Ailana’s Journal—2026-07-20 (and Island Kids) (Patreon)

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GOOD MORNING by Ailana Geven Keller

After Emily and I got back from the beach last night, we talked some more about a lot of different things. Somehow the discussion turned to volunteering.

We decided that today, we’d find a way for the two of us to give back to the community. I’ll check in later and let you know what we found out.

I was sitting here with my coffee, enjoying the quiet, when Emily erupted from her room and rushed into the kitchen. She’d put jeans on under her pajama top and thrown on a bathrobe. Her smile looked like it was going to break her face!

She was holding up her iPhone. “I got paid! That Bottle Tree Ranch article Josh sold… They paid me for my Yawn Meter sidebar!”

That had been in the works for a while. The big change was seeing the money in her account.

“Someone gave me money for saying what I think! I’m showing Kel. I bet he got paid, too!”

Zoom. She was gone.

I am excited for her, but when she gets back, I want to adjust her last thought. She didn’t get paid for saying what she was thinking. She got paid for writing down what she was thinking using words that others could understand.

I couldn’t be prouder or more excited for her. Josh and Jason have a pretty impressive batch of articles out for review. And a lot of them have Emily and Kel’s sidebar articles packaged with them.

I think the teenage members of AGI are going to have an exciting future.

And since I’m on the subject of teen futures, I’ll add that the driver’s license process is underway. That’s coming up soon. I still don’t think I’m ready for that.

I am, however, ready to finish my coffee.

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GIVE BACK by Ailana Geven Keller

It has been a long time since I’ve shared a volunteer day with you. I guess a lot has been going on!

Giving back is really at the heart of my life. Growing up, Dad and I had some hard years when we needed help. Now, I’m in a position to give back to others.

We are at Island Baptist Church here in South Padre Island. This is where the kids all go to youth group. Today, Geoni, Kel, Emily, and I are putting some hours into their food pantry ministry.

Their website explains the program. It says, “Every Monday and Tuesday from 11:30AM until 2:00PM people in need can come to receive food from the Island Baptist Church Food Pantry located at 107 W. Mesquite St, South Padre Island.”

It also explains that donations arrive throughout the week and that volunteers weigh, log, and put the food in the proper storage area. That’s what we’re doing.

Part of the AGI mission is to increase awareness and inspire people to help as they can. Many of you donate financially. Others donate time.

As I like to do… math.

As of today, there are 40.5K followers on Instagram.If everyone donated one hour or one dollar per month, that would be nearly half a million per year! That’s a lot of hours—486,000 hours is 20,250 days.. It would also be a lot of dollars!

More realistically, across all platforms, I get around 20 to 60 comments. Call it 30? If everyone who commented gave one hour or one dollar each month, that would average roughly one act of support every day.

Now it’s time for the motto: If a lot of people do just a little, a lot gets done.

FUTURE CHANGES by Sofia Torres

I’m home from work and just finished doing my dinner dishes. It was a busy day with a few interesting developments.

Clay has been talking about adding a new venture to Southeast Texas Apparel, and today he came by to talk about moving forward. He wants to set up an area where custom-imprinted products can be made. It will be beside the cut-and-sew line.

He wants to get the equipment in and set up. Get a few of us trained on using it, then launch the company. I guess he can talk more about all that. For me, it means a little more responsibility and, for all of us, a little more income potential. Nobody’s going to complain about that.

Before I get into bed, I want to talk about Ryan. He’s amazing.

“I don’t know how you feel about labels and all that,” he said, “but I’d like to think we’re seeing each other exclusively. What do you think?”

I told him I absolutely agreed.

He’s complicated in some ways. He says he’s trying to figure out what it means to have a real life. Not a life tied to a job. Not an identity tied to what he does.

“Walmart lets me meet people and think about life. I don’t know…” He looked down—actually a little sad. “I think helping people to be at peace with their lives means something.”

I think he’s right. I’m not sure how working at Walmart fits, other than the fact that there are a lot of customers, but I get what he’s saying.

He went on to say that maybe part of having a life worth living is having someone to share it with. That was pretty awesome and scary at the same time.

Another change coming my way is a new address. This apartment is better than what many people in the world call home. It’s just farther from work than I’d like.

Ryan and I looked at an apartment community in Los Fresnos called Paseo Pointe. The plan is for me to move in at the beginning of August. It’s a lot closer to the factory.

And being closer to Ryan doesn’t seem like a bad thing, either.

GOOD NIGHT by Ailana Geven Keller

Monday has come to its end. I sometimes forget that by the time I say good night on Monday, some of you are waking up on Tuesday. The internet has made our world smaller in some ways.

This morning, Geoni, Kel, Emily, and I sorted canned goods for people in need here in the area. When you live your own life, it's easy to forget others' lives might be different—sometimes much harder.

When you wake up where you live, it’s easy to forget that somewhere else, it might already be night. Or it could still be night from the previous day.

When you hear waves and smell the salt air, when you feel the heat of the sun and hear the sounds of gulls, it’s easy to forget that some people wake up in the shadow of great mountains and look up at eagles soaring on air currents.

What we live, what we see—our experiences are ours. But the world is still vast. These chapters can reach readers around the globe in seconds. Your lives are almost certainly different from mine—except, perhaps, for the few of you who might live where I do. Even then, our experiences make our lives different.

My point is this—and it’s not brilliantly profound: Everyone’s life is different. Not everyone has what we have. Some have more. Most of you reading this have more than many people do—and less than many others.

I hope you stop and think about just how amazingly diverse the lives in our world are. From New Zealand to Siberia, from Alaska to South Africa… from Brazil to Greenland.

Is there a take-away?Is there a takeaway?

May you recognize that the world is vast and diverse, and may that knowledge lead to greater understanding, compassion, and respect for others.

Good night.

Be your best you!

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