Category: Creativity

• So What Happens Now?

  

  I will miss what was and what almost was. It felt like we were really great together. I’ll find new things to look forward to, though.

  Crystal Torres

  June 27, 2025

  Aspirations, Writing

  alone, change the ending, dream big, goals, gratitude, growth, it's all okay in the end, last summer, resilient af, silver linings, that man, wanderlust

• Saudade Summer

  

  I could not separate my memories of Portugal from the pain of this betrayal. It made it difficult to take my travel blog notes and make them anything other than a scream.

  Crystal Torres

  June 24, 2025

  Blogging, Heartbreak

  a failure to communicate, alone, I don't want this, I wanna go home, it’s all for the best, last summer, not the story I wanted to tell, saudade, that man, why does it hurt so much, you can’t get there from here

• Miles From Nowhere

  

  “If you get on the wrong train, get off at the nearest station. The longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive the return trip will be.” Breakups let you off at that nearest station. I still didn’t know where I was going, but at least I wasn’t on the wrong train anymore.

  Crystal Torres

  June 12, 2025

  Blogging, Heartbreak, Travel

  a failure to communicate, go to your room, harder than it has to be, I don't want this, last summer, so much to unpack, that man

• Bucket List

  

  I think every writer wants to create a legacy that will outlive them. I mean, maybe not in such a way that our creations move into a Lisbon hotel, embroil themselves in a love triangle, and play passive spectator to the beginnings of the Spanish Civil War, but in some less tangible way, sure.

  Crystal Torres

  April 10, 2025

  Adventure, Aspirations, Connections, Creativity, Education, Literature, Travel, Writing

  afterlife goals, Art, Berkeley Study Abroad, bucket list, change the ending, existence is futile, Fernando Pessoa, ghost story, goals, heteronyms, José Saramago, last summer, my creation, not dead yet, Portugal, Portuguese Lit, that man, wanderlust, we can do anything, you dont look mexican

• The Drums of Óbidos

  

  I had entered a time machine, not to medieval Portugal, but to my own youth in 20th century California. When the drums played in Óbidos, I could close my eyes and picture the parade at my Renaissance Faire

  Crystal Torres

  March 20, 2025

  Adventure, Connections, Creativity, Dreams, Education, Travel

  architectural aspirations, Óbidos, Berkeley Study Abroad, Black Point, castles, dreams, faire brat, guess you had to be there, history, home, It’s the community, last summer, life’s a parade, misspent youth, my adventures, my hometown, my subconscious is weird, no matter where you go there you are, Renaisssance Faire, Sacred Places, You never forget your first queen

• Gotta Dance

  

  I’ve never been good at small talk under the best of circumstances. I really didn’t have it in me that night. Also, music. They were playing danceable music. If there is music, I dance.

  Crystal Torres

  January 23, 2025

  Connections, Creativity, Health, Travel

  awkward, Boat Party, last summer, Lisbon, misspent youth, my adventures, no matter where you go there you are

• Portuguese Letters

  

  She was wooed. She fell in love. Things got hot and heavy. Then without explanation she was brutally ghosted. The timeless relatability of this tale made me so grateful I was already booed up. I never want to deal with dating again.

  Crystal Torres

  January 2, 2025

  Heartbreak, Writing

  a failure to communicate, Berkeley Study Abroad, deja vu, harder than it has to be, last summer, long distance sucks, relatable nuns, relationships are hard, saudade, that man

• Hear Me Roar

  

  There is a sensuality in Correia’s writing that might give the impression that women are capable of enjoying sex. This is apparently an unlikely and uncomfortable thought for some men.

  Crystal Torres

  July 25, 2024

  Family, Health, Literature, My Kids

  Azores, Berkeley Study Abroad, harder than it has to be, I don't want this, last summer, mother-daughter things, Ponta Delgada, Portugal, São Miguel, we can do it

• These Dreams

  

  Dreams are just weird like that, how something can be totally different, and yet, you just know that that is what they are. The snake, like my crush, was something beautiful that I wasn’t sure if I could trust

  Crystal Torres

  July 18, 2024

  Dreams, Friendship

  crushes are scary, dreams, my subconscious is weird, steamy vs. dreamy, that man