I’m a very lucky girl.

My parents celebrate 24 wonderful years of marriage today. Congratulations you two crazy kids! This post is for you. It expresses a smidgen of how much you guys inspire, motivate and have taught me about support, teamwork, love, and hard-work. I’m lucky to be your daughter. I adore y’all, so much. ♥

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Dearest Mother & Father,

You two have always been my biggest fans. Through every little victory of mine (like, everytime I finish a meal that weighs more than me), and every major milestone (such as graduating from college), you two have been there, and I am so fortunate to constantly have your support. I don’t think I could put into words how grateful I am for both of you. You taught me discipline, the value of a penny, and the importance of having a goal and working towards it. Despite the fact that my sisters and I grew up without having a so-called “allowance,” we were never without anything we needed. You guys always made sure of that.

But it was because I was raised without an allowance that I knew I wanted to be able to earn and pay for things myself without having to go to you guys. You’ve always provided me with anything I could ever need, and you both work so hard. So from my thirteenth birthday and every Christmas for those next few years, I saved money I had been given, giving it to father to put towards what I called “My Retirement Fund. To be thirteen and saving for retirement… yep, I’m definitely y’alls daughter.

You two have always stressed the importance of school from when I was very young. In high school, I became aware of how important grades were for scholarships and getting into college. I’d always been a good student (I like to think), but I made sure to work extra hard in high school, completing the IB program and receiving both my high school and IB diploma come graduation. All that hard work paid off. I got into a beautiful school with a great art program located in the ever-so-lovely St Augustine. Fortunately, I also received a generous amount of financial aid between the school, Bright Futures, and private donors. Again, getting into college and receiving the financial aid I did would have been more difficult to accomplish had I not had you two behind me, cheering me on and encouraging me to put 110% into everything I do.

I worked through college, holding a few different part-time jobs. Like you two, I like to stay busy. While not completely aware as to how student loans worked as a college Freshman, I knew what interest was and that it was not in my favor when it came to student loans. So, I started to pay off a bit of my loans with each paycheck, also budgeting for rent, books, art supplies and other necessities.

I am very proud of the fact that I never asked you guys for money towards school. Although, I knew that if I ever needed some extra funds, you wouldn’t hesitate to send me some. But that just made me want to work even harder to be able to support myself. You guys raised an incredibly independent daughter (arguably a little too independent). Although I have to say that I was always thankful for your visits during my college years when you would bring me groceries. Freshman Year, you told me that if I kept up my grades throughout school, you would pay what was left of my student loans upon graduation as my graduation present. I had forgotten this until you announced it as my graduation party *cue tears* in front of everybody.

Being the kind of driven student and person that you raised me to be, I am proud to say that I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree debt-free. Not too many graduates can say that. Money I would have spent paying off that last chunk of loans I instead put towards my month-long European trip post-graduation (another thing I had been slowly saving for for ages). I would not have had the same great experience on that trip without your support.

Even when it does get tough and you’re living that broke college student life where you’ve been living off nothing but pasta for weeks… we’ve all gone through, or are currently experiencing those tight times. But even when you feel like you’re at your low, things can only go up from there, especially with support behind you. Thank you mother and father, for pushing me to work hard, because hard work really does pay off. I learned that emulating the strong work ethic of both of you. I know better than to let anyone tell me otherwise.

I owe everything to you two for helping me see the silver lining through anything life has or will throw at me. Thank you guys. Love your favorite eldest daughter, Aiko. ♥

Baby’s First Trip Abroad

One year ago today, myself and three gal pals embarked on a 30 day trip across the pond. And I’m going to do something I didn’t do when I went abroad… I am going to blog about it. I did however, keep a journal throughout the trip, which re-reading, has allowed me to do some reminiscing about this trip. Most of the details in this post I’m probably going to take directly from my journal. I don’t have the best memory. Writing down things always helps.

To start, I’ll tell you about who I went with: Stephanie, Gabriela and Chelsea. We were all recent graduates and friends from college. Steph and I hadn’t been abroad before. Steph had never even ridden on a plane before this trip. Aside from Gaby, none of us had never been to Europe before. But all four of us were ready to take on these three weeks of fun, fun, fun!

: Steph’s mom took this at the airport. Us U.S. gals, ready to take on Europe!

Now, where did we go? We visited three countries: the UK, Italy, and France in that order. I don’t want this post to be a million miles long, and as there is A LOT to say about this trip, so, I think I might indulge and dedicate a separate post for each city we stayed in. Yes. I think I will do that. It will give me another reason to re-live some great memories. ♥
We spent months planning before we left. And even after all the work that was put into planning, I don’t think we could have been prepared for how overwhelmed we were going to feel after arriving. There was just so much to do and see, and plenty of moments where we were like, “what now?” And boy, did we got lost. A lot. Basically 90% of the time we weren’t exactly sure where we were.

An 8+ hour flight is the longest flight I’ve ever been on. Flying isn’t my favorite form of transportation, but this flight was so incredibly smooth and comfortable. A toothbrush, pillow, and blanket were waiting for each of us in our seats and every passenger had their own personal television with an incredible selection of movies to choose from. I played Her, Labor Day and Winter’s Tale — and I fell asleep halfway through all of them. This is what happens when you’re the sleepiest person on the planet and a flight includes complimentary wine.

Around 5AM, we were served breakfast. I enjoyed traditional English breakfast tea as we were flying over the UK and I remember being over the moon thrilled about that. We landed on schedule, 6:50AM and stepping off the plane you could already feel a temperature difference. We definitely weren’t in Florida anymore and even though we would have been sleeping Florida-time, we were running on excitement once we landed (although that was a little short-lived)… more on London Town, soon!

I still can’t believe we left for Europe a year ago today. Things were so different. I think we returned from Europe as different people, our worldview widened, and our hearts and minds still in travel-mode but also in that “I’ll be home soon and will have dependable WiFi again” mindset. Despite the fact that this trip had it’s stressful moments, we learned a lot about each other as fellow travelers. This trip undoubtedly strengthened the friendship I have with Gaby, Chelsea and Stephanie. And if y’all ever read this, know how I much I love you girls. And miss you. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen any of you (and this needs to change). I couldn’t think of a another group of friends I would have wanted to share this experience with.

My Best Friend’s Wedding

People my age (and younger) are getting married. That’s a thing. It’s always been a thing. My mother got married at 23. As did my Lola, my father’s mother. At 23, my Nana, my mother’s mother had been married to my Tata for a year. My best friend Kimberly (Kim, Kimy, Kimy-Dee-Dah), also 23, has been married for a year, and today is her wedding anniversary.

First off, congratulations to the Joys! I can’t believe it’s been a year since your wedding, Kimy! It’s been a year since all of us ladies in your wedding party sat and ate pizza around your parents’ dining room table before church, a year since I realized your ceremony was *surprise!* entirely in Spanish, and a year since I assumed the role of your maid of honor and all the responsibilities that came with it.

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Two of many weddings where I was the best flower girl ever.

Being a maid of honor was such a special, well, honor. Especially to be Kim’s maid of honor, my best friend since high school. It’s funny, because my parents were among the first of their families and friends to get married and have a daughter. So by default, I was everyone’s flower girl as a youngin’. Fast forward and I was a junior bridesmaid once, and fast forward a little bit more, and boom! I was a maid of honor (because I mean, once you’re a maid of honor, being a bridesmaid is a breeze, right?)

For the most part, I have to say that I enjoyed being a maid of honor. I enjoy planning things. When it comes to projects, I’m an Executor. I know how to make things happen. Also, what girl doesn’t like working on Pinterest projects?? Being a maid of honor was a *little* stressful at times, sure, but it was all part of the experience, and I definitely learned a lot.

I mean, before Kimy’s wedding, the only things I really knew about being a maid a honor I knew from a favorite childhood movie of mine, My Best Friend’s Wedding and the 2011 classic film, Bridesmaids. Needless to say, I referenced a few other sources to make sure I fulfilled this role as best as I could, and I think I made a pretty darn good maid of honor, if I do say so myself.

As a maid of honor, the most important lesson I learned was to be prepared for anything, including:

the groom crashing the bachelorette party
splurging on a room in the most expensive hotel in the city for bachelorette party fun, because how many times does your best friend get married?
the week leading up to the wedding being a lot like finals week: no sleep and lots and lots of coffee
getting hit on by the bride’s teenage relative
a torrential downpour the evening of the outdoor rehearsal dinner
having to write thank you letters, pack the bride’s suitcase for the honeymoon, and create the playlist for the reception
stepping in to be the DJ and MC for the wedding reception (“I need all the single ladies on the dance floor for the bride’s bouquet toss!!!”)
trying not to cry every five seconds throughout the day so instead, absolutely losing it after your speech at the reception in front of 150+ guests
feeling overwhelmingly happy, sad, sentimental, joyful, and so much love all at once for the bride, groom, the whole wedding party… weddings just give ya all the feels.

So all in all, I’d say my best friend’s wedding was one for the books. To play such a meaningful part in their wedding was really special.

10451690_10152154378962547_1446671245562616681_n — My darling dear on her wedding day.

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