Books. When I was in elementary school, I used to read a lot but in more recent years I’d grown too busy to read as much as I used to. This year, after joining my school’s book club, I’ve read more books in the past 6 months than I had in the past 5 years combined. It’s nice being able to go back to an old hobby that brought me so much joy. My favorite book I’ve read in the past year was Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage.

Music. My love of music started in high school. I’ve always liked music but I never really listened to anything on my own, I’d usually just listen to whatever was on in the car. When I started high school, I started exploring my own music tastes and I’ve found that I can get into pretty much any genre. My current favorite band is Arctic Monkeys.

Food. Food always makes me happy, especially when I go out to eat with friends. Something about everyone telling jokes while we’re all trying not to inhale our food by accident makes everything ten times funnier. Some of my favorite foods are steak and pizza and my favorite restaurant was Sweet Tomatoes before it closed.

My dogs. I have three dogs and all three of them are menaces in their own special way. One steals socks, one enjoys hunting birds and lizards in the backyard, and one barks at anything that moves. Even though they can be crazy, seeing them always makes me happy because they’re always there for me.

Barnes and Noble. With my renewed love for reading, I had to find somewhere to discover new books and Barnes and Noble is the perfect place for that. Not only do they have a wide range of genres to choose from, but they also provide a peaceful environment to just exist in. My visits have ranged from 10 minutes to almost 2 hours and never once have I had a bad experience.

My necklace. Back when I was around 8 or 9, my family took a trip to Hawaii, and we stayed with my Great Aunt and Great Uncle. While we were there, my uncle bought me and my brother necklaces with turtles on them which were meant to act as little reminders of our trip. A couple years ago my uncle passed away and every day since then I’ve worn the necklace to not only remember that trip but also all the fun memories I had with my uncle.

Traveling. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve liked going on trips, whether they were short trips up to Phoenix to visit family or crazy long road trips from my home in Tucson all the way up to Canada. Over this past summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Europe and visit Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Once I graduate, I want travel to more European countries, like France and Spain, along with some Asian countries like China and Japan.

Sunsets. There’s not very much to say about this one. The sunsets in Tucson are just really pretty, especially when it’s cloudy. The best part is when the color of the sky is reflected on the mountains making it even more beautiful.

Movies. I’ve always loved movies. My favorite genres are horror and thriller because they are rarely ever boring. No matter what, when I see a movie in theaters, I know I’m going to have a fun time. If the movie I see ends up being really good, then I can feel satisfied knowing I didn’t waste my money, but even if the movie is completely terrible, I still end up having a good time. Since I almost always go to see movies with friends, we can always talk about the movie afterwards. With good movies usually all we can say is that it was good but when it comes to bad movies, I can’t even count the number of jokes that have spawned from talking about them. It’s always a fun time.

Video games. I’ve loved video games since I was 5 years old. My first console was the original Wii. Playing video games is my favorite thing to do after a long day. My favorite game is Red Dead Redemption 2. It has a fantastic online mode when I want to play with friends and a consistently gripping story mode that I just keep coming back to.