Goodbye 2022: My Favorite Things, Moments & Media of 2022

2022 was thankfully quite good to me.

Even though there were rough patches like any other year, it was truly a nice year for me, full of lots of happy things and moments for me. I always like to write a post on the moments that stand out each year, as a way to remember the positives and carry that into the new year with me, but this time I’m also talking about specific items and media that I loved. I feel like I feel less inclined to talk about more specific parts of my life now, after being away for so long, so hopefully those extra tidbits will make up for it!

My trip to Thailand was certainly a huge highlight of my year, since I hadn’t gotten to go in 2020 because of covid and was really missing it! It was so lovely to see my family again, especially after such a long time, and of course, the food was amazing and every day I yearn for (real) Thai food. And being on vacation always means lots of relaxing and low stress, which I really needed after the hectic months of finishing out the semester. I already want to go back, especially to travel outside of Bangkok, where I usually stay!

Read more about my trip here!

Yet again, dance remains one of the most important things in my life. I love it for how free it makes me feel, how good I feel just to move my body around and be active, how easily it reduces my stress, and how challenging but rewarding it is. And particularly, it’s been so much fun to take mostly hip hop classes, which is a style I’m not as used to—seeing my improvement in just a few months has been so encouraging!

I also got to teach my first dance class (and in hip hop, which was a good challenge!), and I had so much fun. Definitely have a lot to improve on as a teacher, but I hope I get more chances to teach because I love sharing dance!

The Volunteers “New Plant” single

Music has always been important to me, but this year, I finally branched out a lot more in the artists I listened to, and I found so many new songs to love! My favorite songs from artists I discovered this year are:

• Let me go!, Hypocreep, and New Plant by The Volunteers
• So Good and Stoked by Weston Estate
• fallback by nightlife
• I Hate You So Much by Anarbor
• great escape by cinema staff
• 踊 (Odo) by Ado
• (and from a forever favorite artist: Frankenstein, Imagining, and Phantom by Rina Sawayama)

Speaking of music, I got to attend my first concert since 2018 for one of my all-time favorite artists. Seeing Rina Sawayama live was an absolutely amazing experience, and I am so so grateful that I was able to see her. If you’re even just a small fan of her and can afford to go to her concert, please go!!! She is a phenomenal performer, her live vocals are exceptional, and so much of her music is simply perfect live. Truly one of the best nights of my life!

I also got to see some other small live music performances/shows, and it just reminded me of how incredible live music is. I already have one concert scheduled for 2023 (for Keshi, who I actually don’t listen to much but my sister needed someone to go with), and I hope I can attend more!

I got into journaling in 2021 and kept it very lowkey until I bought a Hobonichi Cousin Avec around halfway through 2022. And I am obsessed. I never thought I’d be a planning or journaling girlie, but I think I am slowly becoming one…? The Hobonichi Avec works so well with my needs (habit tracker, weekly to-dos, daily journaling), and I’m just very in love with it. I still am low-pressure about journaling (especially the “making everything look aesthetic” part), but it has become so important to my life and daily routine. It truly is therapeutic and soothing… Science is right! Shocker!

While I am honestly terrible at watching movies, getting to go to cinemas again was truly a highlight of 2022. I’m a staunch believer that watching movies in theatres is better than at home, and it was just so lovely to be able to return to that. My favorite films that I watched this year (in general, not just ones I watched in theatres) would have to be:

• Everything Everywhere All At Once
• Nope
• The Handmaiden
• Glass Onion

(And I didn’t watch many shows this year, but my favorite would definitely be Link Click!)

Even though I’ve been quite bad at actively studying Thai, the fact that I’ve improved my Thai reading skills in particular has blown my mind! I made Thai friends for once in my life, and while speaking to them in Thai has helped me with new vocabulary and conversational nuances, my heart is especially happy seeing how much faster I can read Thai now. My writing skills also got a tiny bit better because of the reading I did. ดีใจมากเลย <33 (trans: I’m very happy)

I dedicate the final memorable thing of 2022 to the most important of them all: Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty. My ability to focus has been deteriorating for years now, and I always find myself needing something to fidget with. I knew I needed an actual fidget after I kept picking at my skin just to have something to do with my hands. made me bleed. This thinking putty is the perfect thing for me to fidget with: I’ve always loved Silly Putty, and I can play it many different ways compared to traditional fidget toys. Also, the one that I have changes color! Functional AND pretty!

Smaller moments:

• Getting surprisingly high scores on exams after years of stress
• Choreographing short dance combos just for fun
• Drives with my friends while we sing loudly
• Watching TV shows with my family
• Walking more and taking in the space I exist in

What were your favorite things or moments of 2022? Are you trying to learn a language? Do you journal? Give me all the music and movie recommendations please!!

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