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The Best Series Of 2022: Amazon Prime’s Summer I Turned Pretty

I know it is pretty late for a review but someone just asked me what is that ONE movie/sitcom that I was obsessed with this year and without thinking I  answered Amazon Prime’s The Summer I Turned Pretty- Season 1. Plus, I think it may be my new favourite show to binge-watch, although I still love Friends a lot 🫣

A love triangle, two guys vying for the same girl, oh wait they are brothers, and a girl turning sweet sixteen in summer, I mean what else do you need for a perfect plot? The show started with Belly, (the luckiest girl in the world) coming to their annual summer holiday in the fictional town of Cousins Beach with her mother and brother. Prior to coming to the beach house, her best-friend Taylor (what a goddess!) points out how much she has changed over the past year, she doesn’t have her adolescent baby fat or nerdy glasses anymore and this was enough for her to become one of the most coveted girls in Cousins. And not to forget her one-sided crush on Conrad Fisher does not remain one-sided anymore and along with that she also has the younger brother, Jeremiah Fisher falling for her, (what a catch) 

Coming back to Cousins, when Belly first gets out of the car and sees the lovable and jolly younger brother Jeremiah, I remember thinking yep, they will make a good pair as they both seemed quite goofy and likeable. But then lo-behold enters the dashing older brother and Belly’s prince charming, Conrad Fisher. I mean the eye contact between them in the introductory scene told me that they will be endgame and other than the eye contact there was another big hint, Taylor Swift! Yes, throughout the series whenever Belly and Conrad had a conversation, a romantic moment or an eye lock, A Taylor Swift song played. I mean what else am I supposed to infer?! And the song selection was just right, This Love, Cruel Summer and The Way I Loved You to name a few. These songs matched the situations in which they were played perfectly, for example during the debutante ball scene when in the last moment Conrad subs in for Belly after Jeremiah left suddenly without informing her, The Way I Loved You was a perfect choice for their dance as it really flaunted their chemistry. 

I loved the series, and the extremely intriguing love triangle between Belly and The Fisher brothers was definitely one of the main reasons, Many viewers may find the love triangle trope cheesy and outdated but in this show, there is something about a classic love triangle story that excites me the most. Other than that I adored the heartening importance it gives to a lifelong friendship, sisters before misters!! Childhood friendship tends to often fade with time, but Laurel and Sussanah proved that notion wrong. They had each other’s back through every milestone in their life, from marriage to motherhood to divorce. It is also revealed that Laurel has been supporting Sussanah in another tough journey which may have fatal consequences and has not yet been shared with the children. Let’s be honest, that amount of unconditional love is rare, and Laurel knows that! It was wise of her to let Belly know after her fight with her childhood BFF Taylor that “Boys may come and go, but a friendship lasts a lifetime”. It’s true, as after all there are no friends like old friends. 

Last but not least, the show gave ultimate summer vibes. Summers are not always about going on exotic vacations and spa trips but they can also be about a group of family and friends continuing their longtime tradition of an annual summer meetup!

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Wrapping Up 2022

As the year 2022  comes to an end, I sit back and think if I have met at least half of my goals that I promised myself at the end of last year. I realised that this year I exceeded my expectations and did things that I did not even think of doing even in the beginning of the year. As a stressed and anxious high school senior, I remember putting on my wishlist for 2022 that no matter what happens I should at least get admitted to at least one college and like any other Indian 12th-grade student, I wished to get over 90 percentile in my ISC board examinations.

However, more than anything I wanted to be a person- who was content with herself and if not all goals that were on my agenda for this year, I feel that I have definitely achieved this one. One mistake that I made last year was not documenting my resolutions, so here I am not repeating the same mistake.

  • Writing down my to-do list every day: One thing that I am constantly trying to improve is not procrastinating on something. There have been instances where my five minutes have turned into five hours and in order to avoid that I have decided to make a to-do list for each day so that I have an agenda to follow every day. Even though there will be days when I will have to alter my to-do list, I am confident that it will help me be on track for the maximum number of days. 
  • Not giving in to my insecurities: It has taken me quite some time to accept that having insecurities is perfectly normal and a huge chunk of time in coping with my own set of them. I have decided to try my best not to give in to them in the upcoming year and stop trying for challenging things. 

I embraced the challenge of changing continents just after eight days I turned eighteen and adapted to an entirely new lifestyle and whenever I feel unhappy, I remind myself how brave I was not to back out and give in to my insecurities. 

  • Accepting Rejections: Over the years it has been difficult for me to accept rejections, even though I know that it is vital to get rejected in order to learn from mistakes, at times I do not just want to accept it. And that has proved to be unhealthy for me as it leads to a trail of overthinking. It would be much easier if I accepted the situation and tried to be better next time and that is what I intend to try to do in the coming year. 

Overall, 2022 was definitely a challenging year and it tested my willpower and consistency in many ways. Nonetheless, I find it important to reflect back on the valuable lessons and growth that shaped me into a person that my younger self would be proud of. 

Three highlights of the year 2022 were: 

  • Learning To Live Independently: My greatest achievement this year has been learning to survive in a new country and stepping out of my comfort zone. I moved from India to the US this year and so far it has been a great journey even though I had to adapt to a lot of new things here. These four months taught me to be responsible and trust myself more than ever. Other than that it taught me to appreciate other people more and I realised that the saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” was indeed true. Even though I enjoy my own company and I met some really lovely people in town but sometimes all the heart wants is home. 
  • I got the opportunity to return to Theatre and Dance in the winter: Since my childhood, I have had a keen interest in performing arts. I was cast by the Theatre and Dance department of  Union College in its Annual Winter Dance Concert and Staged Reading of Pride and Prejudice. I owe a lot of my self-confidence and boldness to both dance and theatre. I last performed on stage almost two years ago and I cannot wait to relive the experience again!
  • Did a commendable job as a staff writer for Concordensis-Student Newspaper of Union College: Writing has always been my forte, and before I start as a Co-editor for the newspaper in the coming winter term, I really enjoyed being involved as a writer in the Concordensis. Concordy, as it is informally called on campus was the first club that I joined in Union and as a staff writer, I covered events on campus, interviewed students, professors and guests and got the opportunity to meet and network with a lot of people around campus. Other than that, I feel that being a member of a small group of really talented and insightful writers improved my writing and ideas to a great extent. 
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POST EXAM VIBES

Recently my ISC exams finished.  That sentence is enough to bring a wave of relief down my spine but when after the wave has passed then I get to real thinking. After a few minutes of peace, I realize that I have nothing to do, academic-wise. 

Technically, I still do have to start studying a few months after I reach college but I feel a void in me. It really hit hard when I realised that I will never be going back to my 15-year-old school as a student anymore, I did not really get the feeling when I was inside the building but as I stepped out there it was!

I have gotten so used to always “doing something” that it feels weird not to work on something which has a deadline. Now it’s all doing it by your will and to be honest to me it seems more frightening to me as the consequences are larger. For example, if one does poor in their examinations it is totally their fault but it is a given, we had to pass that barrier and due to unforeseen circumstances, an individual may have failed to achieve his or her expectations. But there can be ways by which he or she can improve that, however, when you do something of you your own there is less chance for that as then people are less sympathetic and at times there is no option but to start completely over.  Like when you start a new business venture and the business does not sustain for some reason. 

But I guess that is the real world the tougher it is the tougher we become, we have no choice but to overcome the challenges that are thrown upon us. 

I am trying to get used to it.  Here’s to new beginnings!

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THREE LIFE LESSONS FROM THE TEMPEST, BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

William Shakespeare was truly one of the most influential men of the 17th century. His plays, tragedies, and comedies are an inspiration to us to date. 

Today I bring the three life lessons that I learned from The Tempest, which is one of the last plays by Shakespeare. It is also considered Shakespeare’s most “magical work”. 

Here they are-

First,  Never betray the ones who try to help you. This is in reference to Caliban who was half-human and monster and the only son of the witch Sycorax. Caliban was never loyal to Prospero, his master. Prospero gave Caliban a second life, educated him, fed him and also took care of him but Caliban did not seem to appreciate any of these. Instead, he always plotted to harm Prospero and thwart his missions. However Prospero never punished Caliban but when Caliban crossed all limits by trying to kill him with the help of Stephano and Trinculo, he had enough. 

He punished Caliban extremely harshly which had a life-long impact on him. From this, we all learn not to trouble good people to such an extent that they forget their kindness and empathy. 

Second, Always respect the work people do to help you. 

One of my favourite bonds in the play is that of Prospero and Ariel. Although Ariel was Prospero’s slave he never treated her like one. Prospero always made sure to acknowledge and appreciate Ariel and had also promised to set her free after his mission was completed. His mission would be incomplete if Ariel did not help him execute it.  

Prospero’s constant care and love towards Ariel made her the most loyal servant to Prospero. 

Third, Always prefer your reason over retaliation. Prospero’s change of heart at the end of the play is an example of a selfless good deed that will be remembered by all. 

If Prospero wanted he could have killed or imprisoned  King Alonso and his men but decided to drop his plan as he did not want to cause any more trouble in their lives. He choose kindness and partly it was because of his daughter as she was all set to be the Queen Of Naples as the daughter-in-law of Alonso. Prospero even being wronged terribly did not forget to take back what he deserved, this is what I admired the most about him.

 He forgave his treacherous brother Antonio and his accomplice Sebastian but he also took back what was rightfully his, the dukedom of Milan. 

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Bridgertons Are Back!

Warning- Spoilers Ahead!!!

Scandal… who does not love it, but when it spins around you then the views change. And whenever we hear “scandal” we automatically hear “Bridgerton” 

Yes, the most awaited series of the year dropped on Netflix on March 25 and within 24 hours it was already watched by a million households. But can you blame anyone? Where else will we find the blatant defying of unjust norms, a strong sense of feminism and most importantly the extravagant balls! 

The rules are the same in the second season, but the players change and the game becomes more dangerous. With Daphne, the eldest daughter of the household now gone the whole pressure falls on the eldest son, Anthony who was shown to have been torn between his responsibilities as a viscount and his personal life. 

In Season 1 we found out that he gave more priority to his duties as a viscount than any other things.

 With season 2 revolving around his story, we have learnt some astonishing facts about him other than that some other massive changes have taken place among the elite class of London class in the Regency Era. 

Here are four riveting moments that I loved in Season 2 of Bridgeton – 

  • Edmund’s Death: In the 3rd episode A Bee In Your Bonnet, we learn that Edmund, the former viscount was killed after being stung by a bee during hunting with his eldest son, Anthony. But this is not it, we also learn that Lady Violet, Edmund’s beloved wife and the mother of the Bridgeton children was pregnant with their 8th child. That means Hyacinth never saw his dad. It was heartbreaking to see Anthony being handed a myriad of responsibilities as soon as his father passed away, he also had to handle his mother’s shock and got no time to grieve at all. 
  • Secret Of The Sharmas- Midway through the second season, we found that the elder Sharma daughter, Kathani aka Kate was not the biological daughter of Lady Mary. It came as a shock to Edwina, the younger sister as Kate was the closest to her and basically raised her after their father’s death. 
  • History Between Sheffield’s and Lady Mary- Shefflids are Lady Mary’s parents and the maternal grandparents of Edwina. It is revealed that they disowned Mary as she rejected their alliance and married a clerk from India. They were invited to the Aubrey House to celebrate Edwina’s engagement and they there left no stone unturned to humiliate their daughter and her step-daughter. But after all, what is Bridgeton without a little drama? 
  • Lady Portia’s increasing schemes – I had always disliked Lady Portia, however, my sympathies increased for her in season 2 when she protected her daughters at the end of the last episode. But that did not stop her from being impulsive before, she schemed to trick the new Lord Featherington to marry her eldest daughter and did not consider the fact that her daughter and Lord Featherington were cousins. After she got to know that Lord Featherington was not rich as he claimed, she schemed to get him married to Cressida Cowper so that they could make a payday from her dowry.  Now with Lord Featherington gone and again left penniless, we have to wait and see what Lady Portia has to offer us the next season. 
  • Last but not the least, Penelope Vs Eloise – The fight scene between Penelope and Eloise in the last episode of The Viscount Who Loved Me saddened me a little. The two were the strongest pair in the series but their inevitable fallout came as a shock to most of us. Although Penelope did lie to Eloise she only did that to protect her even though Eloise does not believe her at the moment. Now that Eloise knows and Penelope is again back to writing as Lady Whistletown, we have to wait and see if Eloise will expose her or will they two makeup and we as the audience will get back our strong and dynamic duo? We will find that out next year. 

Bridgeton is now streaming on Netflix!!!