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BAILEE ABELL

Portfolio

You may view online versions of my published pieces by following the links below.

Bailee Abell’s articles for The Bottom Line, student-run newspaper at University of California, Santa Barbara

Bailee Abell’s articles for Her Campus, online magazine for college women

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Hi! Welcome to my digital diary. I am a twenty-something Californian with a passion for writing. Here you will find whatever I am interested in, from weekend trips to delicious food. Click on the About page to learn more!

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My Daily Life

I think the best part about a first date is you get to decide whether it counts or not. It doesn’t need to be perfect or cute or obvious to anyone else. It can be special in its own way, and nobody has to know. That’s how I remember my first date with Chris. One time during our freshman year, Chris called me on the phone. It was a sunny day, and I had just gotten out of a class, and Chris called me to ask me to lunch. “Want to go to Ortega today? They have grass-fed burgers!” he said, quickly and excitedly. I told him I was walking back from class but I could meet him there. “Where are you?!?” Chris was impatient and hungry and they only had these burgers once a week, so you can understand the severity of the situation. I told him I was by the lagoon and near the stairs by the UCen. I was almost there. “I can’t see you. Do jumping jacks so I can see you!!!” he said. I refused at first, but I soon obliged, offering three jumps. He saw me. He laughed. I laughed. And then we went to lunch. I didn’t know that day that I loved Chris. I’m not sure that my heart and my head were as in sync as they are now. But I do know that there are few people I will say yes to eating a burger with. There are few people I’d do jumping jacks in public for. And there is only one first date that Chris and I could ever have. And that first first date led to other first dates, secret ones and group ones and ice cream ones and library ones. But our first first date is the most special. It was at Ortega in the spring on grass-fed burger day. And it might not have been perfect, but it was ours.

Darla is iconic tbh 💁‍♀️

Missing my cutie Brina bestie girl!! @esmaralda4121 let’s go on a tropical vacay again! I miss our #funinthesun Instagram pics! #vacationtime #imisscollege #butnotthefinals #rememberwhenwebroughtanentireBlazepizzainsideStarbucks

Christmas pics four years apart 😭❤️

It’s a pretty surreal experience, growing older. I didn’t expect it to feel the way it does. I remember being 9 and thinking it was the best age ever. I was old enough to know how to run an effective lemonade stand, and I was allowed to shave my legs as long as I didn’t go past the bottom of my knees. Age 9 was important because I was finally as old as many of my favorite book characters. I remember turning 17 and thinking it was such a cool age. Metro Station sang a raunchy song about being 17 and I would dance around my bedroom to the lyrics (even though I’d still never kissed anyone yet). I remember not caring as much about what everyone thought when I was 17. I remember helping run my high school newspaper and writing a controversial review of the school play. 23 is an in-between age. I’m old enough to make adult decisions and be in charge of my own life, but I’m still young enough to be called a kid and have plenty of firsts still left to do. I still haven’t ever signed a lease or gotten a speeding ticket or broken a bone. But I’ve already graduated college and fallen in love and joined a gym. 23 feels like a limbo, like that time machine episode of Spongebob where they go to the future and everything is chrome and then Squidward ends up all alone in a bright white room. 23 is also the age where I can still make cartoon references and half of the people around me don’t get them. I think the good part about growing older is that I’m growing. And beautiful things grow all the time. Flowers get taller and prettier. Trees get stronger. But the bad thing about growing older is I look way different than I do as a 15-year-old on my drivers license and I know I’ll have to go to the DMV if I ever want to change it.

Walt Disney sat on this bench and came up with Disneyland and I’ve worn this sweater every day for a week so I’m really living my truth in this pic #imaylooklikebutternutsquash #butifeellikeaprincess

Buckle up, buttercup! #universalstudioshollywood @unistudios

Had an amazing time experiencing the magic of Hogwarts during the holidays at Universal Studios Hollywood. Excited to share everything the park has to offer (including the scoop on the best Butterbeer!!) on @itmnews 🌲 🎄 🌲 @unistudios #wizardingworldhollywood #universalstudioshollywood

Frozen Abuelita hot chocolate from Rancho del Zocalo in Disneyland 🍫 🙀 SUPER yummy, but you’ve gotta drink it quickly or you’ll be stuck with mostly ice at the bottom. The flavor is amazing and you can’t beat a snack with a Big Thunder Mountain View! 🚂 ⛰#holidaysbeginhere #disneyland

Had an unforgettable time at my first @disneyland media event with @itmnews 🏰😄 #holidaysbeginhere #disneyland #shareyourears

Taking Route 66 back to Carburetor County sooner than anticipated... ✨ 😉 #disneylife #lifecouldbeadream #dressedindisney

This is not the best photo I’ve ever taken. There is evidence of my thumbnail chewed off out of nervousness, my lipstick stain on my cup isn’t too artsy, and the background is totally drab. But I took this picture so I could remember the feeling of sipping my favorite @joffreyscoffeeandtea while lounging on Disneyland grounds and thinking to myself, “The quote on this cup describes this moment perfectly.” I’m 23 years old, still trying to find full-time work, and staying afloat by working as a freelance theme-park journalist by day and an English teacher by night. I’m hardly over the fact that I’m not in college anymore, I’m still in student loan debt, and I’m unsure if the path I’m on is the right one. But when I took this photo, the quote felt right. Because I may not be an engineer or a computer scientist or a PR agent or a law student. I may not have a bustling social life or plans to buy a Tesla. But I’m a writer and a be-er. I’m writing about everything I’ve ever wanted to and then some. And now I’ll get to teach kids how to do that too. And the era I’m living in right now may not be glamorous or even easy. But in some ways I do think it’s a dream coming true. So maybe this is the best photo I’ve ever taken. Maybe it’s the best because it’s real.

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