If you want something done, do it yourself. That’s a motto I’ve known by heart for years now, ever since I decided I wanted to pursue my passion of writing for my life. 

Throughout my childhood, I’ve consumed a lot of fictional media involving mythology- whether that means explanations of godly pantheons, modern retellings of ancient fables and legends, or breathtaking combinations of both. I’ve read Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which I still fondly look back on because of how much writing inspiration it’s given me.

When I realized the brink of adulthood was approaching, the first thing I wanted to do was buy a cupcake.It wouldn’t be hard, in my current living arrangement. Since I live on a college campus, many stores, restaurants, and libraries are a short walk away from my dorm. One happens to be a place called Molly’s Cupcakes.

I don’t remember when my parents first got a membership for the Austin Public Library. I only knew that my father always brought along the plastic card when my siblings and I piled into the car for the fifteen-minute drive.

Last year, over the course of the summer, I became a deep fan of a band called AJR. Though I’d known a few of their songs since middle school, I had never delved deep into their music. I didn’t know how much I’d grow to love the subject matter they focused on, from the struggle to feel creative and unique, the struggle to keep up with fans’ ever-ballooning expectations of their music, the constant chaos and turmoil of the internet and content surplus, and so much more.