You guys, this month has flown by so fast and…kind of dragged on.

So, if you read my last recap post, you’ll know that I was on a two-week cross-country trip the last week of June and into July. So I’ll finish talking about that!

What did I do?

After we went to Alcatraz and the Redwoods, we went to LA! And y’all…thats where the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me occurred. We went to this place called Homeboy Industries, which is the largest gang rehabilitation center in the world. (I made a post about it here.) The founder is a Jesuit priest named Gregory Boyle and he is my favorite nonfiction author—I highly recommend his books!

All the workers at Homeboy Industries have been involved in things such as drugs, alcohol, gangs, and some have been to prison. When they come to Homeboy Industries, they get help to stop doing drugs, get out of their gang, get a job, finish high school if needed, and get a house. Father Boyle (or G, as they call him) even goes as far as helping them get into college, going through counseling, removing their tattoos for free, giving them extracurriculars, and more.

Now, Homeboy Industries was my personal choice for the trip and we were originally going for the store. (Which has awesome merch, by the way.) In the store, the guy at the cash register was super friendly and we talked to him a little while. He used to be involved in drugs and a gang and said, “Y’know, when I was a kid, if you walked across the street, you didn’t have to worry about being kidnapped. Nah, man, you had to worry about being killed.” Now he has two kids, a job at Homeboy Industries, and a house.

This is where the best thing that ever happened comes in: the walls of the store (inside the building of Homeboy Industries) are glass, and you can see down the short hallway and into some of the offices. Including the office of Father Gregory Boyle—the award-winning author, knighted by Queen Elizabeth, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Biden, and more. And he was in there. Like, fifty feet away from me. My hero. Favorite author. Coolest guy ever.

My dad was like, “Okay, Willow, stand RIGHT THERE and I’ll get a picture of you with him in the background.”

Okay. So I stand there and the guy we had been talking to says, “Hey, do you want to meet him?”

Officially gobsmacked. Shocked. Stunned. Amazed. Ecstatic.

“Really?! We can do that?!”

“Yeah sure! And here, you can get a book so he can sign it.”

Let’s just say that I started freaking out. We’d been in the car for hours, my French braids were a mess, I was wearing a hoodie that I wore in literally every other photo on the trip (I only brought one hoodie, y’all), and had I put on even a bit of mascara? Nope. (But I had been relatively smart and changed out of my Birkenstocks and socks into Vans.)

So I got to meet Gregory Boyle.

But it came with about a 30 minute wait that was totally worth it. He was in a meeting with ‘a city guy,’ as the ex-gang members said. So while we waited, we got a tour from one of the girls there. She is turning twenty-one this month, has an eight year old daughter, (she had her daughter at 13,) and is finishing getting her GED at Homeboy Industries. Gregory Boyle helped her get a job, house, and parenting classes.

Then we went in and met Gregory Boyle. I got a picture with him, he signed my book, and it was overall amazing. I really hope to go back someday!

We also went to the Grand Canyon and y’all, it was gorgeous!! There was this really cool part in the evening where it looked like heaven was just coming down. It had rained and the clouds were parting and the sunbeams were shining and ah! Loved it, loved it. 10/10 recommend!

So that was all trip-related, what else did we do? Well, we made it home. (Yay! My bed and all my clothes!) I unpacked everything in one day and am now waiting to paint my room before I hang my frames, pictures, and etc up. That will (hopefully) happen in August. Then, this pastnWednesday, we drove down to Wilmington, NC to go to the beach! We were there for a week for my dad’s retirement ceremony and then spent the rest of the week partying.

Here are pictures from the retirement and beach! I also got to see my bestie—she flew down and stayed for the week with us which was amazing!

We celebrated my dad’s retirement from 20+ years in the military and saw all our friends and family there as well as played at the beach for hours every day. We don’t have our family photos from the photographer yet, so they’re not included in this post but maybe I’ll update it later. Maybe.

Yesterday I flew out to Washington state where I’ll see some friends at camp today! I’m unbelievably stoked about that.

Moving on from me and my life, let’s check out my reads of the month!

What did I read?

I’ve been reading a book that a friend gave me, titled Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. Crazy confusing but crazy good.

I’m also reading a book called All Better Now by Neal Shusterman. Y’ALL! This one is also crazy confusing but amazing!!! I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m almost there. So so good.

And finally, I’ve started Snowglobe by Soyoung Park. Again, amazing! I’m still in the first few chapters, but y’all, I be hooked!

So far this month has been full of really good books which makes me really happy considering I haven’t read too much lately.

What did I listen to?

Okay, so in my last post I had started mentioned Creep by Radiohead. Well, I’m still stuck on that song as well as a few other rock classics.

Here are the songs that have been on repeat for me lately!

1. Unlearn by benny blanco (feat. Gracie Abrams)
2. doing my best by Hazlett
3. Damage Gets Done by Hozier (feat. Brandi Carlile)
4. Flowers by Samantha Ebert (feat Seph Schlueter)
5. Summer Home by Matthew Parker (feat Mykyl)
6. Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder
7. I Had Some Help by Post Malone (feat Morgan Wallen)

And then a variety of songs by Stevie Wonder, Bon Jovi, and Brandon Lake!

What did I write?

Well. That’s a good question. I’d love to answer it for you. Just give me a few minutes to actually do some writing and then I’ll answer.

I’m just kidding. (Kind of.)

I’ve been focusing on a writing project that you don’t get to hear about. You will in a few months though, I promise.

In the past month, I’ve written about one chapter in my WIP, The Devil’s Demand with a total of 7,012. (That’s about 2,000 words more than my last monthly recap post.) For some reason I’m in a slump when it comes to this project, so I’m putting it to the side a bit and focusing on my blog, interviews, and that other writing project.

Since it’s sort of related to writing, I also did an interview with author Scott LeRette! We called and talked about his book, the movie they made, his son Austin, and autism. I highly recommend watching it, we talked about some great stuff! (And if you want to stalk me and see how I talk and look, then you can do that too I guess.) Watch the interview here.

I also did a guest post on Maya Pawley’s blog, River of Words! Check out and subscribe to her blog! She has awesome posts with lots of writing tips and tricks, book reviews, interviews, as well as faith-centered posts!

What happens next?

Great question! The last few weeks of July and first few weeks of August are gonna be cray-cray.

So yesterday I flew to Washington. Today, I’m going to summer camp with my old church in Washington, so I won’t be doing any writing this week but I do have posts scheduled. I love y’all, but not more than camp. Kidding. But seriously—I will have zero time to write.

Like I said, I’ll be going to the summer camp that my (old) church is having and I’m super stoked! I’m surprising my small group girls and my other friends—I’m really excited to see everyone and hopefully I’ll get my spiritual battery recharged while I’m there.

And when I get back on August 5th, I start work at Chick-fil-A the next week! And then a week later I start school. I’m actually pretty excited to start school since I haven’t had much to keep me busy—other than my three trips in two months.

(Okay, question: school just ended. Like, I’m not kidding, I remember it like it was yesterday. And in a few weeks it’s starting back up?! I’m not totally complaining—I need something to do, but what?! Time just flew by so quickly, y’all.)

Well, that’s all I got for today! Be sure to watch the interview with Scott LeRette and keep your eyes peeled for another writing competition in a couple weeks!

Thanks for reading!
~Willow