2013: Looking Back

I'll bet you're all shocked that I'm posting. Preciosa and I decided to both write year review posts for our blogs (her blog is Really Kool Posts), figuring that the most shocking thing that could happen would be for us to post on both blogs!

Whether you are interested or not, here are my highlights of 2013.

January: Lots of fun times with family because I was on winter break from school. Starting late in the month, I began my second semester as a freshman. I took four classes, and Women's Choir (Creative Writing, Short Story, Introductory Sociology, Everyday Gender and Sexuality, my first Women's Studies class). This remains my favorite semester thus far in my college career, though as with all semesters, it had its frustrations.

February/March: I really don't think anything of note happened to me other than going to school.

April: interviewed for a job at my school (at an ice cream parlor) and got the job! This was during Spring break, and I was overjoyed to have gotten a job for the upcoming summer. The end of April to the beginning of May was spent finishing the semester and training for my new job.

May: Successfully finished my freshman year of college but didn't get any less busy because this is when my summer job really kicked up. Starting in May, everybody who's anybody wants ice cream, and they want it now. I quickly discovered in working with the public that this can be a tall order. I began to learn to scoop more quickly and efficiently; yes, there is an art to scooping ice cream.

June: Kept working, but what was fun about this month was that my best friend Preciosa came to visit! She was even here for my 19th birthday. We had so much fun together, going places, watching movies, and just plain hanging out! I was so sad when the visit was over and hope to see her again before too long! As far as turning 19 goes, it's a kind of crazy feeling! The party my family and friends threw me was awesome, though.

July: Hardly had time for anything but working throughout the rest of June and July, and work just got busier and busier as it got hotter. At work, we changed the system from ordering ice cream and then paying, to ordering and paying at the same time. It was a way better system for everybody in the long run, but a lot of people got really ticked off. Some would ask us if the new system really was better, and when we answered in the affirmative, they would still be very unconvinced. That's just the way it goes!

In the second half of July, my mom and I took our second trip to Peru, though, if I really want to go into detail on this, I should probably write this trip its own posts. In short, it was a good trip and great to see all our friends again and make new ones, too.

August: More ice cream. Work got busier. And busier. And, oh, busier. My last day of my summer job was the day before I started back at class as a sophomore. I am unsure whether I will go back to this job or if I will do something different; I kind of want to work at the Women's Center at my school.

The Fall 2013 semester started at the end of August, with a full roster of classes, and Women's Chorus: American Literature, Poetry, Problem Solving, Feminisms and the Arts, and Literary Studies.

September/October: School. School. School.

November: School, and an amazing Thanksgiving break spent with family and friends.

December: Finals! That was a crazy time! I did my very best and then happily began my Christmas break, full of preparations and fun with family and friends. I went to two movies in December, both of which were good and fun!

This brings me to the movies of 2013. I went to a total of five; here they are in order of not so great to really good, according to me:

5. Star Trek: Into Darkness (May 2013): Mostly just explosions and people getting into various kinds of grotesquely violent altercations. Not Star Trek.

4. Les Miserables (January 2013): I hate to put it so far down the list, so close to the Star Trek movie. In actuality, this movie was pretty good and this musical has some great music (though not all of it was given its due justice by some of the singers). This movie did have some amazing aspects to it; visually, it was an extremely beautiful, particularly on the big screen. Though, I liked it much better the second time around.

3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (December 2013): I liked this movie, though I thought the first Hobbit was better. I was disappointed by the lack of musical themes which Howard Shore had composed for the first movie; the main heroic theme in Unexpected Journey was gone from this Hobbit movie. However, the characters were right on again and I liked the addition of the elf Tauriel, who in terms of female characters in the LOTR and Hobbit movies combined, is almost as cool as Eowyn and definitely better than Arwen. The barrel scene was great and Martin Freeman's Bilbo Baggins carries on the tradition of thoroughly lovable hobbits.

2. Gravity (October 2013): I had difficulty deciding whether this one should be #1 or not. This movie captivated me. It is well-made and has an intense story. I saw it in 3D and it is the best 3D movie I've ever seen. In this case, the technology definitely did work to create a fuller experience. My main problem with this movie is that I don't think it will be enjoyable to watch without a big screen and 3D technology. However, with these two aspects, to experience this movie is an amazing thing and I think even without them, the story is exciting and captivating, and powerful.

1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (December 2013): this movie earned top space because it is the first entirely enjoyable movie I've gone to in a long time. It's been quite a while since I just sat down and watched a film like this, just an enjoyable story with no grotesque violence or incessant swearing and excessively steamy romances. This was just a great story and very well-made to grab your attention and keep it.

Though I have numbered these movies in terms of how much I liked them, I would recommend all of them except for Star Trek, particularly if, like me, you are a fan of the real Star Trek. The other four movies are definitely worth a watch, depending on your own personal movie preferences.

Happy 2014, everyone. I hope the new year is full of great things (and great movies) for you.