THE GIRL BEHIND THE STORIES

Hi, I'm Halaina! ❤️

Christian Girly. Writer at heart. Boba enthusiast. Currently navigating love, life, and my twenties.

Yep...I'm the one writing all of this.

So...a little about me.

I'm currently navigating my twenties and getting suspiciously close to the middle of them.

And one pretty big part of this season has been dating.

You know...trying to find “the one,” get married, build a family, and somehow figure out what on earth I'm doing along the way.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I ended up with enough stories, questions, lessons, and unexpected plot twists to create an entire dating blog.

So I figured you should probably know a little about the girl behind it.

A VERY SHORT GEOGRAPHY LESSON

Alaska → Utah → Ohio

I was born in Alaska, spent part of my life in Utah, and now call Ohio home.

And I genuinely love it here. The Midwest, the countryside, the open spaces, the little towns...it feels like home.

I've always wanted to find my best friend.

I grew up watching my parents put real effort into having a healthy marriage.

I watched them communicate, work through things, laugh together, be completely silly together, and genuinely enjoy each other's company. They're not just married—they're best friends.

And for as long as I can remember, I've wanted that too.

I want someone I genuinely love doing life with. Someone I can build a family and a strong, faith-centered marriage with—one with friendship, communication, laughter, and a lot of choosing each other along the way.

I just didn't realize the whole finding-him part was going to be quite such an adventure.

A few very Halaina things...

Because there is more to me than dating stories.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Boba. Always boba.

I love boba enough that it has somehow become part drink, part personality trait, and one of my go-to treats. Although lately...I have a feeling açaí bowls may be coming for that title. 👀

SINCE FOREVER

I'm a writer at heart.

Writing is how I process life, capture the things I don't want to forget, and make sense of experiences that don't always make sense while I'm living them.

MY KIND OF DAY

Give me a small town and somewhere to explore.

I love country roads, open fields, getting outside and into nature, wandering through small towns, finding new places, and stopping at thrift stores along the way.

SOMETHING I LOVE LEARNING ABOUT

Relationships fascinate me.

I genuinely enjoy learning about dating, communication, connection, compatibility, and what helps two people build a healthy relationship that lasts.

What I'm figuring out right now...

Dating has made me get much clearer about things I used to think would somehow just work themselves out.

What kind of man do I actually want to marry?

What really matters to me...and what can I be flexible about?

How do I date intentionally without turning people into a checklist?

What does a healthy relationship actually look like while you're building it?

And what kind of person do I want to be in that relationship too?

Those questions are a big reason I've become so interested in dating and relationship education. I love learning the principles and tools behind healthy relationships—and then figuring out what they actually look like in real life.

And that's where this blog comes in.

This is where I write down the stories, the things I'm learning, the approaches I'm trying, and the thoughts that come up along the way. It's one girls dating perspective and conversations are for both sides, guys and girls. 

       I don't have dating all figured out.

I'm learning while I'm living it.

And I hope that by sharing the real version—not just the successful dates or the neat lessons afterward—someone else might find a little hope, a helpful idea, or even just the comfort of knowing they're not the only one trying to make sense of all this.

Anyway...that's me. ❤️

A writer, a boba lover, someone who'd happily spend a Saturday thrifting or exploring somewhere new, and a woman who still believes a really good love story is worth building.

And now you probably know a little more about the person behind all those strangely nicknamed men.

So...you might as well see what I've gotten myself into. 😂

COME ALONG FOR THE JOURNEY →