Because January isn't completely over yet, I figure it's still acceptable to list a few of my favorite things from the past year. These are in no particular order of preference, and though I'd like to say I loved everything equally, that just wouldn't be true. The TRUTH is, it's hard to determine to what degree I enjoyed these things. I'm also a little lazy, and would prefer to just list as I please :) If you like lists, which I'm sure you do (it's 2019 now, and there's literally a list for everything) continue reading!
1. The Office
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| Season 5, Episode 14 - my FAVORITE! 😂 |
Though I said this list would be in no particular order, if I had to choose what my favorite discovery of the past year was, The Office would definitely be it. I've seen the memes and gifs all over Twitter for the longest, and though they were funny, I never knew the context. The show was absolutely hilarious to me (I ugly cried and laughed A LOT), and surprisingly contained quite a bit of life lessons. One of the most important to me was the fact that there are extraordinary elements in the mundane activities of life. We might "hate" our jobs or school, but when it's over, we miss it. It's not always the huge accomplishments, careers, or trips that make life great, it's often those small moments we don't think about when they're happening.
2. Black Mirror
Black Mirror blew my mind with every episode.
Except the first one...the first one was just cringe-y. Overall, the series made you think, and I guess because I'm such a fan of dystopian novels, I was drawn to this because it had that sort of feel to it. One of my favorite episodes featured on a sort of evolved version of social media, and in case you haven't seen it (or if you have, and might want to again), I've added it above. This episode stuck out to me because it felt completely relevant, albeit a bit scary. If you like cerebral dramas, or even if you don't honestly, this is the show for you!
3. The Divergent Series
For most of 2018, I was in school. To that end, most of reading I did was not for fun :( However, I did find the time to read the Divergent series by Veronica Roth and IT BROKE MY HEART. I'M ACTUALLY STILL NOT OKAY AS I WRITE THIS. But we'll get back to that in a second - anyway, I decided to pick this up because I missed the days when I was part of fandoms like Twilight (oh, Twilight 😍), the Hunger Games, etc. I never quite caught the Divergent wave, so I thought it would be a great time to read this. Nothing I read in 2018 affected me like this did. NOTHING. I ugly cried, and then when it was over, I went as far as to read the short-story that Roth wrote to catch readers up on life with the characters after Allegiant. That was a huge mistake. I despised it! The movies (sans Divergent) were terrible, and deserved so much better. I love the cathartic feeling I get from reading well-written books that have action, love, and loss in them - this series was everything I could hope for. I really think the feelings I got from it will stay with me forever.
And as I stare out at the land, I think that this, if nothing else, is compelling evidence for my parents' God, that our world is so massive that it is completely out of our control, that we cannot be as large as we feel. - Tris, Allegiant
4. Becoming by Michelle Obama
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| Mama Robinson, little Michelle, and Craig. |
I don't normally read nonfiction, but when I heard that my favorite first lady was coming out with a memoir, I knew I had to have it. I've already written my review on this beautiful piece of art in the previous post, so refer to this if you'd like a more thought out opinion on it. One thing I will say here, however, is that the people who don't necessarily want power or care for politics are often some of the most genuine - and that's what I love about Michelle. She didn't necessarily want, or ever strive for, the role she ended up with. She hated everything about politics. But she got it, and performed her duties beautifully. She is a gem.
5. Traveling
Solo trips and cruises, specifically.
In 2018, I traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to work at the Country Music Association's Festival. I booked my own hotel suite, and was there for four nights and five days. I loved the experience, but what I loved more than that was traveling on my own. I'd never sleep better, never been more at peace. After living at home for the entire duration of my graduate school career, some time away -- ALONE -- was utterly amazing, and I think I'm going to book another trip like that soon.
I also wrote a blog post about the cruise I took, so if you're interested in more details you can find that here. I had to mention it though, because it was amazing.
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Of course, this isn't an exhaustive list of my favorite things from 2018 - there were songs and movies that came out (Ella Mai's entire album...Pretty Little Fears x 6lack and J. Cole, movies like Black Panther, etc.) but as promised these are my absolute favorites. I hope you enjoyed, and that this inspires you to look back on your own favorites of 2018 fondly. ♥️
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