2021 in 21 points....

 Hello Internet,

Another year is done and dusted, and stuff happened. In fact, I think we can all agree that 2021 has been A LOT and borderline too much. So to keep up the tradition of writing wrap-up blog posts, I decided to summarise this crazy 12 months in 21 points. I have purposefully left some personal things out because I firmly believe there are still things the Internet doesn't need to own of me, but I probably also missed a whole bunch of important things because I simply forgot. (It's been a long year, cut me some slack).

Read on if you want my 2021 summary, otherwise HAPPY NEW YEAR world! May 2022 bring good memories, new opportunities, joy and laughter to you 💗💗💗💗💗

An interesting summary of my 2021: Several different experiments with nail colour and design
because I am indecisive as heck, and finally being able to go out into the world and
experience an art exhibition at a gallery (Van Gogh @ The Lume Melbourne - 10/10, so cool!)

1. NO TIME TO DIE

After multiple COVID delays, the world finally got some new Bond content with Daniel Craig’s final film as the iconic British spy. Was it worth the wait? Abso-freaking-lutely! While there were some plot issues that left me scratching my head at times, I thoroughly enjoyed No Time To Die. Billie Eilish’s haunting theme was one of my all-time favourite Bond tunes, the action sequences were slick as always, it was shot beautifully and the complex character arcs followed the gritty and emotional themes of Craig’s previous themes. An excellent experience that reminded me why I love going to the cinema so much and one of my favourite movies of the year!

(NB: My definitive ranking of Daniel Craig Bond films goes (from worst to best) - Quantum of Solace, Spectre, No Time to Die, Casino Royale, Skyfall. I will not be taking opinions on this ranking at this time).

2. WEST SIDE STORY

Another COVID delayed blockbuster, this one came from the marvellous directorial brain of Steven Spielberg. Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of the musical itself and I wasn’t sure whether I was going to connect with the music and lyrics on the big screen. But the fabulous performances in this film and the dynamic, sweeping shots of 1950s New York breathed a poignant and energetic life into the musical that made me fall in love with the musical on another level. Rachel Zegler was a goddess as Maria, and Ariana DeBose’s Anita was phenomenal; those two ladies alongside OG film Anita Rita Moreno as Valentina absolutely stole the show for me. Another fabulous time at the cinema for me as well and a musical film well worth the wait!

3. PODCASTS

Podcasts were my saving grace this year, I took great pleasure in chucking a pod on and just letting my mind wander. I adore my movie review/commentary podcasts; particularly Kermode On Film and Guilty Pleasures. Knowledgeable humans having fun talking about movies and television, and never afraid to bring the humour and the hot takes – 10/10, would recommend! A close third was You Can Sit With Us; I loved listening to intelligent women talking intelligent life things – your wisdom was much appreciated! Here’s to more amazing podcast content in the coming year!

4. HAWKEYE

Loved a Christmas-flavoured MCU series to finish off a prolific year for the universe. Clint Barton was one of my fave OG Avengers, so I was so stoked to see how his own series would explore his character more and also introduce the exciting Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) to the MCU. The six-episode series was so much fun between the banter, archery moments, action sequences and important notes on grief and trauma. Plus, who didn’t love Lucky the pizza eating pooch! The introduction of kick-ass lady Maya (Alaqua Cox) and the return of the hilariously fabulous Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) alongside Kate also gave me all the strong female queen energy I didn’t know I needed. Overall, 10/10 – so many great layers!

5. WANDAVISION

If Hawkeye finished Marvel’s 2021 forays into mini-series television with a bang, WandaVision started with an explosion of excitement and intrigue. Wanda Maximoff is my #1 favourite Avenger, and back in January it was so good to see my embattled Scarlett Witch goddess getting a moment to process her trauma via sitcom. I enjoyed this series so much and not only were there plenty of funny moments, the aesthetics of each episode working through the decades was stunning. The reveals leading up to the finale were satisfying in a way that makes me super excited for Doctor Strange 2, and the introduction of Agatha (All Along ;0) (Kathryn Hahn) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) were also exciting to see. But the MVP’s were definitely Paul Bettany, iconic as ever as Vision, and Elizabeth Olsen bringing even more complexity to Wanda – she is such a queen!

6. BRIDGERTON

If you market something as ‘Regency Gossip Girl’, I cannot press play fast enough. I didn’t think I was into binge-watching, but I watched Bridgerton (the first time…) in about 48 hours! I was OBSESSED with that show; and I added fuel to the obsession by buying and reading the first four novels in the Bridgerton book series. I really appreciated the differences between Season 1 and Daphne’s book The Duke and I, whilst also staying true to the essence of Simon and Daphne’s love story. The TV cast were all fabulous and the costumes were gorgeous to watch on screen. While you could palm this series off as cheesy romance and nothing more, there was some really interesting undertones in terms of family dynamics and regency gender politics that I enjoyed immensely. Plus, who knew an orchestral version of Thank U Next was something the world needed?! I have watched Bridgerton on Netflix three more times since it first dropped, and I will be adding another re-watch before Season 2 premieres in early 2022!!

7. TUMBLR REUNION

If I am being honest with myself, I have a complicated relationship with social media. I recognise how toxic it is without the right boundaries, but I also love the connectivity it grants us to see and experience the lives of people we know and people we’ve never met all over the world. Whilst I still use Twitter and Instagram a bunch, I fell out of ‘intense interest’ in them. I channelled that energy into reconnecting with Tumblr. Even though it isn’t necessarily trendy anymore, I had a wonderful time discovering some excellent blogs on there. Screw Tik Tok, Tumblr has the fun and conversational hot takes I am on social media for!

8. TENET & DUNE

AKA: Long movies I saw and did not understand. They were both beautifully shot by directors who are bonified experts and legends without need of my approval, but both Chris Nolan’s timey-whimey action thriller and Denis Villeneuve’s specky take on the cult fantasy epic didn’t do a single thing for me. Honestly, both left me rather confused and disappointed by the end, but I think I am one of few people on Earth who felt that way....

9. DISNEY CHANNEL LATIN AMERICA

Are y’all ready for a (not so) guilty pleasure? I have been obsessed with Disney Channel Latin America for much of 2021. As a result, I could argue that I have learnt a tonne of conversational Spanish! Duolingo? Don’t know her. I only know Violetta, Soy Luna and Bia. Thanks to Disney+, I have been able to watch Disney teen telenovelas that premiered years ago, but still hold up as enjoyable but silly viewing.  Violetta has 240 episodes and Soy Luna has 220 episodes; these things are quite the time commitment! They are chaotically good fun with some quite mature themes mixed in as well. There is also plenty of romance to get invested in, and plenty of banger songs that still slap 3-8 years later. I love how Disney+ has made international content way more globally accessible, and I am so excited for a bunch of the new Latin American shows dropping on Disney+ in 2022. If you can’t reach me, I am probably watching a Disney telenovela….

10. ALL TOO WELL

Also known as Taylor Swift’s 10 minute masterpiece included on her version of Red. A masterclass in songwriting and exorcising the demon of a painful past relationship, I adore this song. When the original album came out in 2012, this song popped out for me as an underrated gem, and I am so happy it has turned into its own cultural moment in 2021. The short film is just as poignantly heartbreaking as the vivid lyrics, and everytime the song comes on I find another little whisper of genius/emotion amongst it all. All of Taylor’s re-releases in 2021 were awesome little time capsules back to my childhood as I grew up listening to Fearless and Red amongst her other fabulous discography, and I loved re-visiting them with my 23-year-old brain. Here’s to revisiting more cracking tunes as Taylor continues to drop re-releases!

11. 3O BY ADELE

Despite COVID preventing a lot of musicians from getting back to touring, 2021 was another great year for new music. My playlists were chock full of Eurovision tunes (as always!), plus new releases from Ed Sheeran and most excitingly, Adele! Coming back into our lives and our headphones with an emotional bang, her new album 30 was a beautiful journey of self-reflection, growth and intense vulnerability; and I am obsessed! She is still a queen and her voice is so soothing and calming. ‘Easy On Me’ and ‘I Drink Wine’ resonate with me on such a deep level, and I am so, so, so excited to see her entertaining the masses (safely of course!) when she begins her Las Vegas residency. It is so brilliant to have Adele back!

12. CRUELLA

Disney were still pumping out the bangers despite the global pandemic, and the Emma Stone led origin story of one of the most fabulously evil villains was one of my absolute faves. I was a little wary of villain origin stories after the problematic disaster that was Joker, but I loved what Cruella did in terms of balancing the human character traits with not necessarily justifying her actions or ignoring the fact that she is a villain. Stone was fabulous as the title character, Queen Emma Thompson was incredible as the elegantly cruel Baroness, and the real stars of the show were the fashions. A visual treat and a truly fun time, I am now on board for more villain origin stories if this film is the blueprint. 

13. 10 YEARS OF LITTLE MIX

As a girl band I grew up with, they own a lot of real estate in my playlists! Their harmonies are ridiculous, they are incredibly entertaining performers and I love the messages of self-empowerment, girlpower and confidence in their lyrics. I have seen them twice in concert and they have been some of the most consistent artists in the last decade with banger after banger. When they go on hiatus, I will be sad to not have new music from the girls, but they completely deserve some time off to put their feet up and bask in their fantastic achievements. Long live Little Mix!

14. HAIR DYE ADVENTURE

In 2021, I decided to dabble in some hair dye. I had pastel pink bits and pieces through my hair mid-year and I was completely thrilled with the vibe! Lockdown put a stop to any re-application towards the end of the year, but the new year will be the time to dye some more and I am super excited! Jenna Marbles was right; life is too short not to have really exciting hair. I haven’t decided exactly what colour is next, but purple has a good energy for me right now….

15. ACADEMIC PUBLICATION

As corny as it sounds, a dream of mine fully came true this year. Whilst I have had previous publications in magazines and online newspapers, I was very fortunate to be able to publish my first academic paper alongside two fabulous women who were the best co-authors a writer could ask for. What began as a full-on honours thesis transitioned into the process of writing and refining too many words down to a succinct and exciting topic for a paper over 2020’s lockdowns, and rewriting and editing some more to finally submit and publish in mid 2021! Six months on, I am still in shock that I was able to do that and my name is actually in a journal that I respect on a topic that I find so fascinating. It reaffirmed my love of writing and lit a desire in me to keep going down the path of academic research, so here’s hoping more ideas and opportunities find their way to me in 2022!

16. A WRITING JOURNEY

Whilst I had the high of professional publication in 2021, the back half of the year was spent feeling rather distant from writing. 2020’s lockdowns were spent writing academic stuff and also churning out movie reviews for films I was watching here on my blog. I had found a good balance between writing for a project and writing for myself. Late 2021 did not have the same balance. I found it really hard to write anything, for myself or for a goal, and I felt really lost without it. Thankfully, that particular storm seems to have passed for the time being as I was able to write all the waffle in this post and I have recently rediscovered a love for poetry. I forgot how freeing and cathartic just writing down passing thoughts are, and I have certainly started to feel so much lighter in myself once I let those words out. I don’t know if they will ever see the light of day, but I love the fact that I am going into 2022 being able to write for me and for the world again.

17. RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

Another smashing film from the Disney machine, Raya and the Last Dragon had all the things I love so much about Disney animation. A kick-ass strong female protagonist with the soothing voice of Kelly Marie Tran as a welcome bonus, Raya was another lady in a long list of awesome female representation in film this year. Naamari (Gemma Chan) also surprised me with how much I enjoyed her character arc, and the interactions between the two girls were some of the film’s utmost highlights. The mythology of the land was also super interesting and the visual technicolour of sassy dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) and her family’s powers was also so cool! If you missed this one in amongst the 2021 crazy, jump over to Disney+ and watch it, otherwise I think it is well overdue for a rewatch for me!

18. BLACK WIDOW

The MCU film I was most hyped for in 2021 (sorry Spiderman….), Black Widow was a satisfying addition to the story of Natasha Romanoff that highlighted some of my favourite things about her character. The action sequences were awesome to watch, and despite a somewhat forgettable villain overshadowed by the formidability of Taskmaster, there was still plenty of stakes involved even though the timeline of the film assured Natasha’s survival (in that moment in time…). The found family aspects that underpin the emotional punch of the film were beautiful to see, and the relationship between Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Pugh) was delightfully strong and complex. Whilst I do agree with the idea that this film should have happened ages before this point in the MCU, I love what I got anyway. Long live Black Widow!

19. MENTAL HEALTH CHECK-IN

This year has been incredibly tough for so many people, for so many reasons (corona or otherwise). Mental health has always been a part of my life for many years now, and this year I felt the struggle a lot more than I have previously. The importance of mental health can never be forgotten, and I’ve had to learn to not feel guilty for taking time out or taking a step back from something for mental health reasons. I had to do that numerous times in 2021, and each time felt just as odd and as complicated as the last. But I also knew it was ultimately the right thing to do. I’ve never been good at prioritising myself and what I need, but this year forced my hand in a big way. Just as there was growth this year, there was also a consistent reminder that everything is a work in progress and it is more than OK to have an average day, because people will understand. I am looking forward to see how 2022 feels and what course life will take.

20. POP VINYL'S

I am a proud Pop Vinyl fiend now. All my favourite characters staring back at me in adorable little figure form, it’s great! On a deeper level, I love my Pop Vinyl's because I have always been a pop culture kid. I grew up loving Disney Channel, got hooked on the Avengers/MCU from Day 1, fell in love with all the Disney princesses, had Harry Potter on repeat – I just love everything pop culture! These fictional characters shaped who I was, who I am and in some respects who I want to be. They genuinely mean something to me, like little parts of my nerd soul. I love looking up at them and seeing all these incredible female characters who have taught me something. We learn from what we see, and those characters helped me learn so much – right, wrong and everything in between. Let’s see what other cool Pop’s I can find in the coming year!

21. PANDEMIC: THE SEQUEL

Remember when we all thought this ‘Coronavirus’ thing was going to stay in 2020? Wrong. The ‘Rona is certainly outstaying its welcome and making the Greek alphabet rather uncool, don’t you think? Lockdowns were harder this year for a lot of us, myself included, and the strength I had in 2020 dissipated into fatigue and exhaustion. Fun things being cancelled has also given me a low-key fear of planning ahead but also a real appreciation for being able to go out into the world and experience cool things. Thank goodness for kind people, Click and Collect in retail and my bed for getting me through the weeks. Now it looks like we’re heading for a third installment, titled 'Omicron Time’, so let’s see what craziness this next phase will bring….

Like I said at the top, I have probably missed a bunch of important and/or interesting and/or useless 2021 things. But writing this list has shown me that despite some pretty average moments, there have still been highlights. There is a silver lining after all!

Here's to an improved 2022 folks,

Love and another year around the sun, Emily xx 😛