Congratulations to everyone who participated in ONC. No matter how far you got, you deserve a pat on the back. 

If you've followed my work, you'll notice I tend to write a lot of character driven, "slice of life" style books rather than anything super plot heavy. JOYRIDE is no exception. I like exploring what we consider mundane—the everyday experience, growing up, what it means to be human. The weight of living, as I've stated on my profile. (Also one of my favorite songs from Bastille, beloved.) I find both writing and reading these kinds of stories to be relaxing, like settling into your bed for the first time after a long vacation, and cathartic, like crying in the shower after holding it in for too long. Similar to my 2023 ONC entry HOLOCENE, a story which also deals with a falling out between friends, the "reason" isn't laid out exactly. It's hinted at, left to your imaginations. I do this on purpose because 1) I think it makes things interesting, not knowing the whole story but feeling the weight of those moments anyway, and 2) the aftermath is more important in this case. It's been years and there is a lot of baggage, but they've grown and moved on and sometimes you learn to rebuild without going back to the past.

JOYRIDE is more than a story about a woman trying to start the healing process after a break up. It explores the first steps of a woman learning how to do things for herself—whether that's exploring a new city for the first time, grabbing coffee by herself, or taking pictures without deleting them. Sometimes, the little steps are the ones that matter most. The little moments are what make every day life what it is.

Obviously, there's the queer aspect.

I came out online as bisexual either in 2021 or 2022, I can't remember exactly now. It was frightening for a number of reasons, and also frustrating because I did so due to the biphobia my book ADRENALINE was receiving at the time. Biphobia is still very much normalized both in society at large and within the LGBTQIA+ community, unfortunately. While many of my stories unpack and highlight the trauma of this discrimination, invalidation, and erasure, I also try to showcase bisexual joy as it is equally, if not more, important. I hope this story ultimately brings joys to those who can relate.

Aside from people I've been with, I'm not fully out in my "real" life. This past January, while sitting outside a restaurant in San Francisco with one of my best friends, I came out to her. I paused, took a deep breath, felt my hands shake under the table, and said it. It was such a relief to be able to open up to someone, and to know that absolutely nothing would change. I would continue to be loved for me.

Life has been stressful. So, this has been a great outlet to escape. San Francisco is one of my greatest loves. I was in elementary school when I first visited, and went back again a few years later. After my childhood best friend graduated from high school—I got my GED but it was the year I would've graduated as well—we went together with my family. Over ten years had passed by the time I returned last September with my best friend and soulmate Jordan. And I went back again this January with my best friend from my teenage years. Three friends who most represent different decades of my life. I also got to meet one of my other best friends I've met on Wattpad as she lives in SF. It was very special to be able to share my favorite city with my favorite people.

This story is inspired by the past two trips I've taken to the city. It is also especially inspired by Jordan—aka thaliagrace- and my moment forever—as are most things I write now. If you're familiar with her work, which you should be at this point, then you'll see her effect on me and my writing. I'm a better writer, a better person, a better friend because of her. And she is so, so loved.

Thank you Jordan, Adrienne, Kimi, Ohlee, and San Francisco for all you've done for me. And thank you, dear reader, for coming along for the ride.

(Pictured: Orpheum Theater, Wicked (musical) sign; woman standing in the Cable Car Museum; two women on Powell Street; the Palace of Fine Arts; cable car in the Cable Car Museum; woman posing in Chinatown; Wicked (musical) advertisement at a BART station; rainbow floor at the GLBT Historical Society museum; Oracle Park sign.)