The new year is right around the corner! I'm currently on a road trip to Maryland and as we drive I wanted to look back on the year. SO MUCH has happened... I'm gonna use this post to yap about it :P

I went on a birthday trip with bitches from college (including my bday twin!). We strolled around downtown in the snow and saw the bean, went to a tiki bar that turned out to be a swinger bar, and we got to spend time at one of my friends parents' house.

It was such a beautiful trip… I loved spending time with my friends again, I miss them dearly and I really reallyyyyyy miss the times when it was so easy and simple for us spend time together because our lives were so closely intertwined. This was my first time seeing them all since we graduated from undergrad, and some of them I still haven't seen since, so I'm super grateful I got to see them when I did <3

I traveled to Orlando with a coworker to Disney World and Universal Studios. He got us some good deals on hotels and flights which was awesome! It was really special because this was the first time I spent serious time with a coworker, someone I actually only knew through work. This trip brought us closer and I'm very thankful to him and to the world for bringing me a friend like him when I was still so new to this part of my life and this entire state!

Both parks were absolutely incredible. My favorite parts were the star wars section of Disney World and the Harry Potter section of Universal. I was deadass crying on one of the Star Wars rides (the one with Kylo Ren and the AT-ATs) because it was just so awesome and profound. It was truly beautiful and felt so special and fun, especially seeing the other people in the cars next to you going through the same simulated experience. And with the whoel ambience of the park before and after the actual ride itself, you really feel like you're IN Star Wars...! It's just so awesome. The Harry Potter section is the same - you really feel like you're INSIDE of the Wizarding World! and the best part is that we went during Butter Beer season, and that was truly one of the best drinks I've ever had. It's so smooth and incredibly tasty.

That being said, both of them were quite expensive, and although there were some truly awesome parts, a lot of the parks are cool, but they get sort of a "really? I paid this much for this...?" sort of reaction out of me. I probably won't go again until I have kids.

This was also my first time to Florida, and I got to try a few things for the first time:

Wawa

• Absolutely incredible
• The food isn't great but it's like fast food quality for the price of what fast food USED to be
• The smoothie station is the best part

Alligator Meat

• I had it on it's own and mixed with chicken or pork
• It's really good
• Tastes like chicken

Waffle House

• When I went in, I was almost instantly insulted / spoken to rudely
• It was in a lighthearted manner though. It felt sassy in a good way
• Felt like it was part of the experience. Wouldn't have it any other way

Biggest McDonald's in the World

• They have special offerings like pasta dinner
• It's not actually really popping inside, It's kind of just a 5-10% better McDonald's, but it's cool to say you did it

These were all good experiences, so I recommend them (iykyk).

I was invited by a senior peer to attend a conference they were putting together. The organization they run, Fli Sci, hosted me and more than a dozen other academics, leaders, and professionals for a retreat in Philadelphia.

The entire goal of the conference was to brainstorm and plan out some new initiatives for the organization, which serves First Generation and Low-Income students in America. Fli Sci aims to increase representation for these students in academia and research, as data shows this is a major predictor of future success and quality of life. The organization helps these students (which can range from high schoolers to graduate students) secure opportunities and funding and build skills through training and hands-on experiences and mentorship. Most of the attendees were first-gen and/or low-income studenst themselves too :O

Quick sidenote: The summer after junior year of high school, I had the opportunity to contribute to research at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics. The goal of the laboratory was to study Nuclear Fusion, investigating it as the next source of energy. I was studying the use of Palladium Hydride as a storage medium for isotopes of Hydrogen, Deuterium and Tritium. We used something called a "Q Drive" to supercool the Pd bed to super sub-zero temperatures and pumped the D/T into it so it would bond into PdH or adsorb onto the surface. Then we would raise the temperature in a controlled manner to release a precise amount of hydrogen from the PdH, which would fill up miscroscopic targets with precise mounts of D/T. Then the lab would shoot super high-powered lasers at the target inside of a hohlraum, and the energy from the lasers would force the D/T together with enough energy that they would overcome the electronmagnetic force of the protons in their nuclei and undergo Nuclear Fusion, shedding neutrons from the D/T and release a fuck ton of energy. This is called "inertial confinement fusion" I thought it was reallyyyyyy cool and I'm super proud of it :P

Now back to the main topic: I mentioned before that data shows that early research opportunities like this are huge indicators of future success for students, especially those with low-income backgrounds. They prepare students for future professional opportunities, build professional and academic skills, and they look damn good on resumes. I This was the premise of Fli Sci's work with early career students - and the avenue I wanted to explore during the retreat. I had personal experience with it, having done that research in high school, and I really feel it made a difference in my Questbridge and college applications.

I worked with a team of 3 other attendees to design a new initiative for Fli Sci aimed at providing more of these research opportunities to early career students. The idea behind the new initiatives was basically "if we could secure funding, potentially on the order of up to millions of dollars, how would you use it to advance Fli Sci's mission?" The idea I had was to partner with existing research institutions to generate new research opportunities for students. We'd provide the students with training through Fli Sci, leveraging one of their existing programs which includes a year of training and preparation for hands-on research. But the goal isn't for us to hand-hold the partner institutions the entire time - Fli Sci might be heavily involved at first, but we'd be providing guidance and support, and potentially even funding, to these institutions to help them get their own student research initiative up and running. Then we'd slowly wean them off of our support so they can stand on their own two legs, and then we'd move on to a new partner institution, because another goal was to make something sustainable so that even if Fli Sci isn't around, the opportunities stay :D

I was really proud of the proposal we made, and at the time it sounded like they were really going to consider implmenting it. I want to get involved with them even if they don't because they have a wonderful mission and it's led by such talented people. I only found out about this through the "Questbridge Hub" - it's a platform for Questbridge scholars to connect and collaborate (Questbridge is an amazing program in and of itself - it's a scholarship program for "high achieving, low-income students" that aims to bridge the gap between what these students students could achieve with their talent and drive and what they can achieve given their economic status. It's the only reason I was able to afford going to an Ivy League!). Gabriel Reyes, the founder of Fli Sci, a few years my senior, an alum of my undergraduate university, and a fellow Questbridge Scholar, posted about the opportunity on the QB Hub and I was immediately interested.

When I found out about it, I also invited a close friend of mine from my undergrad - another Questbridge scholar - so we got to take a trip to Philly together! Me, him, and our mutual friend all spent the weekend together in Philly after not seeing each other since undergrad :) The trip was amazing… I really felt connected to everyone there because we all had similar backgrounds and struggles and all wanted to give back to the next generation of first-gen/low-income students - especially in the midst of an administration that keeps making things harder and harder for vulnerable groups already struggling with upward mobility and even survival. My life, and the lives of everyone there, have been transformed by these kinds of programs... I'm really hoping there's another retreat next year, and that I get to go and see some familiar faces. Shouts out to William, Henry, Carlos, and Gabriel!!!

My last trip was to Georgia. I went there for the wedding of two of my online friends, and they asked me to officiate the wedding since I've been ordained since high school :O

This was going to be my first time meeting both of the grooms, but we'd been known each other for like 5 years at that point. We got to meet up with a bunch of other online friends, and we all looked sharp as FUCK for the wedding. It was such a beautiful service... seeing the two love birds tie the knot was so moving, and being a part of their service was such a privelege. The place was also really pretty, it was at a state park in Jackson (?).

I also bought a really dope chasuble so I could look the part of a religious officiant. My fit was FUEGO and I had such cool face jewelry... I also had been taking a glass beadmaking class prior to the wedding, and I made the two grooms, myself, and one of their best men a set of 4 glass bead earrings, one for each of us. Each one took me about 30 minutes to melt, form, swirl and detail, and I chose the colors based on a show that me and the grooms really like - Steven Universe (one of the grooms actually put me on to SU, and his husband is the one that put him on - we all love it). I made the grooms' earrings represent Ruby and Sapphire (since they get married in the show), and the best man's was Rose Quartz / Pink Diamond, since he loves the color pink and it matched his suit. I made mine green since my favorite character is Perdiot >:3. Then I put them all on earrings with little charms as accents. The best man doesn't have his ears pierced, so his is a clip-on.

Our airbnb was a nice big lakehouse and it was such a lovely trip. I got to meet 3 online friends I had yet to meet in person, and a few that I had only seen once or twice ever. It was so much fun <3

I also moved my life from the South Bay to the city, found some really cool friends in the bay, and started building a community in my new state. I've been exploring the underground rave scene here in the bay (more on that in a later post), and it's been such an awesome crowd with some of the best music and artists I've ever seen. Shouts out to Miya Lowe, Soba, and Sophiaaaahjkl;8901 for literally the best electronic performances I've EVER seen across so many genres, from Juke/Footwork to Jungle and Furry Gabber. God, I fucking love the bay area music scene, and I'm so excited to see the boundaries pushed even further in 2026.

I've also leveled up so freaking hard at work!!! I started off as a little baby, not really sure or confident of what I'm doing, but now I'm taking on more ownership and responsibility, and I feel like I actually know what I'm doing - or at least, I know how to figure out what to do. I'm more independent, and I have a few cool projects under my belt (Generated READMEs, User Enums, Generated Admin SDKs, etc.). I've grown sooooo much this year, and I can't thank all of my coworkers enough for the guidance, opportunities, and support they've provided me along the way. I love my team, I love my product, I love my org, I love my company, and I love working alongside you all! It's also been so amazing to grow as an organizer this year, and I've made some really awesome friends and colleauges which have taught me soooo much about labor organizing, corporate politics, and just general political education and imagination. Whenever I feel like I'm not doing a good enough job, my lovely coworkers encourage me and remind me what I'm organizing for. I love AWU and I love you all!!!!!

All in all, 2026 was a great year. I've been driving for a few hours now, and we'll be at our destination soon, so I'm gonna wrap this post. Thanks for reading :) Happy new year!!!