While most days I’m asleep when the sun wakes, there’s beauty at the start of something new. Every day we’re allowed a do-over and that’s not something to be taken

for granted.

Some think it’s strange but I love to smile at strangers. Sometimes I say hello, often times I just grin and nod their way. Why? You don’t know how good

or bad that person’s day is going so even the smallest sign of humanity could really make a difference.

There is no denying that I believe almost all newborns look exactly the same and are not cute until they are toddlers but there is something I find miraculous about

that first sign of life in an expectant mother.

One cannot have an sonogram without a mother on the other end. Being raised by a single mother has given me nothing but the utmost respect for any woman out

there who either chooses or is left to raise their kids by themselves. While help is offered here and there, it’s a lonely and stressful experience. If you had a

single mom (or dad) go and thank them and don’t say why, just call them and say, “Thank you.” Then hang up. It’ll trip them out.

One can only liken falling in love to a Disney Princess singing. When you’re falling in love, you feel like bursting out into song at the most ridiculous times.

My family is Black, white and Hispanic. My best friend’s is white, Hispanic and Native American. I may have grown up in a very white town riddled with trailers, but

I sought out those who were as mixed as myself because there was comfort in that. There still is. I still smile whenever I see people of various races dating.

I root for them, wanting them to work out and create mixed families for the next generation so a kid like me in the future won’t feel weird for having

a mommy and daddy who aren’t the same.

Eyes are without a doubt the most breathtaking part of the human body. The variety of color, the way they glitter in the right light, they way they can display

the thoughts inside your head without the rest of your face moving a muscle. They’re amazing.

There isn’t anyone on earth who doesn’t yearn to have that emotional effect on another person. So finding it is a gift that we can thankfully capture on film today.

Technology is a wonderful thing. I can’t imagine living in even the ‘80s and being forced to actually talk on a phone. The horror! While that’s the truth, technology is

hitting bookworms in the gut. Reading a Kindle is not the same as holding a book in one’s hands. Bookstores are awesome, but it’s libraries that are the true beauties.

Check out your local library. Don’t let them die out.

To see women (and men) all around the world marching for basic rights was sad. Sad because it was 2017 and the government shouldn’t be a boy’s club anymore. Although

sad, it was inspiring to know that the people will not sit quietly and let the US turn into the real life Handmaid’s Tale.

No one should have to wait around for the government to tell them their love is valid in the eyes of the law. 

As much as your family and home life affect you, school does even more. We spend so much time in classrooms during our formative years and that all starts on

that first day. That first day when you’re tummy is doing acrobatics, as fear, anxiety and excitement take turns flipping off your intestines. It’s just the beginning of so many

highs and lows that will culminate into a contributing person of society.

There are a lot of mixed emotions I have about Disney. They're just now making real strides on the diversity front, over seven decades after their first movie BUT at

the same time my childhood, and many others, would not be the same without the adventure, music and animated magic of other Disney movies that my mom kept me busy

with as a child.

Food that can cause people of all ages to instantly light up is worth mentioning. Ice cream started out as basic with vanilla and chocolate, but let’s give props where

props are due because ice cream has surely evolved to be a wondrous dessert.

The smell that floods through a home after cookies have finished their business in the oven should be bottled and sold. I’d surely buy a bottle...or three. There’s nothing quite

like it.

Just like the first day of kindergarten is full of fear, anxiety, and excitement so is that last day of school. Only this time around you are walking into the

real world. 

You could sit me in a class and teach me for years about planes and I’d still think they made no sense. Something that large flying through the sky? Witchcraft.

Unbelievable yet so captivating, it’s a portal to an adventure I cannot deny.

The actual written word is something I still hold close to my heart. Texting and tweeting are convenient, but penning down one’s thoughts to a friend—especially when on a trip—is

a lost art we shouldn’t let disappear.

MTV and Hey Arnold! made me obsess over New York City. I wanted to stand outside that Total Request Live window screaming just as much as I yearned to be

in an elementary class as diverse as Arnold. Years passed until I was finally able to go in 2016 and it absolutely lived up to the hype. While my body

belongs out west, my heart is wrapped up in that Big Apple skyline.

Rain in the countryside, desert or mountains is lovely. Rain in the city is a disaster. Rain covered sidewalks is the equivalent of wet trash. So when you live in

a concrete jungle and a storm comes, the only bright side is that rainbow to signal it’s over and done.

Of course, the world would be a less colorful place without the rain. So my thanks to the passing storms for giving us charming flower fields. No matter the flower,

they’re all delightful sights.

The events that occurred on September 11, 2001 were unforgettable, horrific and devastating. The memorial is an astounding tribute to those who lost their lives that day. Reading their names,

knowing they’ll never be forgotten, it’s quite the sight. What’s as beautiful to see is all the people who come to pay their respects for what I believe is the

one day in modern history that the entire country all felt the same thing in unison.

Right before it gets too hot is when the beach is perfection. The sand is barely worn and the waves are coming and going with very little interruption. It’s quite

peaceful and pleasant.

The fact that parts of the ocean have yet to be seen by humans is intimidating, but those who call it home are without a doubt wonderful. Also, Finding Nemo

would not exist without the beauty of fish!

There are more fish in the ocean than people on land...and thank goodness for that. Sitting in the traffic of Los Angeles alone makes me feel like there are too

many of us around here. So when it’s about 6am on a Saturday, the streets of LA are astounding. That’s when you can truly see the city for what it

is because there are not a million and one people honking at you, interrupting your view.

Having to leave two hours early to get somewhere on time because the buses are always late...a true annoyance. That’s why a bus on time will always be a blessing.

Whether it is slathered with marinara or basil pesto, all pasta dishes are gifts from the Italians that we all should put on pedestals and cherish because they are all

worthy and delicious.

No matter how old we get, there’s one thing we have to be sure to never lose and it’s that childlike wonder. That part of us that still finds things

like rainbows, Disney movies and ice-cream sundaes to be the best parts of life.

Spending an hour or more with a friend talking about the good old days when Backstreet Boys were at the height of their careers or old Nickelodeon shows is pure

heaven. Who doesn’t like to relive the better parts of their past?

Despite getting fewer presents as you get older, the holidays are still the best part of the year. Everyone takes a step back from work causing responsibilities to be at

an all-time low. Oh yes, and being with loved ones is also great.

The love a super fan has for the celebrity of their choice is one of my favorite things in the world. It can verge on crazy at times, but when

it’s pure there’s nothing else like it. Even when it’s a little questionable, there’s nothing like their dedication.

Listening to music on your own is an experience itself, but when you get a chance to hear those songs live—it’s a whole other world. No really, get some tickets

and hear for yourself.

I don’t care if someone’s tattoo has this deep meaning or it was something they got on a dare, I just love the look of ink-centric decor on someone’s body.

A fresh pair of Chucks makes me uncomfortable. It’s like they were never meant to be that bright and shiny. They look so much better after they’ve walked a mile

or two and have stories to tell.

Be it nerds or little goth kids, the outcasts will always have a place in my heart because I’ve been there and still find myself wondering if normal would be

an easier route.

Lord knows I live and love a sale. There’s something spectacular about knowing you got a deal on something that others paid full price for.

Target is a happy place for many. So how does one argue with trips to Target being a thing of pure beauty? Walking in just calms the senses and allows

for rest and relaxation while buying things you don’t really need, but at the same time most definitely need.

Growing up, many nights were spent on my bathroom floor crying, wishing that my hair would be straight and easy to manage. It took me almost three decades to love

my curly locks and now I would never dare put a straightener to my curls. Natural hair has volume and power like no other.

Plastic surgery is a choice you’re allowed to make, but letting your body to just be in its natural state is something to be praised. Embracing every freckle, stretch mark

and birthmark is something it takes many of us years to learn.

Like a trip to Target, there is just something about petting puppies that does the body good. It is a necessity for the mind and soul that everyone should take

part in.

Television will always be the best form of entertainment to me. There’s something addicting about finding a well-written show that pulls you in and makes you believe it’s more than

a show. It’s your life.

Not much can compare to the sound of sincere laughter. It is the sound that fills homes during the holidays or comedy clubs on any given night of the week.

Being that I spent the better part of my childhood in a double-wide trailer dreaming of the finer things, just the thought of a chandelier makes me smile. So seeing

an actual one is as enchanting as seeing a unicorn.

Spending 18 years in a small town and over a decade in a big city, there are things I love and appreciate about both but small towns have a charm

that larger places will always lack. There’s no neighborly love in a big city, no sense of real community and far too much traffic.

In January 2017, my fiancé was diagnosed with cancer. Later that year, after a stem cell transplant, we learned he’d entered remission. The look on his face was priceless, and

I’m sure it’s the same look of hope in many of others who'd been battling the big C. Health is a beautiful thing many of us take for granted on

a daily basis, and we never should because you never know when you could be without.

In a day and age where people are constantly on their phones, it’s always appreciated and quite wonderful when someone puts their device down and talks to your face and

not their screen.

Those who are different than us can be many things, and we can be quick to judge. But learning to accept everyone as they are is a gift that cannot

be bought.

It wasn’t just something the Spice Girls loved to say, it’s something we all need to embrace. Women are the fiercest of the sexes and it’s marvelous to be one

of them.

We may never know what’s beyond our own existence when it comes to the universe but it’s that adventurous spirit that makes life continue to be exciting with every new

discovery. We can’t possibly be alone in all of this, right?

Just as every sunrise is another new beginning, with every sunset is the ending of another page in the book of life we are each writing for ourselves.