Then-junior Mei-Ling Leal recalled how she couldn’t believe it was real.

It had seemed like a dream just a year ago, but here she was about to enter the photo pit — every photographer’s dream spot.

She was hours away from reviewing singer-songwriter Nessa Barrett’s concert in the photo pit, an area in front of the barricades reserved for photographers, to post on her blog, The M Collective.

The Barrett review is just one of many opportunities her blogs have brought her.

Hoping to create a space where younger generations can speak up and share their voice, senior Leal created her two blogs, The M Collective and Feed the Dreams, meeting celebrities such as singer-songwriters Joshua Bassett and Nessa Barrett.

CREATING THE M COLLECTIVE

Leal said music has always been a big part of her life, with her father playing the guitar at home. She also grew up as a competitive opera singer in La Habra until she was 8 years old.

As a child, her parents would take her to Los Angeles where she attended her first concert and met her first celebrity, actress-singer Olivia Holt. 

“I recall my first concerts were at the Citadel Tree Lighting; that same year, my mom took me to see my favorite artists at the time — Asher Angel, Forever in Your Mind and in Real Life — at a Christmas concert as a birthday present,” Leal said. “Seeing how hard each artist’s team worked to deliver a great show sparked my interest in the music and entertainment industry.”

Prior to starting this venture, the senior said she realized Gen-Z voices were lacking in the entertainment field after observing reporters covering these topics on both TV and online platforms were generally older.

“There’s not really many people our age [writing reviews],” she said. “It’s like, ‘Why are these old people reviewing shows that are kind of meant for the younger generation?’”

Though The M Collective was just a concept she came up with in her sophomore year, she didn’t think it would be possible to make it a reality until she talked to then-senior Charlize Seh, an aspiring content creator she met in her Dance 3 class, who encouraged her to start the blog.

“She was telling me about how she started posting and then doing her YouTube videos,” said the senior, recalling their conversation in 2022 on their way to dance class. “So she really encouraged me to get out there.”

Though Seh aspired to be a content creator, Leal veered a different direction and decided to create a blog instead of a typical social media account like Instagram or YouTube.

“I think it was the fact that blogs aren’t really used as much with teens, so I started researching other bloggers and kind of just gaining inspiration from that,” Leal said. “That’s why I wanted to do it because it made me stand out a little.”

Inspired by the impact music had on her and wanting a space to express her love for entertainment and music, specifically in Los Angeles, the then-16-year-old Leal finally started The M Collective in May 2022 to bring a fresh, younger perspective to the field.

“I really wanted to showcase how vibrant the entertainment industry in Los Angeles was and how there’s so much to do,” she said. “It was a little hard at first because I had no idea how to build a website or write blog posts or anything like that.”

As for her blog’s name, Leal said she initially chose “Mei’s Corner.” Around October 2022, she opted to rename it to the current title, as she wanted it to serve as a platform for teamwork and collaboration.

“I chose this name because a collective signifies a group of individuals collaborating, and I wanted my blog to serve as a platform for teamwork and collaboration with diverse talent,” the blogger said.

GROWING HER PLATFORM

Over the past two years, Leal built up her blog, starting by teaching herself how to create a website and write posts in a journalistic style that still felt personal. She also spent a lot of time reaching out to celebrities and brands through phone calls and emails, advertising the platform and its mission.

“I think at first I probably sent out about 50 emails, and I got like two or three responses back,” she said. “But I think after that, I just needed someone to give me a shot, and now I pretty much get responses back 80% of the time.”

With the blog, she said she had to learn about various aspects of journalism independently, from conducting interviews and writing reviews to understanding the dynamics of media coverage and audience engagement. 

“Starting and running my blog has been a significant learning experience in journalism,” she said. “Through trial and error, I’ve honed my skills and gained valuable insights into the world of journalism, all on my own initiative.”

One of her bigger opportunities came when she met Bassett, an American actor who starred in the hit Disney+ show, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.”

Leal said she saw a TikTok video on June 15, 2023, of Bassett promoting a meet and greet at Sweet Squares, a dessert shop located in Costa Mesa owned by his sister Ashley Bassett.

Leal said she then messaged Ashley Bassett, expressing interest in covering the event on June 16, 2023, and received a response providing her with a press contact to coordinate with.

Though Joshua Bassett had no idea about her blog beforehand, the blogger said he expressed his excitement for what she was doing after talking for a few minutes. 

“Some celebrities tend to not interact much with their teams or attendees at their events, but Joshua Bassett was very down-to-earth and made a point to speak with everyone there, including fans,” she said. “We discussed how I started my blog and my experience covering the event and we even took a picture together.

After writing about Ashley Bassett’s shop, the senior started covering more concerts and different celebrities and brands.

“I was super excited to see that there were other people who were interested in reading what I had to share,” Leal said.

While writing about different events, Leal said she networked when meeting other photographers and reviewers.

“I was asking them for advice because this is something I want to pursue during college as well,” said the senior, who takes pictures with a Canon EOS Rebel T7. “Especially the girl photographers, they really took me under their wing and treated me as a little sister.”

Though she doesn’t currently make money from The M Collective, she said she’s in the process of getting her site monetized; by summer, she said she hopes to start earning money and expand the site, turning it into something bigger.

“I’ve met so many teens, music lovers that would want to get involved and so I’m just waiting for the summer when there’s more time,” the senior said. “But, I want to work with more people, journalists and photographers.”

Leal’s Advanced Placement English Language and Composition teacher, Greg Brown, has shown support for her website. The senior said she first shared her blog with him as a junior and continued to discuss her articles with him as a senior.

“I think it’s great that a student can get involved in something like that outside of themselves and not just doing something for maybe college credit, but doing something that I think is actually worthwhile for society,” Brown said.

FEED THE DREAMS

The M Collective is not the only blog in her life, though.

Alongside senior Radiyah Ahmed, Leal also founded in August 2023 Feed the Dreams, an organization in which guests share personal accounts of conflicts in their home countries, like Palestine or Israel, journey through politics or any informative or inspiring narratives. These experiences are then written in blog posts on the website.

“Human rights is something that I have always been very interested in and passionate about, but I didn’t really know where to start,” Leal said.

It wasn’t until she started talking to Ahmed in August 2023 about a three-week summer program where Americans, Israelis and Palestinians could unite and discuss solutions for peace between Israel and Palestine that she began getting involved in her passion. Since then, Leal said she asked Ahmed if she would like to start a humanitarian organization.  

“You always hear an adult’s point of view, but never really about what someone our age is going through,” Leal said. “It’s more about being able to share these stories with a younger generation.”

Leal and Ahmed came up with the name of the blog while discussing the importance of nourishing the minds of younger generations by sharing stories and dreams from others with them.

The M Collective blogger said she wishes to continue Feed the Dreams and expand by building up the platform to raise money for certain causes. 

Leal said her endeavors, however, would not be possible without the support of adults in her life.

“We feel incredibly proud and supportive of Mei for having a platform where she can share her thoughts and ideas,” Leal’s mother Carmen Ham said. “We believe it’s important for young people to have a voice and Mei is using hers in a meaningful way.”

Though she plans to major in biotechnology or chemistry, Leal said she still hopes to continue her online posts in college. 

“I would love to continue blogging in the future,” Leal said. “I think once I have all of my personal schedules figured out due to college and extracurriculars, I hope to start blogging more and bringing on more people to work on The M Collective with me.”