2021, defined
Inspired by Mari Andrew’s list of favorites + my conversation with Vaish at Stovetop Roasters + resolution talk with Delasi, here’s some defining moments and things of 2021:
ARTS
dayglow at the blind pig
Music
Naturally, I check my Spotify Wrapped. 2021 was the year of workout music. Thanks to Sree/Sara, I found out that lifting is actually empowering and fun and makes you feel amazing. Future, Playboi Carti, and Lil Uzi Vert were 3 of my top 5 artists played this year. And Delasi/Shayna influenced my music HEAVILY this year… Isaiah Rashad, Gunna, Young Thug were 1302 household besties by the end of our lease. I dearly miss having roommates that pregame with trap rap :’) Oh I also discovered SoundCloud this year! Thank you Shayna again- i miss joyrides in your big white car.
State of Grace- Acoustic Version was the only song I could sort of successfully play on guitar by the end of January (besides the riff of Seven Nation Army). But being able to create music after my violin hiatus felt so powerful and inspired me to learn guitar once I graduate. Also because my little Vineet can both sing and play bar chords, so, I have some work to do. Speaking of Taylor Swift, Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) both came out. You could say it was an exciting year for Reena and I (more so Reena).
Concerts went to: Japanese Breakfast, Glass Animals, Dayglow. Would’ve also gone to Playboi Carti if Michigan hadn’t beaten OSU
Best grooves: Score (feat SZA & 6lack) by Isaiah Rashad / Not another love song by Ella Mai
Best live song I heard: Kokomo, IN by Japanese Breakfast / Close to you by Dayglow
Best “idk how I haven’t heard before”: Don’t take the money (feat. Lorde) by Bleachers on MTV unplugged
Best song to walk around campus to: One more weekend by Maude Latour
Best guilty pleasure: C’Mon by Kesha
Best with chamomile tea in bed: Big black car by Gregory Alan Isakov
Best rediscovered, or really just best ever: Scar tissue by RHCP
I make a big playlist every year of the songs I listen to each month. Here’s my mix for 2021: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6LQb6U3KdTEf6aaN1StkcR?si=ad19a519ad114987
Books
The bookworm in me vowed to read at least 12 books in 2021. I was able to get through 13 which doesn’t sound like a lot, but for someone in college… it was good enough for me. The standouts were:
Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast) : This book is a culmination of everything I love most in life: Korean food and my mother, written by an indie musician. This book jumpstarted my interest into learning how to cook Korean food, inspired many visits to Asian grocery stores, and solidified my obsession with Rich JC. It’s a beautiful memoir about how food creates emotion and nostalgia, especially when a loved one is making it. The relationship between Michelle and her mother reminded me of my own. Now when my mother cooks, I’ve noticed myself transforming her actions in the kitchen into phrases and metaphors in my head: the steady boil of chai leaves in the morning, the whine of the pressure cooker, the mustard seeds sputtering in hot oil.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara : Known for being one of the saddest novels, this novel was just that. I read a lot of discussion on Reddit about this novel; some argue it’s trauma porn, while others find it deeply moving. While the violence that occurs is painful and hard to read, I thought this was the point of the book. Trauma is not something you can just skip over, it’s something you deal with every day until you die. What Jude went through was cruelly inhumane, but the severity of the situation made the extreme love and friendship that Jude and Willem had shine even brighter.
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney : Sally Rooney can write a character, she’s proven it again. This book was just a page-turner for no reason other than that I liked seeing the relationships between Frances and Nick and Bobbi and Melissa evolve. I’m reading Beautiful World, Where Are You by her right now and it’s a similar thing: the characters are so real. I like that when I read Rooney, I can picture a scene so well just from a small detail, or details layered together. Her characters are messy and not particularly likeable, the relationships are complex, but they’re interesting. I could see why some people think her novels/characters are self-absorbed; there’s always character commentary about European politics/art/movies etc. but moreso, her female characters are typically introspective as hell. From my POV, it’s cool to read a fictional account of someone else’s self-awareness because it feels so real and reminds me of myself sometimes.
Podcasts
This was the year I kind of delved into podcasts. Whenever I got bored of music, I’d switch to podcasts (which happened a lot during the school year. Music can become overstimulating or just boring).
Armchair Expert by Dax Shepard : I listened to SO much of this podcast for literally no reason other than it was cool to hear about celebrities. Dax and Monica I find annoying, but the podcast was accessible and they have pretty cool guests. Some favorite episodes: Michael Pollan (talked about nature’s psychedelics manipulate pestst to forget about the locations of plants to protect the plant rather than just killing the pests), Maya Shankar (ex violin prodigy turned behavioral scientist), BJ Novak (as Casey said, he’s just someone I’d want to be friends with).
Hidden Brain: Nice to understand ourselves better. Favorite episodes include What Are The Odds?, Rebel With a Cause, The Lonely American Man
Working Title: I just like Margot Lee. She’s much more introspective than you would think by merely viewing her social media, and I like hearing her train of thought.
Design Better: These are actually really interesting to listen to, even if you aren’t in the design world. I liked the Netflix episode with Steve Johnson and Rochelle King, and Spotify’s Vicki Tan episode talking about taking a sabatical from work! You don’t have to tell me that twice :D And this episode talking about preserving physical product design at from Robin Petravic at Heath Ceramics.
Youtube/TV/Movies
Grouping these all into one because there’s probably not enough to separate them.
Jenn Im: This woman’s Youtube has fundamentally changed me. She’s the big sister/mom I seriously look up to so much even though that sounds silly- her mindfulness, constant drive to improve herself, and overall lifestyle is one I hope to achieve. She also was a kickstarter for me to start a gratitude journal and attempt to cook Korean dishes.
Saranghoe/Hamimommy/Michelle Choi: I blame Joan, but my new favorite corner of YouTube is Korean housewives and people doing “What I eat In a week” videos
StartUp: This is a very obvious trend I guess. Startup was the first Korean drama I watched with my mom this year and I absolutely loved it. Team Han Ji-Pyeong <3
The Great British Baking Show: This show just feels like a hug. It’s so comforting and British humour is so… different. I love how kind the bakers are to each other.
Writing
This is just a personal thing for me to note, but I’ve really found myself fancying going through these stream of consciouss paths in my head and putting them on paper in my journal. Probably why I like Sally Rooney’s characters, but writing things down in th way they appear in my mind typically ends up with me coming to some type of resolution in my head at the end of the page. This is also why I’m trying to use this blog in the new year as a place for deliberate, thoughtful writing: I’m too used to unedited script, and I want to be refined at both.
RANDOM
Here’s everything else.
I turned into a neutrals girl this year. I see the hype behind having a monochromatic wardrobe because it really does make things so much easier, and you look put together. I lived in my brown Aritzia hoodie/shorts set, my assortment of black tops, and gold jewelry. Jewelry also stayed constant in my life: rings, earrings, and a necklace was the normal trio. Next year, I’d like to start wearing bracelets.
The power of exercise. I’ve truly never felt better in my body than I did this summer- I was waking up at 7am and lifting 4-5 days a week… who tf am i. Waking up every morning with that purpose made the rest of the day go by much smoother.
Tying into the note above, I really tuned into a routine over the summer. I figured out some non-negotiables to have a productive day: exercise, reflection (writing in a journal, practicing gratitude), and fueling my body with water and food. I felt centered and really in tune with myself and thoughts. And, really mature. I loved creating a schedule for me and being selfish with myself during those morning hours- it’s something I hope to replicate while I’m abroad next semester.
ALSO tying in with the note above, but TAKING CARE OF UR SKIN. I’ve been blessed with good genes but holy hell, Niacinimide + Hylauronic acid + sunscreen + cleanser = glowing, flawless skin.
Now that I think about it, I really was on extreme ends of the scale for self care. This summer 10/10, this past semester was a solid 1/10. Again, this really solidified that creating rituals and non-negotiables for yourself really are what it takes to live a beautiful life. Take care of your body- sleep well, get off your phone, reflect, and drink enough water. And eat those yummie veggies and fruit so your stomach smiles.
bibimbap i made
I figured out I don’t like long nails. No matter how many times I try to become the girl with the nails, it will never be. My years of playing the violin are too ingrained in my habits.
I started wearing perfume, this jasmine one. It’s a nice way to feel fancy by doing literally nothing. My goal is to one day be the girl that always smells good (Delasi). I invested into a good one I’m taking abroad next semester so that hopefully I’ll associate the smell with my semester in Europe and feel all the feels/nostalgia when I smell it afterwards.
I lived with a cat. Kaaju, my kryptonite in both ways because I’m supposed to be allergic to her and yet she is my weakness bc she’s so charmingly full of personality. Thank you Sami for bringing her to our home. The way I view Kaaju reminds me of a child’s fascination with trees or snow: I’ve never lived with a pet before, so I’m new to all the ways animals are the best companions.
Coffee shops, coffee, caffeine. Sreya this is entirely your fault. The amount of money I spent on coffee this past semester was vile but, it carried me through. The romantic idea of studying in a coffee shop is really the only way to get me to study at this point, which is horrifying. Shoutout to Common Cup, UMMA Cafe, Starbucks (for convenience), and absolutely no shoutouts to Black Diesel for overpriced and nasty drinks. Some favorite drinks: Common cup mochas (made with yummy chocolate milk), UMMA chai lattes, and caramel macchiatos.
Speaking of food, this was the semester also of indulgent eating (and drinking). Rich JC I can’t even count how many times I was there. There’s nothing like a warm kimchi jigae to unfreeze ur toes and make you momentarily forget about the hectic life of college. Moon Cafe froyo literally saved lives and sanity. Brown Jug was surprisingly fun for no reason, and I’m glad we made a routine out of it on Thursdays. Tequila, this is because of Shayna and I’ve tried to spirit this love with my 1102 roomies. only Casey has tried, but no one has really been convinced yet. I’ll try again next year. Favorite recipes made: Bibimbap, Shakshuka, Ube mochi cake, Kimchi jigae, those bowls I made with soy chorizo and bell peppers and sweet potatoes and spinach and the cashew butter dressing. My hot and sour soup (Sree rated 8/10) that I’ve now made for Joan and Delasi. Also, the kimchi ramen is so good (this is not a recipe but just a note). This was also my first year of not eating red meat and being conscious of my meat consumption. I really don’t like meat as much as I thought I did, and the goal of becoming fully vegetarian one day seems very attainable.
A small win, but I can finally eat a meal with chopsticks well. And I’ve made the profound realization that I Can order sushi without avocado (i’m allergic), so my sushi journey started this year.
Places traveled to: Indianapolis (family trip), Mackinaw Island (camping with roommates), Boyne Mountain (pledge retreat), EL (visiting Pearl), Detroit (concerts), Leland (staying at Eric’s cottage), Ludington (junior retreat), Chicago (visa). No tropical vacations or foreign adventures, but I liked exploring the regions of the Midwest. Go on trips/retreats with people- shared memories bring you so close.
This was also the year of chopped hair. I chopped it twice. You know what that means coming from my personality fixated on trying new changes- I’m growing it out for 2022. I’ll leave this post at that.
With love,
Rachel
you can’t see it, but it was a double rainbow after a storm
hiking the dunes in leland, mi. peep john and eric
fall foliage in ludington during retreat
