June 2022 Favorites

If last month was about learning to enjoy things again, this month was filled with an ease of enjoying things again. There was a flow to it, a naturalness. A feeling of near-constant inspiration. And then, my mood tanked. As it so often does. Still, those good days reminded me that good days are still possible for me. Which is hard for me to believe more often than not.

Anyhow, here's a small selection of the many things I enjoyed this month!

Legendary: I really enjoyed this second book in the Caraval series my first time reading it, but I'd missed my beloved Scarlett and Julian so much that it was distracting. This time, I was able to fully focus on Tella's fantastic part of the story. (Okay, I still missed my ship and seeing Julian call Scarlett "Crimson". But Tella and Dante have a fun dynamic, too!)

Dance Academy: I know nothing about ballet, just another vague dream as a child, but this show is so relatable to me. I can totally see myself in Tara. Her vulnerability. Awkward innocence. Fears of failure. Inexperience. And her purity of passion. This has got to be my fourth time watching some parts of the first season, but I love it so much!

Smash Bros. Ultimate: After my first session with this game, I was almost ready to take it back to the store. Fighting games do not come naturally to me, and though I'd had previous versions of this series, I'd never learned how to actually play. (I mostly used the Wii version to take pretty pictures of the female characters! 😅) I've now been beat up by my friend many, many times, but I am slooowly starting to get a bit better. And yeah, I still like taking pictures!

Spelunky 2: I'm back to playing Spelunky 2, though I'm doubting I'll ever be as good at it as I am with the first game. 😆 And I still haven't beaten the secret boss in that, so...

Music Favs: Stay Away (Charli XCX), Many Worlds (Laureline), Bare (Wildes), Message in a Bottle (Taylor's Version), Dear Happy (Gabrielle Aplin), and Every Time [Jam & Lewis Disco Remix] (Janet Jackson).