy things, live in the same area etc. as I did when I was growing up. They assume that I’m trapped in the past or that I haven’t made any progress in my life. Both assumptions are wrong. I haven’t changed much because those things make me who I am. Just because they can’t readily see the things about me that have changed doesn’t mean that I’m stuck.
Another incorrect assumption is that I know everything about everything when it comes to technology. I don’t. People ask me to fix their phone or computer and get mad at me if I can’t. They think that I don’t want to help them or that I don’t really know what I’m doing. I get the sarcastic, “I thought you knew a lot about this stuff.” It’s like, my skills may be much more advanced than the average person, but I’m not a complete expert. Sometimes I simply don’t have a solution despite my best efforts. Moreover, I have zero control over things that are above my paygrade like OS kinks, network glitches, and badly-coded websites.
Day 12: “What emoji(s) do you like to use?”
My four favorite emoji are thinking face (🤔), monocle face (🧐), unamused face (😒), and neutral face (😐).
I probably use 🤔 the most. It usually pops up when I’m trying to make a decision about something, like the best way to write a particular blog post or how to style a certain design element on my site. Sometimes it means I’m thinking through something that I don’t have an immediate answer for, like if I’m watching a show or a movie and I’m analyzing a plot point.
🧐 means curiosity. The monocle reminds me of a magnifying glass, like I’m taking a closer look at something, while the raised eyebrow conveys my interest. For instance, I’ll share a link to a teaser for a new book, show, or movie that I want to check out with that emoji in the caption. I might also use it for products that have caught my attention like Lego sets, anime-related merchandise, and new food items that I want.
I call 😒 the side-eye. This emoji means that I’m feeling saucy or I’m being sarcastic about something. Oftentimes, the side-eye goes hand-in-hand with posts about my cat, Ren, when she’s doing something annoying (ex. climbing on things, sitting on my laptop, being picky about food, etc.). It could also be a reaction to a news story or a specific take that I don’t like.
Lastly, 😐 signals that I’m in distress about whatever I’m talking about, like when I’m having computer issues or my neighbors are being loud.
Day 13: “What does your ideal day look like?”
My ideal day would begin with me waking up at 10 AM from a good night’s sleep. Breakfast would be a minimal effort affair: a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal or apple cinnamon oatmeal with an extra cheesy grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of juice.
After breakfast and a relaxing bath, I would retreat to my room and write a bit while either watching my morning TV shows (Couples Court, Paternity Court, and Daytime Jeopardy) or blasting K-Pop music on my stereo. I wouldn’t have to pull teeth to get the words to come out, so I would get a bunch of work done on my blog posts. I would also make a few good social media posts.
Lunch would be at 1 PM or so. It would be a super tasty budget splurge, like hot wings from the mom-and-pop shop down the street or homemade tacos with all of the fixings. There would be enough left over for dinner, so I wouldn’t have to worry about what to eat later. Dessert would be ice cream or cake.
The afternoon/evening hours would be extra chill. I would watch the marathon blocks of That 70’s Show, According To Jim, and The Nanny before catching Jeopardy at 7 PM. The neighborhood kids would stay in their houses instead of running all over the backyard. Nobody would be playing loud music or setting up tents for a party. Maybe it would rain and I could take a long, uninterrupted nap.
That night would involve either a really good movie or more of my favorite shows. Then I would write a little more before turning in for the day.
Day 17: “What is a superpower you’d love to have?”
I would like to be able to move things with my mind (i.e. telekinesis). I think it would be useful in so many instances. If I’m sitting at my desk and I need something out of my reach, I could just hold out my hand and the item would float to me. I wouldn’t have to get up! Or say I accidentally close my keys inside the car. I could peer into the window and pop the lock with my mind. In a more serious situation, like if I were being attacked, I could use my power to push an attacker away.
I wouldn’t mind having the ability to control fire either. Fire is very impressive. I’ve always been fascinated with it. I don’t have any specific use cases for this power. I just think it would be cool to have, like the character Aelin does in Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass book series.
Day 18: “What book is next on your reading list?”
I always have a bunch of books in the Libby/Overdrive app. I recently finished Concrete Rose (Angie Thomas) and Jade Legacy (Fonda Lee). Loved both books. Now I’m trying some YA titles like The Gilded Ones (Namina Forna) and Skin of the Sea (Natasha Bowen), some adult titles like Pachinko (Lee Min-Jin) and Hunt the Stars (Jessie Mihalik), and a couple of non-fiction titles like Nikole Hannah-Jones’ The 1619 Project and Jami Attenberg’s memoir I Came All This Way to Meet You.
There are a few books that I’m looking forward to that come out later this year. At the very top of the list is Bloodmarked (Tracy Deonn) in July. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in the second book of that series. I’m also looking forward to Munro (Kresley Cole), House of Sky and Breath (Sarah J. Maas) in February, Tokyo Dreaming (Emiko Jean) in May, Soul Taker (Patricia Briggs) in June, and the newest volume of the Skip Beat manga whenever it’s available stateside.
Day 24: “Write about a dream you remember.”
A couple of days ago, I had a dream that I had a pet lizard of some kind. My parents and I were driving somewhere, probably to my grandparents’ house. I was sitting in the backseat, watching the scenery go by and listening to music like always. The lizard was resting on my thigh and napping.
Halfway through the trip, we stopped off to a shopping center to use the ATM or something. All of a sudden, the lizard jumped out the car window. He ran across the parking lot and into some nearby bushes. No matter how much I called him and searched for find him, he wouldn’t come back out. After a while, my parents said we had to go. I had to leave the lizard there. It broke my heart to have to pull off without him.
I don’t know what the dream at large meant, but I think the lizard part happened because it was unusually cold here in Florida and I had seen news stories about frozen iguanas dropping out of the trees. They say that your subconscious retains random weird stuff like that, which you later dream about.
Day 27: “Where do you go when you need solitude?”
My bedroom is definitely my safe place. I feel comfortable in there. There are no eyes on me. I don’t have to talk or think about anything. I can just breathe. Plus, almost everything I need is in there: TV, stereo, books, laptop, tablet, bed, bathroom. If I had a mini-fridge, I probably would never come out. There are times when I close the door, lie in bed in the dark, and just listen to music for hours.
This has been my favorite spot for my whole life. My mom often jokes that I was so quiet in my room when I was growing up that she had to make me come out every so often so she could make sure I was still alive. Nowadays, a phone call gets the job done.
Day 28: “What is on your music playlist right now?”
As usual, my playlists are full of new and new-to-me J-Pop and K-Pop albums.
Here are some of them:
- Utada Hikaru BAD MODE
- Eric Nam There And Back Again
- WOODZ Only Lovers Left and SET
- Stray Kids SKZ2021 and SKZ2020
- VIXX’s Eau De Vixx, hyde, and Shangri-La
- MONSTA X The Dreaming and NO LIMIT
- ATEEZ ZERO: FEVER EPILOGUE
- NCT 127 Favorite
- Crush Interlude, wonderlust and wonderlost
- Wonpil Pilmography