My 2023 Wrapped

Happy New years yall! I’m so hyped to be posting my first post of the year. I am currently on a nice little break and couldn’t wait to jump back into crafting up some ideas for yall. If you are familiar with my blog you know that I absolutely love to give my little rundown for the year. I’m kinda sticking with the same theme but got a bit inspired by my Spotify wrapped (Who else thought this year’s wrap was mid btw?🙋🏾‍♀️). Anyways why not do my own personal 2023 wrapped but living lex style hehe.

2023 Wrapped: Best Films/TV this year

Its so crazy to think of A24 as this once upon a time small independent distributing company to being one of the most recognizable movie production companies in the world. I’m so compelled to do a separate blog post on how they’ve managed this continued track level of success. This year in particular was definitely an A24 year for me.

BEST Show: BEEF

This show came out in beginning of 2023 and I still think about what an amazing project this was. Lee Sung Jin to expand successfully on the concept of road rage to include some of the most interesting characters, and story lines to display our society’s current state of mind was genius. I recognized Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead, where I also witnessed his heartbreaking exit from the show. It was refreshing to see him in this project nonetheless. Ali Wong is someone I am not to familiar with outside of standup. Doesn’t even matter because no one else would have been able play Amy Lau like her. Overall the show was brilliant and addicting and I can’t wait to see more of what Lee Sung Jin has to offer.

Film: Past Lives

This film wrecked my fucking heart. Lets just start there. I absolute love love love that this film explores so many realistic stages of a relationship. Starting with childhood crushes supervised by parents in the playground. Then the mid-20s young romance. The type of romance that is just filled with so much giddy-ness about the most mundane things.

Then the adult, mature love where love looks a lot less action-packed but more reserved and practical. Where love is less about the person but how well that person fits in the future you have planned for yourself. Then there is sometimes the forbidden love, which is always so heartbreaking. The film touches on it all.

These characters seem like they are supposed to be together but at the same time how the hell does it work….well the answer is that it doesn’t.

Honorable mention: Oppenheimer. This is probably a tie with Past lives can’t lie.

Best Travel Experiences

Atlanta

Its crazy to say my best travel experience in 2023 was the south, but it was! Everything you have ever heard about Atlanta is true lets start there. The main thing for me that made this trip so good was that every single restaurant we went to was 10/10 and reasonably priced. The night life was just as great. The people were nice and friendly. You can’t beat the south when it comes to the people, prices and enjoyment honestly. It will definitely be seeing me again.

Honorable mention: Puerto Rico & Tulum

2023 Wrapped: Best Memories

I went to two broadway shows in the city the first one was in the beginning of the year where I watched “Primary Trust” starring William Jackson Harper. Most notable for his work in “The Good Place, and Love Life.” It was a unique concept of a show about loss, friendship and love and I absolutely loved it. Plus I got to meet William Jackson Harper at the end of the show which made it so much better. The only embarrassing thing though is I accidentally said his show wrong and he pretended to know what I was talking about. Yikes.

Saw another amazing broadway show with friends called “Jaja’s African Hair braiding”. Anyone that has ever gotten there hair done around 125th could absolutely relate to this show in ways that was absolutely comical. The show showcased the theme of how hard it is for immigrants to settle in America and just the overall American experience for immigrants. 10/10!

One thing yall gotta know about me….is me and live music/ concerts go together forrreal. In 2023 I was able to see 4 different artist live. In July it was Burna Boy for his “Love Damini ” tour, then Asake for his “Work of Art” tour then BEYONCE!!! I saw her in September and when I tell you that will probably be the best concert I will ever probably experience, I mean it. Then I saw the amazing vocalist Leon Thomas III in November at an intimate concert in Brooklyn. Cheers to listening to more amazing artists in 2024!

2023 Wrapped: Best Novel I have read

Image from wrotebooks.org

I would say this book was a pretty easy read, frustrating at some points but also really fun. The book introduced a couple nuances about the publishing life that I never realized was a huge deal. I am not super familiar with her other works but it has definitely struck my interests to read more. Yellow face is technically a TikTok book so I definitely had my doubts, but i have to say this book had a unique angel I haven’t seen before. I mean two friends that basically have always been pitted against each other in the publishing world. One extremely successful and the other not so much. the successful author Athena Lu dies unexpectedly right in front of Juniper Hayward, and what does this women do? She steals her manuscript and publishes it as her own. Thats just commercially brilliant I can’t lie.

Honorable mention: