In honor of Matilda the Musical making up a solid majority of my current music, here are the top moments from the new movie that made me cry like a baby. Now lets be real, I cried through that whole movie- me and my mom have a very deep connection to this musical and we have been anxiously awaiting the release of it. I think we might have been  looking forward to Matilda on Christmas more than our presents. But here are the parts that quite literally broke me. 

 

1. Starting off strong with the opening number. It consists of children and parents talking about how much of a miracle their child is- how wonderful and lovely and perfect they are. Then, once we arrive at Matilda, we hear her say “My mummy says I’m a jumped up little germ, that kids like me, should be against the law”. The fact that this beautiful, little child thinks all these horrible things about herself? Emotionally devastating. 
2. As a kid who grew up very little with a very big personality, the song ‘Naughty’ always hits a bit too close to home. Little eight year old me would sing my little heart out. “A storm can begin, with the flap of a wing, the tiniest might packs the mightiest sting!”
3. Little Bruce absolutely LEADING the revolution for these kids is my favorite thing. Everyone is cheering him on, just hoping for him to be the one to challenge Trunchbull’s reign. “We never thought it was possible- but here it is coming true: we can have our cake and eat it too!”
4. When I Grow Up has always been a song that hit me in the heart, even when I was little. But as someone who has freshly turned eighteen, looking at colleges and planning the next phase of my life, the lyrics, “when I grow up, I will be brave enough to fight the creatures underneath the bed each night to be a grown up” hit a little bit harder than usual.
5. For those of you who don’t know the plot of Matilda- she tells a story of a man and his daughter, who has been hurt by her aunt. The song ‘I’m here’ is the father, Magnus’s song where he comforts her, saying “don’t cry, I am here, little girl” and promising to protect her from any harm. I cry every time. 
6. If I had to describe what overstimulating anxiety felt like, the song ‘Quiet’ would feel like an accurate description. Matilda talks about this overwhelming feeling over everyone shouting, saying, “this noise becomes anger, and the anger is light, and it’s burning inside me would usually fade, but it isn’t today” getting progressively more and more upset before everything finally just goes…quiet. 
7. Personally, I have always found Miss Honey’s character boring- but the new movie’s portrayal has completely changed that for me. One song I didn’t expect to love as much as I did was ‘My House’, where she describes her humble home. It is such a lovely depiction of a life I will always find in my dreams. “It isn’t much, but it is enough for me.”
8. This isn’t even a song, but the moment where these kids think they’ve defeated the Trunchbull and her chokey, and then the feeling when she reveals a new chokey for every child sends chills down my spine. Not tears of sadness, but tears of pure terror. The Trunchbull scares me y’all. (Emma Thompson is a queen though).
9. While ‘Revolting Children’ is mostly a comedic song, Bruce singing “never again will I doubt it when my mummy says I’m a miracle” breaks me just a little bit. Seeing these kids start to deconstruct all the hurtful things put in their minds is so healing.
10. Many may say that ‘Still Holding My Hand’ is a throw away song, and while it may have been a last minute addition, I actually love this song. The pure joy that radiates off of this, and their voices, absolutely shines. 

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of me losing my mind over this movie- and that you consider watching this absolute masterpiece of a film. Just understand that mentioning it around me automatically puts you in the splash zone. 

There is no better feeling than silly. In the world of all that is humorous, true silliness makes me happiest. What is true silliness, you may ask? Let me take you on a journey.

Now, in my opinion, there are three categories of comedic things: funny, goofy, and silly. These are not truly distinct categories; they have the opportunity to overlap in certain situations. We’ll get to that later. First, let’s define these categories. For the purpose of these definitions, comedy is defined as works meant to be humorous–not necessarily a “funny story” or a “funny look.” 

Things that are funny make you laugh out loud. This is the broadest category of comedy. A stand-up comedian might be funny, or a sitcom. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they are silly or goofy, however. It is important to remember that not everything that is funny is also silly. I associate “funny” with comedy that involves a punchline or a true joke. Things that are funny are funny because they are making a purposeful humorous connection. If you’re having trouble grasping this idea, take a look at John Mulaney. He is funny. He tells jokes that conclude with a punchline. This is the most “intellectual” category of comedy; it requires a certain skill to make things funny. Don’t get me wrong–I love things that are funny. But true “funny” requires an understanding that goes a bit deeper than when things are silly or goofy.

Things that are goofy also make you laugh out loud–but there is a distinction. Goofy is most associated with people. You might describe someone as being goofy, but a joke itself isn’t goofy. Goofy typically comes in actions and using props. You know those costume disguises with the mustache and glasses? Those are peak goofy. I think about the show Impractical Jokers when I think of goofy. The jokers are the joke. When they put on a bad presentation in front of an unknowing audience, they are goofy. I also love goofy. But sometimes, goofy is annoying. You can only take so much goofy. If someone acts goofy all the time, eventually you get tired of them. Goofy is good in certain doses.

Finally, the peak of comedy: silly. Silly is more than funny and more than goofy. It evokes a feeling within you. Silliness is the hardest to define and the hardest to come by. All I can say is that you know it when you see it. It is not intellectual in any way. It just makes you feel joy because of its pureness. Great examples of silly can be found in the show Arrested Development. One that comes to mind is when Gob proclaims, “Take a look at banner, Michael!” and the banner just says, “Family Love Michael.” We’re really not sure why this makes us laugh, but it does. It’s a moment that is serious for the characters but is incredibly humorous for us. The words that Gob says and the words on the banner don’t make much sense. That is why it is such a silly scene. Lots of SNL sketches are plain silly, like one of my favorites that I watched last season, Angelo, in which a very strange man sings very strange songs on a stage. It makes no sense. But it is hilarious. Silly is the best genre because it is harmless, and you can never get tired of it because it only comes around on occasion. Silly makes us laugh because of how absurd, yet effortless it is. 

 

These categories have the potential to overlap, as I said before. I think that in many cases, they do. But seldom is something all three. To put it more mathematically, all silly things are funny, but not all funny things are silly. Also, not all goofy things are funny. So if you’re trying to make a venn diagram, I don’t really know what to tell you. 

These categories I thought of as I laid in bed last night are completely arbitrary. Or maybe not completely arbitrary; you tell me in the comments. 

There’s a certain art in silliness: one of simplicity and of not being so serious. If we all decided to embrace silliness more, maybe the world would be a better place. We need to finally accept that it’s okay to laugh at people falling down the stairs or saying something stupid on accident. Some people say there’s a time and place for being silly. But I think that you can be silly anytime. I hope that my funeral is the silliest event ever.

Since the end of my freshman year, I have worked at Ben & Jerry’s. So, let me tell you why I absolutely LOVE scooping ice cream.

Even though it’s just a job and theoretically I am just there to make money, here are some of the reasons why this ice cream store means so much to me:

1. I have met some of my best, closest friends. My first summer at this job was in 2020, so there were only about 10 of us working all of the time. We all had nothing else to do (thanks, COVID), so we basically just worked every day. Being together in a very small kitchen for 25-30 hours per week really brings people together, and looking back, I kind of miss those COVID times stuck in the store. Less like coworkers anymore, and more like family. Sadly, I have been left alone now as most of them have graduated high school and gone to college, but they are truly some of my best friends, and I get so excited for every school break because that means they are coming back to work!
2. Ice cream makes people happy, which makes me happy! Whenever parents bring their kids in for ice cream, the joy on the kid’s faces is the cutest, most contagious thing ever. I will never, ever get tired of that!
3. I have grown SO much as a person. As I continue on to my fourth year, I have been given an incredible amount of responsibility with multiple promotions. I made it all the way to the top (Assistant Manager Brendan reporting for duty!), and I have seen some of the very best things, but also some of the worst things. I have been called nasty names and screamed at, and I have been able to stand my ground and stick up for myself and my fellow employees, even when someone is screaming curse words at me for no reason (the customer is not always right :/). Moral of the story: I would not have been able to handle any relatively similar situation before I started this job, so the growth is so apparent.
4. Customers can be really sweet! I will unapologetically admit that there was a time that a customer made me cry tears of joy. It was a sweet, old man who had no idea what flavor he wanted, so I spent roughly 5 or 6 minutes explaining all of the flavors and giving recommendations to help him decide. After he chose his 2 pints, I was ringing him out when he told me, “You really have some of the most incredible patience I have ever seen in an employee at any store, and I really appreciate your help. You are going to have an incredibly bright future with a personality like the one you have.” I was speechless, so I just responded, “Thank you so much,” then I ran to the back and started crying. 

There are so many other reasons, but I guess scooping ice cream was my secret calling! I truly could not imagine my life without this store, and even though I complain way too much about it sometimes, I am so grateful for my time at the local B&J! Peace, Love, & Ice Cream is my motto for life now!

I’m not a person that typically sets New Year’s resolutions. I always thought it was a bit superficial how people all across the United States set goals that they would stop persuing within a week. I didn’t see why the New Year was such a big deal if the only thing that changed in my life was the number on the calendar. However, this year, when the 2023 ball dropped at midnight, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the sense of passing time. This is the year I turn 18. This is the year I graduate. This is the year I move away from home. With just the change of a single digit, I realized 2023 would be a big year for me. So although I’m not setting any resolutions, I plan to set some intentions for 2023. I want to create honest goals without the pressure of a firm resolution. With a year ahead of me that I’m still so unsure about, it would be illogical of me to set strict goals when the world around me is bound to change. So without any furthur ado, here are some of my intentions for 2023.

1. Try new things
   • I already know that 2023 is going to be a year in which I will grow a lot as a person, and I want to ensure that I take opportunities to explore new things.
2. Spend more time in the sunlight
   • I love spending time outside and I think that is something that escaped me in 2022. Spending time in the sun is just the best feeling and I want to embrace all the sunshine I can.
3. Be realistic with myself
   • I have a tendency to set unrealistic expectations for myself and I believe that I will be more sucessful if I better address the extent of my capabilities.
4. Get in tap with my creativity
   1. To be honest, it’s been a while since I have had fun creating any art. This summer I plan to paint, and bake, and read and do all the things I told myself I didn’t have time for in 2022.
5. Stress less
   • I don’t even think this needs to be explained (IB has definitely been a large cause of stress, but that will soon be done).

Thank you for reading my New Year’s intentions! I can’t wait for all the fun things that 2023 has in store!

There’s a reviewer who every year compiles a “Best of 20XX” list of his favorite games/albums/movies/books/songs/whatever that he’s encountered that year, and what I love about it is they don’t have to have come out that year, he just has to have experienced them for the first time. It feels a lot more personal (plus it gives me more to work with) so I’m modeling my somewhat late 2022 music retrospective around it. In no particular order, here are my 5 favorite albums I listened to in 2022:

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friends call me an old man for this one but it popped up on my discover weekly halfway through the year and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s an incredible album all the way through and I remember being surprised when I first listened to it that I’d never heard of it before, especially since every song’s been sampled several times over.

Ants From Up There

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one actually did come out this year, and it took me coming back to it a couple times over the year to really get into it but once I did I loved it. It’s a really interesting amalgamation of genres and influences and as a result is hard to define but endearingly unique. Give it a shot if you haven’t and if you have, give it another shot.

Disintegration 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got really into The Cure as a whole this year and I was having a hard time figuring out which album to put on here, but as I thought about it more I realized just how good Disintegration is. Almost every song is ridiculously good, and when I was sorting out my favorite of their songs the majority of the top of the list came from this album. I keep coming back to Untitled and Fascination Street especially, I’ve found they’re really hard to beat.

Favourite Worst Nightmare

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one’s kind of cheating because I’ve had 505 on my playlist for a while but I got really into the rest of the album this year. It’s definitely my favorite Arctic Monkeys album; I’m not a huge fan of some of their later ones and whenever someone brings them up songs like Do Me a Favour and Brianstorm spring to mind rather than ones like R U Mine.

Man Alive!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m really glad I got into King Krule this year. He’s an absurdly varied artist, sometimes sounding punk, sometimes post punk or R&B or even Jazz—it makes every album end up emotionally resonant and unique. My favorite of his albums, though, is Man Alive! It feels a lot more personal and interesting than his first two albums, although I’d be hard pressed to say I dislike either of those either.

 

I listened to a lot of new stuff this year, but I’m always looking for more. My spotify playlist is a giant amalgamation of all the music I’m currently listening to and is sitting at, as of writing this, 70 hours long. So if you’re looking for a comment to put under this blog, throw me an album or song recommendation and I’ll check it out.