Sofi’s Summer Close to Home 🏡🤸‍♀️✨

Hola Guitarrón Chronicle-ists! Welcome, welcome to the chronicle of our glorious trumpet and treasurer, Sofi! In case you missed it, you can find last week's update as well as any future blogs on https://mariachilunallena.rice.edu/news.

‧₊˚❀‧₊˚. Sofi’s Summer Update 8-9-26 ‧₊˚❀‧₊˚.

Hi my friends!! It’s Sofi 💕✨

Somehow summer is already coming to an end, which I am choosing not to think too hard about. Looking back, though, I feel incredibly lucky. This summer took me from graduations, to the Texas State Math Department, to the mountains of Mexico, all the way to Nebraska, with lots of family time in between.

So before we all return to Rice and I inevitably get consumed by the fall semester, here is a little look at my summer!!

May Graduations and Shadowing🎓+⚖️

May was officially graduation season in my family.

First, a HUGE congratulations to my cousin Alysia, who graduated from none other than Rice University!! 🦉💙And congratulations to Ava, Melanie, Jayden, and Natalie, who all graduated from high school! I am so proud of every single one of them!

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I also got the opportunity to shadow a County Judge this month! This was such a unique experience because I got a little glimpse into what public service and local government actually look like beyond what is taught in lectures. 

Unfortunately, I have approximately zero photographic evidence of this happening. So you will all just have to believe me 😹

Texas State 🐾

I spent a lot of June working at Texas State University in the Math Department with my brother, Josh!!

Now, some people might not want to spend their summer working with their sibling. Fortunately, Josh is genuinely my best friend, so I had the opposite problem. I loved getting to work alongside him, bother him throughout the day, eat together, and then go home and chill!

The Watermelon Thump 🍉🎡

Every summer, Luling, Texas (my hometown) hosts the annual Watermelon Thump the last full weekend in June, and this year was extra special because my cousin Makenna won Watermelon Thump Queen!! 👑🍉 Congratulations Makenna!!

We also got to see Los Rieleros del Norte and Ole 60 in concert with my Tío Saul, Tía Tere, their family, and my family. It was so fun!!

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México ❤️

At the end of June, I got to do something incredibly special to me: I went to San Luis Potosí, Mexico with my Dad!

Both of my parents are from Lagunillas, a small village tucked away in the mountains of San Luis Potosí. I had heard so many stories about it growing up, so actually being there and seeing the place that shaped my parents felt so surreal. It was absolutely beautiful.

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One of my favorite parts was simply spending time with my family. Everyone welcomed us with so much kindness, and I loved getting to slow down, be together, and experience a completely different pace of life.

We also went to Villa Hidalgo, S.L.P. for a family wedding, which was BEAUTIFUL. We had a great time dancing and celebrating! 🥂💃🏽

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I got to see the home where my mom grew up and experience a little bit of the life my parents knew for so long (the picture with the blue house is my mom’s!). It made me think a lot about my parents and everything they sacrificed to build the life my brother and I have today. There was something almost strange about being in such a beautiful place and realizing that my parents once made the decision to leave everything familiar behind and begin an entirely new life in America.

It made me appreciate them even more, which I did not know was possible. 🥹My parents have given me so much, and being able to see where their story began made this trip something I know I'll carry with me forever. I will definitely be back soon!

Nineteen 🧁😽

Right after I returned from Mexico, I turned 19!!!

I am incredibly grateful for another year of life and for all the people I get to spend it with. Here’s to 19, adventures, new milestones, and memories!

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Nebraska?! 📈🚗

At the end of July, my dad and I packed up the car and drove THIRTEEN HOURS to Omaha, Nebraska for the Hagan Scholarship Conference.

Shoutout to my dad because that man loves me enough to willingly drive across several states with me. ❤️ Somehow, it ended up being such a fun road trip, and honestly the drive itself became one of my favorite parts of the experience.

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At the conference, I got to meet other Hagan Scholarship recipients from around the country and learn all about investing, from creating stock portfolios to value investing. We were also given the opportunity to manage our own Schwab investment accounts! So basically, I’m officially a finance bro now, and Wall Street needs to watch out 😛

Home 💐🫶🏽

And somehow, that brings us to August.

I’ve recently started embracing my natural curly/wavy hair, and I’ve been having so much fun these last couple of weeks trying out different products and routines! So, if you see me with straight hair this semester, please hold me accountable lol

All in all, when I look back on everything I did this summer, I think my favorite part was actually the simplest: I got to be home. I got an entire summer with my mom, my dad, Josh, and, arguably the most important member of the Castillo household, my cat Chiquita 😸

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Family has always been one of the most important things in my life, and this summer reminded me why. Whether I was working alongside my brother, traveling through the place my parents grew up, driving across the country with my dad, celebrating my cousins, or just spending the day with my mom, I got to learn a little more from each of them. Those ordinary moments ended up being some of my favorites.

And now, it is finally time to come back to Rice!! 🦉

I am incredibly grateful to be serving as Mariachi Luna Llena's Treasurer this year. Our officer team has spent the last few weeks planning and getting everything ready for the year ahead. I can't wait for everyone to see what we have in store. 🎺🎻🎶

Before that, though, I will be spending the first couple of weeks back advising for Hanszen O-Week!! HFH 💙💛

I’m leaving this summer with a very full heart, lots of memories, and a slightly more diversified investment portfolio. See you all VERY soon!! 🤸‍♀️

With love,

Sofi

Thank you Sofi for sharing your EPIC summer adventures with us! 😎 Hope the watermelon was absolutely delectable! 🍉Your summer sounded like it was so fun and full of family! Say hi to Chiquita for us. See you so SOON!!!!!!!! 😸😸

Bye bye,

Danielle & Hannah