Ballad du Paris

Hello fellow readers,

I previously posted about traveling and how educational/life changing the 

experience could be; well, today I have decided to share my trip to Europe! (Part 

of it, at least) Please note, this may get a little long, but bare with me!

This trip was actually the first time I ever got to go to Europe! I got to see Scotland,

England, and Ireland in two weeks! I did so using a tour group made for young 

adults; it’s called EF Ultimate Break and it was the most amazing experience. EF 

made it extremely affordable by including flights, transportation, tours and stays. I

only had to worry about food, tips, souvenirs, and extracurricular activities. There 

were 19 of us on the trip from all over the U.S. so I made a ton of friends! I feel 

extremely lucky to have gotten the group that I did because we got along so well. My

best friend - who was the one that convinced me to take the trip - talked me into 

extending our trip by three days to go to Paris, France and EF adjusted our flights 

home; therefore, we only worried about flights from Ireland to France (which came

out of pocket). If you’ve wanted to take a trip but are afraid to explore on your own,

I highly recommend checking out EF especially when they have holiday deals (I 

purchased my trip during black Friday time)! I hope to go on another one of their 

trips soon.

 

If you’re not a young adult, don’t fret! EF offers so many programs including youth,

students, businesses, the list goes on and on! Check them out.

https://www.ef.edu/

Enough of the advertisements, I’m sure you want to read about how marvelous my

trip was, so here we go! Since the trip included 4 different places, I plan to break it 

up into separate posts because one post to talk about it all would drag on way too 

long and there’s so much to talk about for each location. So, today I will start with 

the last part of my trip which was 3 wonderful days in Paris, France!

Photo credit: Best Friend

Location: Eiffel Tower

 

My best friend, her boyfriend, and I reserved an airbnb in the perfect spot where we

were a short walking distance to the metro. This particular metro had the main 

train we would take to get around. My friend’s boyfriend did thorough research on 

where we were staying, where we wanted to visit, and how we would get there. He 

truly went above and beyond, which made this experience so much better! I could 

not, and cannot, thank him enough.

In two whole days we were able to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Fontaine 

Saint-Michel, the Louvre (including the Mona Lisa, of course), the Basilica of the 

Sacred Heart of Paris, Père Lachaise Cemetery, the Catacombs of Paris, Disney Paris, 

the Arc de Triomphe, the Palais Garnier, and we ate some delicious croissants, 

baguettes, and madeleines. Every place was beautiful in its own way and each holds a

new memory for me now. For instance, while at the Arc de Triomphe a bus of tourists 

pulled up and these tourists flooded the streets, and I mean flooded! They were 

standing in the middle of the street taking photos to the point where cars would honk

and swerve dangerously, but they didn’t move!

 Photo credit: Best Friend's Boyfriend's selfie skills

Location: Palais Garnier 

 

To be in Paris was like being transported to a different era. The buildings are 

beautifully crafted with intricate molding, which is completely different than the 

edifices in Los Angeles. I enjoyed walking the streets, seeing all the people and going 

into small shops. I was so close to purchasing a painting from a street artists because

I thought it would feel more authentic than the replicated ones, alas, I did not 

purchase it (money reasons). The weather in June was perfect because it was cool 

and a little windy, but perfect to walk for hours, and walk for hours we surely did. My

ankles, knees, and hips would hurt at the end of the day, but it was worth it in the end.

Photo credit: Best Friend Photo credit: Best Friend

Location: The Louvre Location: Disney Paris

 

If you’ve always dreamt of going to Paris, it’s definitely worth the trip. I highly 

recommend planning a trip out there, but keep in mind that everything starts to 

build up in price so definitely save more than enough money. I heard somewhere

recently, “There are always a million reasons not to do something,” so stop making

excuses and start planning! You will not regret it! Play Ballad du Paris by Francois 

Parisi from the Midnight in Paris album - which inspired my title - while you plan 

your trip, it really sets the mood.

Live every day to the fullest.

Love, Damaris

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A Chapter Into a New World

Hello fellow readers,

Have you ever wanted to travel to foreign lands, explore uncharted territory,

 perform magic, or fall in love? You can do all of that and more when you read!

 I absolutely love to read, there’s something magical of being teleported to a 

new world. Today I want to talk about the wonderful world of reading.

I really found my love of reading in 3rd grade when my teacher had the Magic 

Treehouse series, it was the one series I consistently read because every book had

 a new adventure. As I grew up I began buying and borrowing more books, I 

started to explore new topics and, slowly but surely, I started to discover what I 

liked to read. During high school I was the odd student who enjoyed reading the 

required books for my English classes. My favorite books from high school 

included: The Hunger Games, The Scarlet Letter, To Kill a Mockingbird, Brave New

 World, In Cold Blood, Frankenstein, Lord of the Flies and The Great Gatsby. One 

book that was taken off the required reading when I reached high school - but is 

still a great book - is the Catcher in the Rye.

My family noticed my love for reading early on; there was one time when my mom

 scolded me for reading too much. Granted, I was reading during dinner and wasn’t

 really eating, so she took my book away. I love reading from physical books, the

 smell of the paper, flipping the pages, and being able to visually see the progress of 

my reading has always brought me joy, but I also have a kindle that is conveniently 

light weight and I can link the account to an app where I can read not only on my 

kindle but also my phone, tablet, and computer. Some of the older books can be 

found for free like the Little Women series, The Tale of Two Cities, Don Quixote, 

and more. Often times strangers think I’m one of those youngsters who’s addicted

 to their phone when, in reality, I’m really enthralled with a book.

My ongoing book collection

 

During college I worked part-time as a receptionist and would have a lot of down

 time to read, especially during the holidays. It was nice having people come in 

and give me recommendations. I started reading a lot of books by Dean Koontz, 

Sandra Brown, and Stephen King. I really love exploring the book section of 

Target because they have some good deals and books like In a dark, dark wood by

 Ruth Ware or What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan, which were two titles that I 

really enjoyed. My sister, who despised reading growing up, noticed how much I

 love to read and decided to start reading herself. She was the reason I fell in love

 with Ready Player One by Ernest Cline long before it became a movie. We tend to

 share books often and enjoy talking about them when we finish.

I find reading to be a healthy escape from real life without succumbing to social 

media. Reading, to me, is like a detailed movie in my mind where I’m guided 

through by the author; he or she describes the characters and set the tone and 

scene for me to follow along. I’ve been shocked, fallen in love, laughed out loud, 

and cried for many books because of how involved in the reading I became. It’s 

beautiful how the written word can teleport you to a different world and time. 

Reading is extremely educational, your imagination grows the more you read 

and I even learned new vocabulary through reading because sometimes there is 

just the perfect word to describe the scene that the author chose to use, but I had 

no clue what it meant, so I looked it up. When I was little, my dad and I read the

 entire Spiderwick Chronicles, a little bit every night. It’s one of my fondest 

memories from my childhood.

Lately I have felt reading has lost a lot of its power because of technology and 

social media. I’ve heard teenagers struggle to read paragraphs out loud because

 they don’t know how to pronounce a word. Grammar and spelling are blatantly

 deteriorating and it’s unnerving to see. So I encourage you to read! Find books

 that interest you and take a few minutes to read every day. You’d be surprised 

how inspired others can become by seeing you read. If you’re a parent, read to 

or with you children, even if neither of you continue to read in the future, at 

least you’ll have the memory of spending that time together.

Live every day to the fullest.

Love, Damaris

P.S. I am required to mention that my blog may incorporate the use of cookies such

 as Google Analytics, AdSense, and other data collecting cookies.

Elders

Hello fellow readers,

Today I wish to discuss grandparents/elders. I want to apologize now for those

 who did not get to know their grandparents or have lost their grandparents, I 

hope I don’t stir up old memories that hurt.

Over the years of working as a receptionist I had a lot of older people come in 

for help. Often times, they enjoyed telling me their life’s stories: where they 

worked, what they did, for how long, how many children and grandchildren they 

have, and they would tell me as much as they could while I did my job. I’ve heard 

so many grandparents come in and speak highly of their grandchildren who have 

grown up, or those they take care of. I’ve had a few grandkids running through 

the office opening the priests’ office doors and doodling on our scratch paper, but 

a lot of them don’t know how lucky they are to be making memories with their 

grandparents. Yet, there were some grandparents who mention how disconnected 

their family became when their kids grew up. I had a few grandparents tell me that 

their kids or grandkids tend not to answer their phone calls, and seeing the sadness

 in their face hurt.

The last time I saw my grandparents from my dad’s side was when I was 11 years 

old and traveled to Mexico to see them. After that visit, my grandma grew very ill

 and my dad’s siblings had to take care of her on their own. She died in 2016 and

 I never really got to know her… I know her through my family, from the stories 

they tell. My grandpa is still alive, but I have not had the opportunity to return to 

Mexico and get to know him. One thing I know for sure, he always loved to dance

 (Cha Cha mostly) and was very good at it. When he found out I swing dance and got

 to see videos of me dancing, it made him so happy that someone got his dancing 

genes! The simple fact that I dance like he did, made him so happy, which proves 

how little it takes to make a connection.

My grandparents from my mom’s side (plus my uncle) all live driving distance from

 us. While in college, my uncle and both my grandparents fell ill one right after the 

other. Since then, my mom took charge in taking care of my grandparents. She was 

constantly visiting them in the hospital and driving them around. She not only feeds,

 cleans, and drives them whenever possible, but she also works part-time as an 

instructional aid for special education for a middle school. Watching her running 

back and forth, taking care of my grandparents, made me realize just how much she

 goes through to provide and just how sudden things could take a turn for the worse.

Taken at a wedding in September 

From then on, I started answering my grandparent's phone calls and going to visit

 them, which I’d been neglecting to do previously. I tried helping my mom as often

 as I could whether it’s going through their kitchen to get rid of old, expired foods, 

or taking out the trash, or just distracting them so she could clean something. I am

 not extremely involved, but I do what I can and see a lot. I remember there was a 

saying that when you grow old you go through your “second childhood,” and that 

couldn’t be more true. Both my grandparents act more like children than adults. It

 can be adorable and irritating. They take care of themselves for the most part, but 

when my mom’s around they start yelling at her about things she needs to do before 

she could even say, "hello." My grandpa especially tends to throw tantrums often 

when he doesn’t get what he wants and my grandma has no filter over her mouth, 

she says whatever she wants when she wants even if it’s hurtful.

On more than one occasion my mom has told me with an extremely tired face and 

overwhelmed eyes, “I thought I was done raising kids.” Yet, my mom is dedicated 

to my grandparents, checking in on a daily basis, setting up appointments and 

transportation, cooking, cleaning, translating, and the list goes on! Not to mention, 

she still comes home to care for my dad and I, although I do my best to do what I 

can in the house for her. I admire my mom for all that she does for my grandparents

 and I love my grandparents despite how they act, I only wish there was more I could

 do, but simply showing up to visit puts a smile on their faces and that’s enough for 

me. When we focus on living our lives we tend to neglect our elders, the folks who 

were around long before us and we forget to take time and admire them.

So if you’re like me, stop avoiding your elders. You don’t need to do tremendous acts

 of kindness to make them smile, it may only take a phone call or a quick visit to be 

the highlight of their day. You never know when they’re no longer going to be there

 so you might as well make today count.

“Find your grandparents or someone of age

Pay some respect for the path that they paved

To life, they were dedicated

Now, that should be celebrated” 

- lyrics from Neon Gravestones by Twenty One Pilots, Trench album

(The song is unrelated to my topic except for this portion, but it is a beautiful song)

Live every day to the fullest.

Love, Damaris

P.S. I am required to mention that my blog may incorporate the use of cookies such as 

Google Analytics, AdSense, and other data collecting cookies.

Nature and all its Glory

Hello fellow readers,

It’s October, which means fall is here! I love the fall season not just for all the

 holidays that come with it, but also the temperature change. As many people

 have dubbed it, “sweater weather!” With the change in season that means nature

 is changing, and so, today, I would like to talk about nature and all its glory.

Here in Southern California, for the last 10 years or so, it feels like summer almost

 all year round. It’s a tragedy for me because I absolutely love cold and rainy 

weather, but we hardly get that. Often times, I sit at home, trying to stay cool, and 

scroll through Pinterest, fawning over the beautiful autumn colors from other states.

 I hope that someday I would be able to visit those states and see the beautiful deep 

orange, burgundy, and brown hues in person. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to 

Colorado during the winter season where they get snow and cold weather, which is

 so mystical and dangerous all at once. The beautiful blanket of snow is not only 

calming, but tricky to drive through, especially during a snowstorm (been there, 

done that, let’s not go back, please).

While traveling in Europe, more specifically Scotland and Ireland, outside of the 

cities the landscape was gloriously green! Different shades of green and sometimes

 brown, but healthy. It made me jealous that I don’t really get to see this kind of 

nature in my hometown. Most of the time our trees are a dry green, almost brown, 

because of the heat and water ratio. But, my goodness, the lusciousness of Scotland

 and Ireland was wonderful. On the trip I would take time to simply take it all in. 

The wind, the sun, the sounds, and, of course, the scenery. I even got to travel to 

Glendalough in Ireland while it was raining, but it made the landscape that much 

more fantastical. I’ve always been this way - taking in the details of my surroundings

 - and when asked, I typically say that it’s because I had hoped to be a creative writer

 one day and would love to be able to describe this scenery, to transport my readers.

 In taking in my surroundings I also found a deep appreciation of nature.

Photo taken by my best friend

Location: Glendalough, Ireland 

 

When standing under trees or by running water, hearing birds chirping, I always 

admire how nature works. All the symbiotic relationships that are out there between

 animals, animals and plants, weather and plants, it’s incredible to pause and admire

 how the trees know when to shed and grow leaves, how birds fly south when winter 

is near, how bears and other animals know when to prepare for hibernation. 

Meanwhile, I need to check my phone to know what the temperature is for the week 

and plan accordingly. I cannot fathom living off of nature's clock and yet, so many 

creatures in our planet do. Then, I’m reminded that a lot of animals are suffering, 

suffering from our mistakes that we didn’t even know we were making for the longest

 time. Sea creatures cannot grow their shells properly because of the increase in CO₂.

 The eggs of birds are also thinning because of the potential pesticides the mama bird

 eats when picking at our food. I’m sure you’ve also heard about the bees that are 

dwindling in numbers.

 Location: lowlands of Scotland 

 

I’m not trying to be political, I’m simply observing. I’ve seen so many beautiful 

sceneries, and hope to see more in my lifetime, but after the research I did for an 

environmental biochemistry course I took in college, I am saddened at the gradual

 changes these sceneries will undergo. So, take advantage of the beautiful nature 

we have today. As the saying goes, “go out and smell the roses,” maybe pull up on 

the side of the road and gaze out into the cityscape, or look up at the sky every so 

often, enjoy what nature is giving us. Think about all the insects and creatures 

adapting and surviving alongside us, creating “the circle of life,” in the world they 

were given the same way we are. Just take a second to admire the world.

Live every day to the fullest.

Love, Damaris

P.S. I am required to mention that my blog may incorporate the use of cookies such 

as Google Analytics, AdSense, and other data collecting cookies.