Kristel Yoneda Freelance Writing and Event Photography

I kicked off 2011 in a new city. It’s strange to be here in LA–the streets were so quiet on New Year’s Eve and in the morning, there was nothing to sweep up outside. Today is Chinese New Year and again the streets are quiet.

Recently I made a trip to Angel’s Knoll in downtown Los Angeles.  As some of you might know, I am a bit obsessed with the movie (500) Days of Summer.  When I first saw it in the theaters, I felt like I was watching my own life on screen.  So many times I’ve been Tom, saved and then broken by girls like Summer. I sat on Tom’s Bench, his favorite place in the city, and was swept up in the possibility of what my life here in LA could be like.

So what will 2011 be like? I think it will continue to be a year of transition for me as I’m becoming the person I’ve set out to be. Reading old (like 2005, old) livejournal entries, it’s crazy to see my dreams are slowly coming to fruition now. I have a Creative Non-Fiction piece coming out in the Hawaii Women’s Journal anniversary issue in March that touches upon some of the dark and twisty feelings I have about Hawaii and growing up.  At the risk of sounding like a gushing fangirl, the editors at the Hawaii Women’s Journal are amazing.  They let my piece take shape (which didn’t happen immediately, trust me) and pushed me to examine my real reasons for moving.  Writing might be a solitary activity, but editing is a collaborative effort.  These editors not only saw something in my piece, but also in me.

A few months ago, I made a video for the It Gets Better Project. At the time, I didn’t see any other videos from Hawaii, so I thought I’d give Hawaii LGBT teens someone to recognize and relate to.  I am amazed by the amount of feedback I’ve received since then from LGBT allies and teens.  I hope that I’ve given them the same kind of support my friends gave to me while I was in high school.  Out of the 100,000 videos uploaded, mine was one of the few chosen to be featured in the book version It Gets Better (due out in March). I hope my story reminds others that they are not alone.  Life does get phenomenally better after high school.

I’d like 2011 to be a year of support and outreach–while planting some roots here in LA, I’d like to also be a better LGBT spokesperson for Hawaii.  I’m not really sure what that means yet…but I guess I have the rest of the year to figure it out.

I ended 2010 as a winner of Bamboo Ridge’s December Short-Short Story contest.  It was just the push I needed to welcome in 2011. Here’s my entry,  For Keeps.

To keep the ball rolling, I submitted an entry for their January Short-Short Story contest (which is actually the last month they’ll be accepting submissions for their landmark 100th issue).  UPDATE: I just found out I won! Here’s my contest entry, Numba One.

Filed under: Life