Story & Lesson Highlights with Syn Bonilla of Hollywood

We recently had the chance to connect with Syn Bonilla and have shared our conversation below.

Syn , a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Music!!! Music is essential in my life. Music is my motivator, my therapist, my workout, my journal, all wrapped into one. I start my mornings with an upbeat playlist to get moving, and another one carries me through the gym. Music pulls me out of my head and makes life feel like I am moving through my own story with a soundtrack that understands me.

Being a multifaceted artist can feel overwhelming, but music transforms all that intensity into something I can hold onto. Learning bass and acoustic guitar has become a grounding ritual. I spend so much of my life on my phone, whether I am editing photos, designing, managing social media, or keeping up with people I care about. Putting the phone down to play forces me to be present. In those moments it is just my hands, my breath, and the sound.

Writing gives me that same sense of returning to myself. I write to understand what I feel and to tell my story in my own language. In creative work it is easy to disappear into the shadow of whatever person, company, or organization you are creating for. So much of your energy goes into building someone else’s vision. My music and my writing are the places where I get to be fully myself. They belong to me, untouched, unfiltered, and honest.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a Houston-born storyteller who studied journalism in New York and moved to Los Angeles during COVID to pursue creative work. I’m a communications associate at F4GI, where I blend journalism, graphic design, and media strategy to inform and inspire. In this role, I’ve written, produced, and starred in my podcast SweptAwayLA (streaming on FrankNews.us), which uncovers the untold truths of what’s being swept under the rug in LA County.

My creative journey has taken me across mediums and cities—I’ve photographed local creatives and musicians in New York, toured briefly with Verite as her photographer, and assisted on her Anatomy of an Artist podcast. I’ve also spoken on panels advocating for universal basic income and marched with the National Council for Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls on Mothers to the White House to fight for clemency.

Rooted in creativity and humility, I’m currently working on publishing my own personal work and continue to take on aligned clients in photography, graphic design, and public speaking. I strive to craft narratives that elevate voices, drive engagement, and shine a light on stories that matter.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Recently my little cousin Tre passed away over Halloween weekend. He was hit by a drunk driver while riding in the car with friends. Three young lives were lost that night, all of them under twenty-five. It changed me in a way I will never be able to unfeel.

His passing made me understand how fragile life truly is. You can do everything right. You can be an innocent passenger just minutes from home, and in a single moment everything can be taken from you. It forced me to look at life through a different lens and ask myself what actually matters.

What stays is the mark we leave on people. The love we give. The purpose we choose to live in. Tre’s legacy is one of pure love and laughter. His joy filled every room, and his absence is felt just as deeply. It is a loss that will be carried forever, until we meet again.

Losing him made me more intentional with my time, my relationships, and the way I move through the world. I want to show up fully for the people I love and never hold back what needs to be said.

Tre’s life and the way he left this world pushed me to think deeply about the legacy I want to build. I want my impact to exist beyond me. I want the people I care about to feel my love and my purpose long after I am gone. His story reminded me that none of us know how long we have, so the meaning we make in the time we are given is everything.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear that has held me back the most is, in many ways, myself. I am my worst critic. Therefore I am also very self-assured and confident in my taste, my skill, and my instincts when I know a piece is complete. Because of that, I have never really looked for validation or approval from anyone else.

But the flip side of that confidence is that I often keep my most personal, most meaningful work to myself. The pieces I am most proud of, the ones that feel closest to my spirit, stay tucked away because they already give me everything I need. They fill me up, they bring me joy, and they feel complete without an audience.

There is a part of me that is protective and maybe even a little selfish with the art that feels deeply mine. Sharing it means opening myself up in a way that feels vulnerable, and sometimes it feels safer to create in my own world. That fear of being truly seen, even when I know I am capable, has held me back at times from putting my fullest expression into the world.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I think a lot of people are getting it wrong by celebrating the wrong kind of rebellion. Because the world feels so chaotic right now, there’s this admiration for people who move through life like vigilantes, bending rules and manipulating situations just to get ahead.

I understand why it happens. Life feels harder, trust feels rare, and everyone is just trying to survive. But instead of fighting the systems that are actually harming us, we’ve started turning on each other. People are praised for how much they can get away with, how well they can deceive, how ruthlessly they can put themselves first. That kind of selfishness is being mistaken for strength.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped valuing generosity, loyalty, and doing right by people simply because it is the right thing to do. What used to be honorable—showing up for your friends, going out of your way for your community, hosting with love, caring deeply—has been replaced by a culture that rewards the bare minimum and idolizes manipulation as if it were a skill to master.

To me, that is where we are getting it wrong. We are elevating the wrong role models. We are teaching the next generation that success is about outsmarting each other instead of uplifting each other. And that shift in values is creating a world that feels colder and more disconnected than it needs to be.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
Yes, I’ve felt that. I feel it almost every time I reach a milestone. In the moment it is euphoric and beautiful, but that feeling is fragile. It exists only in that single point in time. After the high fades, what really stays with me is how I celebrated, who I wanted to call first, and who was around me when the news came.

Milestones are not meant to be experienced alone. We put so much pressure on ourselves to achieve, but the truth is that accomplishment feels real when it is shared. If I am the only one feeling it, it almost becomes weightless, like it disappears as fast as it arrives. My mind naturally jumps to the next goal, the next idea, the next thing I want to create.

That is why having people around who can stretch a moment, who can make it feel like it lasts forever, matters so much. They anchor you in the celebration. They remind you to stay proud of yourself, to soak in the joy instead of rushing past it.

I don’t think I ever feel fully satisfied, and maybe that’s part of being an artist, always reaching for something just beyond the horizon. But I do have moments where I feel grateful, aligned, and deeply connected to my purpose. Those moments are what keep me moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tinyurl.com/shotswithsyn
• Instagram: shotswithsyn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ysenia-bonilla-3666951b0/
• Other: SweptAwayLA Podcast: https://f4gi.org/sweptawayla/