hey, i’m char!

thank you for being here & welcome to my writing portfolio.!

i graduated from uc santa barbara in june 2023, where i received my bachelors of arts in english literature (specialization: american cultures and global contexts) and minor in asian-american studies!

prior to becoming a gaucho, i started my undergraduate education at uc riverside as a double major in economics and creative writing with a focus in fiction.

currently, i work as the program assistant for california coverage & health initiatives, which i started in september of 2023, but for as long as i can remember, i have always been a writer. 

i wrote my first novel when i was six years old (a poorly written version of my favorite book at the time). 

there are boxes of journals in my house filled from cover to cover with handwriting that got progressively better over the years—detailed plans of opening a restaurant called “Monkey Business” with my childhood best friend, scribbled curse words that set the page on fire as my anger exploded after bad days at school. 

i have gas and fast food receipts in my car with incoherent phrases scrawled on the back and between the printed lines—remnants of bright ideas that flew away as fast as they appeared. my friends will get texts from me once in awhile—ignore this, just need to remember it for later— followed by a phrase or thought that means nothing to anyone else except for me. 

my brain is always thinking. it’s never come to the page lightly, it always wants to pick up the pen and throw all my thoughts onto paper. that’s why i created this portfolio, so thank you once again for being here.

i hope you enjoy the never-ending freestyle :)