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We Need to Protect Mackenzie Foy
I know how this title sounds. Protect her from what, exactly?That was my first instinct too—until I thought about it longer. If you grew up online in the 2010s, you remember Mackenzie Foy. She was always the little girl in something: the child in Twilight, Interstellar, The Little Prince, The Nutcracker. She was everywhere, quietly building a filmography before most actors her age even finished middle school. Naturally, many of us assumed a familiar trajectory. High school would end, adulthood would begin, and the next phase of her career would arrive—Netflix films, prestige dramas, maybe a slow-burn indie era. I’ll admit it: I expected it too. I expected more footage,…
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I’m Choosing Not to Have an Opinion — And That’s Allowed
This is probably going to be a controversial thing to say, especially right now. Especially given something that happened mere days ago. I’m not going to name names. I’m not going to give details. If you’re reading this around the time it’s being published and you follow Western news at all, you already know what I’m referring to. A woman was murdered. That’s all I’m going to say. What I will say is that this moment feels eerily familiar. It reminds me of six years ago—of the George Floyd case, and of how the entire world seemed to explode overnight. Everyone had an opinion. Everyone was expected to react. Everyone…
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Why I Didn’t Share “Yearly Highlights” This Year
Every January, the internet turns into one long highlight reel. People post their little recap videos. The “best moments.” The glow-ups. The milestones. The perfectly edited proof that they had a meaningful year. And this time around, I watched two of my favorite celebrities do it, too. Just quick clips—year highlights, life updates, that kind of thing. One got a tattoo. One got a surgery (not plastic surgery, by the way—just… life happening). And while I was watching, I felt this sinking, embarrassing heaviness in my chest. Because it hit me: I can’t do that. Not honestly, anyway. And I don’t want to lie to you. I don’t want to…
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I Spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Alone — And I Chose That On Purpose
This year, I spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s completely by myself. And not in a sad, “nobody invited me” way. In a deliberate, I chose this for myself way. Because 2025 was rough. Like… rough in a way I don’t even feel like fully explaining. Good things happened too, sure — but overall? It was one of those years that leaves you feeling wrung out. As early as October, I already knew: I don’t want noise. I don’t want pressure. I don’t want midnight expectations. I want peace. My parents were going away for the holidays, and I decided I wasn’t going with them. First of all, I’m…
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I Turned My 2025 Blog Posts Into a Book (So They Won’t Disappear)
I love the internet, but I don’t trust it. Websites vanish. Platforms change. Links break. Posts get deleted, flagged, lost in a redesign, or buried under years of newer content. And even if nothing “bad” happens, blogs can still quietly die—because life gets busy, because motivation shifts, because hosting expires, because the internet moves on. That’s why I compiled my 2025 blog posts into a book. Not because I suddenly wanted to be a “real author,” and not because I’m chasing a bestseller moment. The goal is simpler (and honestly more meaningful to me): preservation. The internet isn’t permanent, but paper is A blog is an archive… until it isn’t.…
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My December Writing Challenge: Week Four Update
Week four feels quieter — not necessarily easier, but calmer in a strange way. Overall, things are going smoothly. I’ve been hitting my work goals, keeping up as best as I can, and honestly just trying not to overthink everything the way I usually do. One thing I’ve decided is that this year, I’m not making a bucket list. No big goals, no dramatic resolutions. Instead, I might just make a simple list of stories I’d like to finish. No pressure attached to it. That alone already feels healthier. Decluttering My Drafts I’ve also been backing up and removing old stories from my Wattpad drafts. I have way too many,…
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Kristen Stewart Wants a “System Break” — and The Critical Drinker Wants to Laugh. Here’s What I Think.
I used to be a huge Kristen Stewart fan. The kind of fan who followed the tiny indie roles, knew what festival she was at, and watched Come Swim even though it made my brain feel like wet chalk. Then 2020 happened, and I just… couldn’t respect her the same way anymore. That doesn’t mean I stopped watching her completely – I still saw Spencer and Love Lies Bleeding, and I actually liked her acting in both. The problem for me now isn’t her talent; it’s the way she talks about Hollywood, “the system,” and politics, while not really bringing anything new to the table. So when The Critical Drinker…
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My December Writing Challenge: Week Two Update
So here we are — week two of the writing challenge, and I’m not going to lie, this week was much harder than week one. Day 8 Day 8 was actually harder for me than the previous days. Even my so-called worst day from last week (Day 4) felt easier than this. I had a lot of filler scenes and shorter chapters, which made it harder to reach my daily word goal, let alone surpass it. I’m also starting to think about what I’m going to work on next, because I’m getting close to finishing my current story — and that’s low-key stressing me out. Choosing the next project feels…
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My December Writing Challenge: Week One Update
So today I wanted to talk about the writing challenge I started on December 1st. I won’t go into every single detail, but basically I created a Christmas writing challenge for myself that runs from December 1st to December 25th. The idea is simple: …and so on, adding 100 words each day until December 25th, where the goal is 2,900 words. It’s kind of like doing NaNoWriMo, but mini and holiday-themed. The whole purpose is to push myself to finish a story I’ve been stuck on forever. Why I Needed This Challenge The story I’m working on is based on a YouTube video I saved to my iPod Classic (I’m…
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Own the Mic: Freedom of Speech, Jimmy Kimmel, and Why Creators Need Ownership Now
Quick note before we start: yes, I’m posting this late. It’s been about two months since the Jimmy Kimmel situation. I had these thoughts the week it happened—I just… didn’t hit publish. Life. On September 10 (World Suicide Prevention Day), a public tragedy collided with late‑night commentary, and the internet did what it does: fight, defend, cancel, un‑cancel, repeat. I’m not here to re‑litigate who was right. What stuck with me was how fast someone else’s platform can flip your switch. One minute you’re live; the next, you’re not. That whiplash taught me something simple: don’t build your creative life on borrowed rails. This isn’t a political piece. It’s a…
