HITS AND MISSES ON NETFLIX THIS WINTER.png

Coronavirus has turned the world upside down. My heart goes out to all the families enduring pain during this time. I feel so blessed to be able to be with my family and to be healthy. Let’s all adhere to the social distancing rules so that we can protect the most vulnerable. FaceTime, Skype, etc. but stay inside!

Since we're all stuck inside due to coronavirus, bingeing tv seems like one of the few options for entertainment, so I decided to save you some time and highlight some of Netflix's hits and misses this winter.

Hits

1. Love Is Blind

This show is pure junk and I love it! If you like shows like The Bachelor or Married at First Sight (which I do!), this show is right up your alley. The premise is crazy. A group of single men and women go on dates without seeing each other and then after they’ve formed a connection…. they get engaged! Yep engaged after a few dates. I highly doubt some of these relationships are serious, but it's super entertaining. The whole season is out now, including a reunion special, so get on it!

2. BoJack Horseman

Netflix just released the final season of this show and I have to say-- it’s been an honor to watch this amazing writing. I know some people look down on adult cartoons, but I have to say this show is so spectacular that I recommend you overcome your cartoon prejudice. It’s worth it! This show really tackles Hollywood head-on, including the MeToo movement, drugs, and addiction. On the flip side, the show explores the paths that people travel on to even reach the aforementioned situations. It made me question everything I had previously thought about who is good and bad and how quickly we make the determination. Just a fabulous show. Please watch!

3. Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings

I would describe this show like Black Mirror’s positive and joyful cousin. It’s the complete opposite of Black Mirror, but it follows the same format of a new cast every episode, all surrounding Dolly Parton’s greatest hits. Her songs provide the theme or the plot of the episode. Honestly, it’s such a lighthearted and heartwarming show. The title is accurate—it does pull at your heartstrings. Each episode deals with a different situation, including acceptance, infidelity, and just family strife. I totally recommend if you need something to watch by the fireplace or a reminder of why you love your family during this trying time.

4. Offspring

This show is one of Netflix’s best-kept secrets. It’s like a comedic Grey’s Anatomy. The show is about an Australian OB-GYN and her crazy family. She is trying to navigate being a 30-something career woman while dealing with the pressure all women face to find a boyfriend. This show had me bawling and dying laughing. There are seven seasons of this relatable show, so it’s perfect for bingeing!

Misses

1. The Crown

It hurts me so much to write this. I am a die-hard Anglophile and I loved the first two seasons of this show, but the third season was just not it. I was so disappointed by the season as a whole. Maybe because I am not middle-aged, I found a large part of the season slow and at times, boring. If you still want to give season three of The Crown a try, there are a few episodes I think are worth your time: Moondust and Bubbikins. Both center around Prince Philip, who I have slowly become to view as one of the most interesting members of the Royal Family.

2. Locke & Key

Trust me when I say that I am saving you a massive amount of time. I wish someone could have told me how much of a waste this show would be. Locke & Key attempts to be like the other Netflix show, The Haunting of Hill House, mixed with an angsty teen show like Riverdale. It seems like it could be a good mixture, but the show was so bad that I was left fuming after every episode. The show centers around a family of three kids that have just lost their father in a pretty tragic way. Their mom decides to move them to their father’s ancestral home, which he was known to have hated (one of the first head-scratchers of many in this show), and they discover that the house has magical keys. Of course, there is a magical dark force trying to get the keys and because of this, drama and intrigue ensue. The problem isn’t even the plot, for me, it was the characters. They were so hard to watch that I found myself fast-forwarding to get to the answers. Enter at your own risk!

3. Horse Girl

This movie branded itself as an enthralling, indie film. The trailer seemed promising and so did the casting of Alison Brie. I thought I was getting a mysterious film that blurred the lines between reality and the imagined, while exploring the mental deterioration of a young woman, and I sort of got that. About halfway through the movie, I sort of checked out. It wasn’t mind-bending anymore; it was just annoying. And the title was SUPER misleading. There were so many unanswered and unexplored scenes. I’m ok with having some mystery obviously, but as the credits rolled all I thought was “what?”. If you like films that leave you scratching your head, go for it--I guess.

4. TATBILB: P.S. I Still Love You

This is another heartbreaker. I LOVED the first film, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, but Netflix’s sequel was not good. The sequel picks up pretty much immediately after the first film and shows Peter and Lara Jean’s journey as an official couple. A new old guy (Lara Jean knew him as a kid) arrives back on the scene and causes trouble for the “happy” couple. Maybe I’m biased because I read the book, but it was just such a bad remake. Important scenes were left out and the relationship between Lara Jean and her new guy was lacking depth and feeling, leaving the love triangle feeling a bit superficial. They did not do the book justice. It’s a good film to watch if you’re bored and want to watch a mediocre teen romance, but other than that—hard pass.

Now That My Frontal Lobe Has Developed....

I turned 25 years old this month, and it has been a journey getting here. Scientifically, your brain is supposed to be fully developed at 25, so I guess there is no longer an excuse for being a knucklehead anymore. But the truth is, I still feel 12 years old—unsure of myself, worried about making friends, and fighting off acne on my forehead. All of those challenges remain, except now I have a light bill to pay too.

fearless chronicles: take control of your social media

The other day I was hanging with a friend and their partner. We were discussing Tiktok and the type of content that pops up on our respective feeds. My friend’s partner commented that they wished they could see the type of content we see and sort of threw up their hands as if Tiktok had condemned them to the unfunny side of the app.

fearless chronicles: is therapy all it's cracked up to be?

As a self-proclaimed fearless woman, I thought for 2023, I could talk about the tools that have helped me become a better, more self-aware person. I should preface that I am not a perfect person and I do not strive to be. To me, becoming “THAT GIRL” as Tiktok likes to call any self-assured woman, is about finding peace in solitude, practicing mental and physical wellness, and building healthy relationships with others. It is not about reaching perfection or becoming someone without basic human emotions.

If You Have to Beg, It's Not For You

So, the other day I had a major breakthrough in therapy. I discovered that for most of my life, I have felt the intense need to prove myself to everyone around me. The more distant and disapproving someone was, the more I felt the need to win them over. So much so that I felt annoyed with people who loved me for me, no strings attached.

10 Shows/Movies That Ooze Summer

It’s summer, and it’s time to take that after-pool day shower (a top-tier human experience) and sit down to watch a binegable show. It can be hard to find shows that capture the season, but look no further because I have compiled a list of ten shows that express June-August perfectly!

Girl, Get Out of That Small Town

Just a few days ago, I finished my first year of law school. It took 15 hours of testing and many research and writing assignments to close the door on the first chapter of my legal career. I was and still am pretty wiped out. No one tells you how strange you will feel after finally achieving something you never thought would end, but yeah— it’s really weird. After your adrenaline has been pumping for two weeks straight, you feel a crash. There’s a moment when you realize that the academic validation didn’t feel as good as you imagined it would.

A New Year, A New You!

Hey, besties! Long time no post. Truth time: I have not been as consistent with posting as I planned before beginning this law school journey. Maybe you can relate? Was there something you planned to do this year and totally dropped the ball? Luckily for me and you, we can always make a fresh start, and not just because a new year is approaching. You can choose any day as your new year.

Life Update: Law School & ✨Adulthood ✨

Woah girlies it’s been more than a minute since we last spoke. I can’t believe it’s already October aka Spooky Season! Law school has a way of making time seem slow when you want to speed up and fast when you want to slow down. And the only reason I’m able to write this post is that I’m on fall break, and I knew I had to squeeze some time in to update you all on life as it is now.

Why Self-Love Seems Rebellious

I’ve watched Olympic gymnastics for as long as I can remember. I was named after Olympic gold medalist, Dominique Dawes. I bought books and watched documentaries about Gabby Douglas leading up to and after the 2012 Summer Olympics, hoping to understand more about the petite, but powerful young woman. And slightly related, I was obsessed with the ABC Family show, Make It or Break It, a tv drama about young gymnasts trying to accomplish their Olympic dreams. I say all this to say that when it’s time to watch the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team, I am all in.

When Being the Main Character Goes Wrong

Just a couple of scrolls through Instagram, Tiktok, or really any social media platform, you will run into a message about taking charge of your life and “being the main character”. This “main character” message has become so prevalent that just the other day, I saw back-to-back videos encouraging me to “stop being a side character in my own life”. At its core, there is a wholesome message of self love, but it's important not to warp the message into self-centeredness.

6 Ways to Incorporate Sustainability Into Your Summer

My sustainability journey really began in January 2020. I was watching a BestDressed YouTube video when she explained why she thrifts much of her clothing. It intrigued me that a majority of her fabulous collection was secondhand. I couldn’t believe that you could be so fashionable and environmentally ethical. This shock led me to research just how much of an impact fast fashion has on the environment. And I made the decision to only thrift my clothes for a whole year.

Choosing People Who Choose You

I swear I’m not trying to flex when I say this, but my heart is a little too big. By that I mean, it’s too open and available. All it takes is one positive interaction for me to care about someone and to invest in their feelings towards me. The problem with keeping a “For Rent” sign on your heart is that you remain in a constant state of instability and unease.