Slice of Life: Summer Wrap-Up 2025
Summer is coming to an end! While I’m sad to see the season go, I’m highly anticipating enjoying the Autumn. It was a hot summer with high temps, but I still had a great summer. Here are some of my highlights from Summer 2025!
Nashville Girls Trip
My friends Yali, Jaz, and I went on a girls trip to Nashville which was a new experience for all of us. We had never been to the Music City before and there was so much to see and do! I loved listening to all of the local bands, line dancing at Category 10, taking a tour on the Big Drag Bus, and all of the food I tried. I definitely will have to make a trip back to Nashville in the future.
Juneteenth Black Brunch & Black Book Fair
My first author event of the year! Indigo (middle picture on the right) of Indigo Ink Illustratins put together this event to celebrate Juneteenth and Black Authors & Bookish Businesses. I had great sales from my booth and I enjoyed chatting with attendees and the delicious food.
BTS Festa
I had a great time attending the BTS Fest 12th Anniversary event hosted by MIKpopEvents with my friends Sarah and Becca. It was so much fun to meet fellow ARMY and I also managed to get some freebies too. As always there was a great selection of vendors to shop from who has such cute items for sale.
Detroit Book Fest
The Detroit Festival of Books is the largest book festival in the State of Michigan. Bookfest hosts vendors from all over the United States and Canada. This is the largest year yet for the festival and I got meet a lot authors face to face along with one of my childhood favorites, Mark Crilley (who wrote the Akiko series). It was a fun bookish day full of good finds and way too many purchases.
Oneus Concert
Oneus just wrapped up another US Tour (H_OUR, US) for 2025. I missed them the first time they traveled to Detroit so I was determined to get tickets this time. Even with one member missing (due to military service) it was such a fun, high energy show. I ended up getting my seat upgraded for free and was rows away from the stage (I’ve never been that close for a K-pop concert). They interacted with the audience a lot, performed some of their popular songs, and even did a cover of the Saja Boys, Your Idol!
Takashi Murakami Exhibit
I went to see this exhibit with my BTS Michigan Army meetup group for our Namjooning Day event. Takashi Murakami uses his art to interpret historical events and their lasting effects, such as the end of World War II, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the COVID-19 pandemic. What a colorful exhibition of artwork and displays. It was interesting to see how anime and manga influenced his artwork.
Crystal Kay Concert
What a full circle moment seeing @crystalkayofficial live in concert. I have been a long-time fan of hers for 20 years and she was one of my biggest inspirations for motivating me in my Japanese studies. Her representation, music, and artistry have had such a huge impact on my life. I can’t believe I got to meet her and her mom who were the sweetest. This concert meant so much to me. I am so grateful that I got to experience this with other long-time Crystal fans and I had so much fun connecting with everyone I met during the concert.
What were some of your highlights from this summer? Let me know in the comments! And as always, you can follow me on my Instagram page to see my bookish adventures, life stuff, and current reads.
Looks like you had a really fun summer.