Seen by Summer

Hey ! Thanks for reading my blog. To me this website is about creative expression. I wanted a space to share my art and writings with my friends but presented in a way that felt more unique than posting on social apps.

Where it all began

Its a thursday night in 2008 and America Ferrera is the lead in the ICONIC english telenovla Ugly Betty. I was completely awestuck by her gumption, resiliance, and the fact that she had a blog. I thought it was the coolest thing that someone could share their writings online and anyone in the world could read it and relate. This was the beginning of my desire to publish my own blog one day.

My Writing Journey

My mom being the girl boss she is was enrolled in a masters program while I was a young child. As a result I was dragged to many a late night lecture and was put into the child care programs offered at UTSA (BIRDS UP!). One such program was a summer writing academy. This was my big break into the publishing industry. I would write poems and even crafted my first short story which i will never forget thanks to my moms undying adoration for this work titled Cat Island. I think my moms support for my writing career is what sparked my many adventures into authorship.

Middle Shool Was a Time

I first published on a public forum known as Wattpad back in 2012. Yes, I’ll be the first to admit I did my fair share of reading and writing Y/N stories. My most notable work was titled Pariah (revolutionary, or so I thought before I checked how many other angsty teens had published with that very title). Pariah actually did relatively well; I had reached around 150 reads in 1 year, which is wayyy more than the steady 5 reads I would normally receive from my besties. Middle school also saw the dawn of my blogging career. That’s right, I’m talking about TUMBLR!!! Shout out to my friend (iykyk) who introduced me to this magnificent site. This was my first venture into HTML coding once I learned you could customize your colors. To me, Tumblr was less of original blogging and more of an amalgamation of Steven Universe and Perry the Platypus fan art.

Enter Highschool, Stage Left

Continuing to publish on teen reading sites, I decided to expand my horizons. I wanted my work to reach the shelves of hundreds of teens just like me. So, I decided to join the yearbook. This was a decision that I think changed my life in more ways than one. Not only did I get featured articles in a tangible book, but it also exposed me to ✨the world of journalism✨. Mrs. Snooks was adamant I join her afterschool club. I like to think it was because she thought of me as some sort of prodigy, but in reality it’s probably because my writing needed some serious intervention. The days of sloppy editorial were gone. I was forced to learn the ways of news, feature, headline, and editorial writing, also known as UIL Journalism. I was apprehensive, that was until the team captain was a super cute senior that I had the hots for. That was apparently reason enough for me to become dedicated to something I didn’t care about. By the time I was a senior, my skills had developed enough for me to qualify for district champions and gave me enough confidence to enter my first writing competition. I wasn’t expecting for my work to be featured in the Optimist Club of San Antonio newsletter or for them to give a $100 scholarship because of it. This competition inspired me to curate enough ambition to attempt to get my whole undergrad paid for by scholarships. A goal which I am proud to say I accomplished. But those scholarships were really my first dip into writing for an audience who was mainly interested in my perspective.

Fast Forward to Now

A year after graduating university and I find myself craving a challenge. To be honest I havent engaged in anything remotly challenging since I took my last final on May 10, 2023. Well thats not true, trying to get a job as a recent grad with limited experience during an economic down turn is suprisingly difficult. Sorry to digress lets return to the topic at hand. In short, now I am ready to embark on a long term artistic project otherwise known as this very blog. I am eager to write for an audience again and hope to entertain and relate to you guys. Life is hard, but life is also really beautiful. The goal of this blog is to share the moments that make life worth living through a lense Seen by Summer. Please subscribe to my blog by joining the email list…. its free! Comment your thoughts on this first article and leave any suggestions on what you would like me to write on next. I will see you in the next one. CHEERS!