Angel’s #sidequestsummer ☀️✈️🍳

Hola Guitarrón Chronicle regulars! We’re back again and this week we are hearing from the very talented rising junior violinist, Angel! 

‧₊˚❀‧₊˚. Angel’s Summer Update 7-26-26 ‧₊˚❀‧₊˚.

It’s time for #sidequestsummer!! This summer, I’ve somehow managed to bum around to extreme levels never seen before. Starting mid-May, I took a three-week-long trip with my family to Japan and China. We got to see a few of the iconic temples scattered around Tokyo, think about buying Pokemon cards I’m too poor for, and be part of the bustling night scene of Shinjuku. In China, we traveled across the country to experience all of its diverse cultures and visit our extended family.

The highlight of my trip was of course all the yummy food we got to eat, from novelties like wagyu beef to the nostalgic bites of my grandma’s homemade dumplings. 

Since I got back to Houston in mid-June, I’ve been spending my days going to the gym, learning to cook, and overall sidequesting unproductively. Though my gains are unfortunately not gain-ing quite yet, I’m proud of my cooking progress! I’ve been able to successfully improv my way into making dumplings, seared salmon, non-dry chicken burritos, and my signature sunny side up egg-on-cheese-on-toast breakfasts. My weekends have also been wasted away going to see the 4th of July fireworks at Hermann Park, watching the World Cup, exploring food around Houston, and watching Supergirl in the theater. 

Not everything has been all sunshine and rainbows, though. Unfortunately, I’ve still been somewhat employed (at least time-wise) with my research lab and internships. Most of my work is remote, since it’s a lot of data collection and analysis, but I’ve found that I enjoy locking in on my own time, even if it’s not always the most time-efficient. I’m also grateful that I had the opportunity to travel to Austin a couple weeks ago for a public service leadership conference, along with university students from across the country. Even though it was lowkey a trauma bonding experience, I loved getting to hear from public speakers, connect with people who have similar passions, and explore Austin for the first time. 

The summer’s almost over, but I intend to make the most of the time we have left. Whether it’s lots of productivity, sidequesting, or whatever else is out there in the universe, I’m excited to see what’s in store. Thanks for reading and I’ll see y’all in the fall 🙂‍↕️‼️

Ciao!

Hannah and Danielle