Staying Home

The Roads of Figueroa Mountain

There are so many small crevices of the Earth that I have yet to see and explore. Seeking journey and lead by wanderlust, my friend Rachel and I set foot on Figueroa Mountain and walked the streets of California’s cutest little town, Solvang. This spring break, I also have the greatest honor of taking care of a family friend’s dog, Sully. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed when I found out I wouldn’t be going anywhere during this time off, but there are so many places in the 805 that I have always wanted to go see. This week, I will be able to take advantage of that.

Sully!

Friday morning, I dropped my belongings off at the home I would be housesitting for the next week and went to grab brunch with an old and very much missed friend, Nick. He would be flying back to Chicago the following day and I would have been super guilty for not catching up with him for a bit. We met up at South Coast Deli, talked, laughed some, and just purely enjoyed ourselves in the moment. Afterwards, Sully and I went to school so I could attend the Ambassadors meeting, where he was the star of the show. He absolutely loved the attention!

Finally, Saturday, I had promised my friend Rachel that I would take her up to see the mountains of Santa Barbara and that’s what we did. After driving up the 154, we finally made it to Figueroa Mountain, where fog was settling in and we had a picnic. Solvang was the next stop, where she had also never been. She bought the delicious pastries from the bakery and we both purchased chocolates (one of the BEST I have ever had) from a small chocolate/sweets shop. Afterwards, we decided to take the 101 back home instead of the 154 and since I had so much time on my hands, I had stopped at this viewpoint I have always wanted to stop at… And I’m so glad I did. I snapped a couple of pictures of Rachel sitting on the side of this concrete bridge that overlooked the Pacific Ocean and it was AMAZING.

Rachel risking her life for me

Again, there are so many treasures in this little nook we call home. I’m excited to keep it local this break.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Home by Jack Johnson

Artist Talk

Artist Talk: Armando Ramos

I attended Assistant Professor Armando Ramos's Artist Talk presentation on Wednesday, March 8th! First of all, this event really opened my eyes to what art really is. Looking at Asst. Prof. Ramos's work made me think, "How does a person even BEGIN to think of creating something like that
?" There were stools, strings, wooden cutouts, sculptures... and so much MORE that I would have never thought would be created.

He started off talking about different artists' works who inspired him to begin his journey into art. I can definitely relate to this right now because I'm deeply invested in photography, and I constantly look to my Instagram for inspiration. When I'm on a shoot, I make a Pinterest board before hand to help my model/client prepare for the image that I have in mind. Additionally, we both kind of find inspiration in how we want to angle the shot, pose, and style it.

During Asst. Professor Ramos's Q&A session, somebody had asked him that besides other artists who inspire him, what does HE do to get inspired. This question struck me too because I find myself stuck in a rut after looking at amazing work and feeling incompetent. He replied with, "Walks on the beach..." I honestly think that I keep taking advantage of Santa Barbara because there's so much beauty around this town that I don't take the time to appreciate! I recently just went on a walk on the Ellwood Butterfly trail, down to the beach and saw so many people out, just enjoying the weather. One was painting, one girl was reading and another one was kitesurfing! From that, I felt so motivated to continue my art. I was a little let down because on Instagram, I always see moody, foggy, matte-finished pictures and envy the style they have. BUT, you can literally create art anywhere you go and make it look ANY way you like it.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Dive In by KYKO

How Old Am I Really?

My sweet Grannie! I made her pose. :)

Lately, I have been incredibly occupied with a lot of... life stuff. For these past two weeks, I realize that I have drastically changed and it could be for the better or worse, but I think I am extremely different that the person I was seven months ago. This past weekend, my aunt, uncle and cousins came to visit our family and I found myself giving my eleven-year-old cousins a spiel about how lucky they are to be young and so full of energy. Surprised with myself, I just stopped talking because I didn't want to be that old cousin...

Aside from seeing lots of family and spending a ton of time with my family, I attended the SBCC Ambassadors' International Food Fair event that took place at Antioch University on Friday. On Thursday night, I slept over at my friend Rachel's house and we cooked Bulgogi (불고기) and Matang (마탕). Bulgogi are thin slices of beef that are marinated in sweet onions, Korean BBQ sauce, ginger, garlic and whatever else you want to add. Matang is candied sweet potato! Both of these dishes are Korean and it was my first time cooking both, with Rachel's help, of course. The day of the event was extremely successful. I took tons of photos, met a lot of people, and obviously had to eat a lot as well. Everyone who provided food for the event did a really amazing job and definitely left me with a lot of lingering cravings.

The Bulgogi that Rachel & I made!

Also a minor side note that I would like to add... I got accepted to San Diego State University! I really thought that I wouldn't be getting into SDSU because it's highly impacted, especially in my major, but I did! Now the hard part is choosing where I want to go. I have so much more research and things to check off my mental list before I can accept admission!

Back to my first point about change: For the most part, change is really good. I used to think that consistency was key and if I changed, nobody would like the "new me", whatever that is. We're changing and evolving every single minute of every single day and because of that we're learning ALL the time. I can now pick myself up after a hard fall and be grateful for every day that I get to live and spend with my family and friends.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Come Over by Dean feat. Baek Yerin