March Favorites

Yan Ming

        I know I've been slacking on my favorites posts, but February was pretty uneventful. I am ready to make up for it though. If you follow my Instagram, you'll know at the start of last month I had the flu. It was rough. It came out of nowhere and I was stuck home in bed for at least a week. I had no energy to do anything, even checking my phone or watching TV felt like a task. Thankfully, I recovered in time to make my trip to Colorado, though I was still gaining my strength back. I had a nice trip, but when I returned is when the madness of the Coronavirus was just beginning. Because I was sick and then on vacation, I had missed the worst of it, but the week I came back and the weeks following were long and hard to get through. I was coming home exhausted every day and had little time or energy for anything. Because of this, I don't have much for March, but I figured something is better than nothing. I hope you enjoy my little list, and please let me know if you've been indulging in these as well, or what you've been using to distract yourself from the new normal.

TV

This show premiered in January, but I needed time to delve into it before I decided how I felt about it. I was hesitant, initially, because I was uncertain how the concept of the show would be able sustain its appeal to keep an audience. Although upon first watch it seems like a frilly, surface level comedy series, there is more depth to it than meets the eye. I found myself in tears by the end of the first episode, and multiple times since the season began. I was intrigued since I had heard Lauren Graham was cast and then I saw Skylar Astin from Pitch Perfect, which encouraged me to keep watching. The emotional twists they intertwine into a seemingly lighthearted sitcom pull at my heartstrings and make me look forward to a new episode every week.

I had watched this show when it originally aired on what is now Freeform, and if you read my Denver post you'll know that trip is the reason I decided to do a little rewatch of the series. It is full of drama and although I find that part frustrating, I absolutely love watching the gymnastics aspect of it. I know how it ends, but it's been so long I don't necessarily remember minor details. It's fun to relive the moments I recall watching for the first time when I was in high school. It's also interesting to see how my opinion on certain things has changed as I've aged too. I still despise the mean girl, naturally, but my favorite character when I was younger I see now was just as bad as the rest of them. She never made decisions that were beneficial and always ended up making things worse for herself. The fate of her character doesn't come as much of a surprise either as a result. Since we're all in quarantine right now, if you haven't seen this one I recommend it. It's only three seasons, but it's worth it for the whirlwind of highs, lows and never ending teenage drama.

​Music

On March 20th, despite the circumstances with Covid-19, Kelsea Ballerini dropped her self-titled album, "kelsea."  I'm hoping to write a full review of the album at some point, but I just have to tell you here first how much I am enjoying it. Since her debut, Kelsea has never fallen short of releasing both bops and songs with lyrics that anyone could relate to. This album in particular though, there were a few songs that I connected to more than expected. It's so easy to see celebrities and our favorite artists, even if we've met and interacted with them, as untouchable. I've found incredible comfort in this particular record because for the first time, Kelsea dove deep to share personal insecurities and her anxiety. She's sung and written about past relationships and how she's grown from them and come out better. She's proclaimed self-affirmation through her music in the past, which is also wonderful to listen to, but hearing her expose her innermost feelings about everyday worries is like a hug in the form of music and lyrics.

The Dixie Chicks are back and better than ever. Twitter was blowing up over this new single, and I'm always down for new music so I listened for myself. And I was pleasantly surprised! If I'm being totally honest I don't know that I've listened or heard any of their previous work, but I was curious about their comeback. I'm not your typical country fan. I have my favorite country artists, but to me they don't sound stereotypical country. I tend to lean more towards pop country, but I have to say as soon as this song started playing I was hooked. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's very much a track I will listen to over and over. It's more my style country than I expected.