Author: Steph Hartmann

I’m so glad I finally have it in me to make a creative blog again. My past seven blogs have been embarrassingly uncreative and, rather than the soul, they came from my brain and ego under the desire to tell people about myself and what I like.

I recently turned seventeen. As soon as midnight arrived, I felt this deeply rooted fear come out and, over a month later, it still hasn’t left. I know I’m young, so there should be nothing to worry about. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. Yet all I can do is worry and, I think, that’s a sign that I’m growing up.

If anyone from the generations that raised me (Baby Boomers and Generation X) read this, they would probably laugh at everything I’m about to discuss. Growing up with people significantly older than me started this ideology that I shouldn’t worry about adult things and just focus on being young, but now that I’m inching closer to becoming a legal adult, no one has told me to stop worrying. Actually, I think most people in my life are unknowingly encouraging my anxiety with all the talk about college and jobs and don’t even get me started on a future family.

It’s all a big mess that I just have to turn my head away from because I can’t clean it up or walk away from it. I’m too young to tackle those problems head on, but I’m too old to not worry about it. So I’m in this dreadful in-between period, just trying to distract myself from the slowly approaching tsunami of stress.

Recently, I’ve taken my mental health very seriously. I’ve been observing myself like a friend: predicting my own actions, keeping track of my worries, and even counseling myself. I have three, going on four, planners/calendars. I still end up needing extra help, though. I feel like I can’t even catch a break.

With my birthday, grades of college classes, regular classes, and arts classes, and relationships with people, this last semester has completely knocked me down, stomped on me, rolled me into a ditch, threw a bunch of trash on me, and then I’m still expected to get up, dust myself off, and buckle in for an extremely busy summer break. 

“But I believe in myself,” I say to myself, knowingly lying. “I can do it. Nothing I haven’t done before!” *extreme eye twitching*

This blog was originally supposed to be a sweet reflection of my junior year, but the more I write, the more I realize I’m so glad it’s over. Usually, I would say I’m not ready to be a senior and I’m afraid to grow up. But right now? I can’t wait to be free from my shackles. The sad thing is, I already know that summertime will put on a fresh, new set of shackles right on these weary wrists until I enter my senior year. Then it’s like I’m switching shackles again.

I know right now is a difficult time for me, and I know senior year will also be difficult. But I hope I can find the joy in… wearing shackles. I’ve worked incredibly hard to discover my weaknesses and aid them over the past few months, and I can only hope I care about myself this much in the upcoming months.

I will admit: I’m very thankful for my junior year at MSA. I think this has been one of the best moments of my life. I’m very grateful for all of my friends and teachers and even myself. I’ve gone through a lot of self discovery and I can definitely feel myself developing into a young adult. 

It’s a strange process and it’s even stranger to physically and mentally feel it. It’s easier to let time pass then look back and think, “Wow, I’ve changed a lot!” but it’s so incredibly weird to look in the mirror and say, “Hey, I’m changing. Like, right now.”

I hope I’m able to write a sweeter blog when I return for senior year or maybe even as I graduate. Maybe then, I’ll be emotionally recharged enough to cry over the fact that the biggest chapter in my life is about to come to an end.

Wish me luck over the summer! If you’re wondering, I’ll just share all of my plans here. In June alone, I plan to attend a week-long writer’s workshop and then go to the beach immediately after and then visit family for another few days. I also plan to go camping, get my driver’s license, deep clean the entire house, renovate the backyard, and on top of all of that, take Spanish 1 and 2 as college classes.

To any of my peers that are planning a busy summer, I wish you the best. And if you’re clearing your entire schedule for summer to rot in your room, I wish you well too. I can’t wait to see how much I’ve changed by the time I return to MSA, and I can’t wait to see my soon-to-be seniorly peers!

During my Easter break, I found myself sinking into a form of media that (surprisingly) wasn’t Common Side Effects. Alongside that, I realized that I’m starting to regress into the girl I was a few years ago under, what I assume to be, the stress of recently turning 17. That means I’m diving back into the things I liked as a 13 and 14-year-old. One of those includes ENA.

ENA started as an animated series by Joel G on YouTube. ENA is a character inspired by Picasso’s “Girl before a Mirror”. She represents two prominent sides of a person as two separate colors, split down the middle. These colors portray happiness and depression represented by yellow and blue respectively. The yellow side has a male voice (which sparked my love for voice actors that are the opposite gender of the character they’re voicing) and the blue side has a female voice. They both have very dynamic and contrasting tones that I absolutely adore. The series consists of 4 episodes all under 10 minutes (excluding “Temptation Stairway” which is 17 minutes long). All of the characters are incredibly interesting. My favorite, other than ENA, is Moony. She’s ENA’s friend and I just think they’re so cute together.

The ENA series is really high quality, and because of that, episodes took a really long time to release. In between “Temptation Stairway”, released 4 years ago, and “Power of Potluck”, the newest episode, my interest in ENA naturally dropped. I still admired the series and character, I just stopped involving myself in the media as much.

Until ENA: Dream BBQ came out on March 27, 2025 (3 days after my birthday!) and I found out about it relatively quickly. Probably because it was a really anticipated game so a lot of YouTubers and other creators that I follow played it and talked about it. I was quick to jump on the train as well, watching my first play through of it on April 12. Then I watched 3 more play throughs and multiple videos breaking down the plot.

I feel like I’m more than qualified to spoil the whole thing, but I highly encourage others to play it for themselves. It’s free on Steam! So here, I’ll just discuss my favorite things about the game and how much I love the Dream BBQ version of ENA.

This game is very similar to the Youtube series, which already felt like clips of a video game. It feels like a playable episode of ENA and I think that’s the perfect way to translate the series into a game. It’s incredibly surreal and confusing while also being fun and leaving a lot of the story to the audience’s interpretation.

ENA has changed a lot between the YouTube series and the game. Instead of yellow and blue, she’s white and red. The different sides of her even have different names, white is “meanie” and red is “salesman”! She even has a cute little hat. I still have a lot of love for the old ENA, the yellow and blue color combination brings back a lot of good memories, but Dream BBQ ENA is definitely my favorite.

I think my second favorite character is Froggy – a Japanese speaking man in a huge frog costume. He has so much personality and he’s very expressive. He even has an amazing ringtone when he calls you! I’m considering making it my own ringtone…

One of my (many) favorite parts of the game is when ENA, who you’re playing as, enters the “Lost Village” and knocks on the doors of the houses in the area until she finds the right one. Each house that isn’t the right one disappears with a unique animation and I just think that’s really funny. It’s also just fun to see all the different animations, it makes me hope to never find the right house just to see the animations.

Even though the anticipation for this game was high (to my understanding), it’s not as popular as I thought it would’ve been. Compared to the traction the ENA series received, the game has received a surprisingly little amount of attention. But that just makes the fan content a lot more special. Some of those TikTok editors make videos that seriously look like trailers for the game! 

All of this to say, I really love ENA: Dream BBQ. I think everyone should play it or watch someone else play it because some of the biggest YouTubers that have played it only have half of a million views as I’m writing – which sounds like a lot but compared to the series’ combined view count of 47.5 million, it’s not!

On March 31st, the season finale of Common Side Effects aired, and I had no clue. I wasn’t even aware of the amount of episodes released because, to me, they all clumped together into a mass of something I loved.

I cried relentlessly that Monday evening and I’m not ashamed about it. The reason this show had such a grasp on me, was because it is so much more than just “my show”, like I call it. It’s a staple of friendship and family, a measurement of time, and a meaning of my identity.

This show, very clearly, means a lot to me. It’s hard to write this knowing new episodes aren’t releasing at this time. Common Side Effects was something that I looked forward to after a hard week. It’s tough to sit here and realize I don’t have that comfort anymore (for now).

But Common Side Effects wasn’t just “my” show, it was me and my friend’s! I never watched an episode without them, unless it was with my dad. He was actually the person who got me into Adult Swim in the first place. But I was still surprised to find out he knew exactly what I was talking about when I was rambling to him about the upcoming show I was excited about.

He was able to watch new episodes before me since his TV constantly stayed on the Adult Swim network. New episodes would air on Sunday nights and then were released on Max the Monday after.  Sometimes, on a Sunday, he would text me, “Common Side Effects” to let me know he was watching it. I think it was to taunt me…

But ever since early February, my friend and I would schedule time together and make sure that we would be able to have this thing that was completely ours. And now, I wonder what’s going to bring us together like this again? Should we just watch reruns of each episode? Should we move onto another show until season 2 is released? I don’t think I’ll be able to find another show as good as Common Side Effects, that’s just not possible for me.

I called Common Side Effects “my” show. That’s what everyone knew it as, and if they didn’t know the title, they knew the plot and they knew it as “Steph’s show.” This may sound silly, but there are so many instances where I felt like this show was perfect for me.

When I first saw the trailer for Common Side Effects, at about 12 AM alone in my dorm, my first thought was, “Oh this looks good, but I bet it’s on its 5th season and I’ll have to catch up so I won’t bother.” What a stupid thought! The first episode wasn’t even out by this time. It was going to be another week before the first episode aired. It was perfect timing.

I have a lot of trouble getting into TV shows because, most of the time, there’s already multiple seasons out by the time I find it, and I get really intimidated by the amount of time I would have to spend catching up. So I never watch shows.

Common Side Effects‘ characters are absolutely perfect and I’ve fallen in love with every single one of them. There’s so many realistic and human flaws to every character and that makes them even more lovable to me. 

Some characters, like Frances, have subtle flaws that you can only define after calculating all of their actions and intentions. Frances initially comes off as a quirky, hardworking, and kind woman. She’s very cute! But as the story progresses, you see how she can be selfish, power-driven, and exploitative on top of her other traits. But of course, I can’t hate her because she’s also relatable, funny, and somewhat understandable. If I was in her position, I’d probably do what she did and more!

There are so many little things about this show that I proudly over-analyze. Like when a character takes the Blue Angel mushroom, they experience a vivid hallucination in a place coined “The Portal.” Each character has a different vision and I think every single one of them is either foreshadowing, reflective of the character’s inner desires, or exposing of their traits. There was even a time where I analyzed characters’ outfits down to the earrings and shoes! But that’s a topic for an entirely different day.

The soundtrack is also absolutely amazing. The original songs are so well done and the songs picked to be used in the show are perfectly chosen. There’s so many different genres of song used throughout the show but they all work together and fit in perfectly. I made a playlist and (tried to) put the songs in chronological order in the show. I’m also working on a personal playlist of songs I associate with Common Side Effects rather than just the songs in the show.

All of this rambling to say, I absolutely love Common Side Effects and I think it’s a great show that everyone should watch. The art style is very unique, and I’m aware that a lot of people won’t pick this show up purely because of it, but after a while, it definitely grows on you. I’m a huge fan and I love every single thing about this show. I’m really sad that season one is over, but I’m excited and hopeful for season two!

On the morning of Thursday, March 27, I swear I felt the ground shake and I thought I heard the roar of a cheering crowd. Then I forgot about it. That night, I opened TikTok to see that I had received a message from an old friend. The post she sent might as well have been a national emergency alert, announcing “Tomodachi Life 2026!”

I read this, looked at the background (which looked like clips of a trailer), and jumped out of bed. I held my breath until I searched it up and, to my complete shock, it was REAL. Then I celebrated, thanked my friend for sending me that post, and found the original trailer myself.

So apparently, the Nintendo Direct came out and I was completely unaware of it. I scrolled through the long list of trailers, announcements, and teasers to see the official Tomodachi Life video posted last.

I’ve made an entire blog about Tomodachi Life before, so I’m not going to discuss my memories or experience with it again. But I definitely want to talk about the Nintendo Direct trailer and my opinions on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream!

I’ve watched this 1 minute and 7 second video countless times, trying to pick it apart as much as I can. The main things that I noticed were the insane graphics, upgraded Mii customization, and the island.

I’ll start with the whole look of it. I remember my first thought was “this looks like Animal Crossing: New Horizons.” Of course, ACNH takes place on an island and so does Tomodachi Life, but the palm trees, furniture, and flowers in the announcement video look incredibly similar to ones in ACNH. I don’t have a problem with it, I think the ACNH graphics are amazing. I just thought it was really interesting. I have a really soft spot for the old 3DS graphics, though. There’s something about them that’s just so humble and charming, I’m still figuring out how I feel about this new look.

The Miis definitely upgraded with the environmental graphics. You can see that most of them look like they have dyed hair or some sort of highlights. Also, they have ears! It looks like we will get some new hairstyles, clothes, and Mii customization options. But that’s the bare minimum considering it’s been over 10 years, it’s just great to see!

Now I’ll be honest, I’m worried about the island. The first thing I noticed was the lack of apartments. Where are they? I feel like the apartments are the most iconic part of Tomodachi Life! How am I going to spy on my Miis with no apartments? It’s just not the same with houses… In the original game, your Miis moved into houses after they got married and it was a huge achievement! I feel like this might take away that feeling of accomplishment if everyone has a house. Another thing that made me really nervous was how insanely flat the island is and the “Quik Build” store. To me, this hints at the ability to decide and build things with complete freedom. I really don’t like this implication. I’m just afraid that we’ll have another ACNH situation where the game (in my eyes) failed because it had too much customization. 

You could literally rebuild your whole island, decide where everyone would live, and even decide how their houses would look. It was just too much and had barely any limitations. In ACNH, it felt like you were some sort of great leader even though you were just another member of the island. You couldn’t even customize that much when you were the mayor in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

I didn’t mean to complain about ACNH, I’m just really passionate about both of these games, and I’m really anxious about how Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream will be.

Let’s discuss the things I do like! I’m really happy that Nintendo decided to keep the original Mii designs and voices! After seeing Nintendo Switch Sports, I developed a fear that Miis would get completely erased in Nintendo games. To some extent, I understand it. Miis were a huge mascot for the Wii, and as Nintendo moves away from that beautiful staple in my childhood and onto the Switch (and now Switch 2?!), I’m sure they want to move on to new things. But seeing my beautiful Miis back for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream gave me so much hope. Also hearing their robotic voices rather than unnerving AI voices (that they very much could’ve used, but didn’t!) gave me so much joy. All this to say, we are SO BACK!

More images from the Nintendo Direct:

They are SO tiny! I think all 4 of these characters have new hairstyles. Also, the flower effects are adorable. I feel like I’ve seen the fence, lamp post, and table and chairs in ACNH before. Also, see that city in the background? Very interesting… I just can’t get over how cute and tiny the Miis are! My babies…

Look at that blue-eyed stare. How charming.

This is a scene from a Mii’s dream. I’ve already seen a lot of edits of these two Miis being lovers. My TikTok algorithm knows me so well. I’m actually really happy that this might mean we have crazy dreams again. That was one of my favorite features. I would stay up late just to see all my Miis’ dreams.

This image really shows off how amazing this game looks. Also, I’m really digging this Mii’s look.

I’m incredibly excited for this game to come out. We don’t even know the exact month it’s releasing, but I’m already looking forward to the entire year of 2026. This actually really hits my heart in a way that I didn’t expected it to. After so many years of dreaming about a Tomodachi Life 2, I just gave up. It was hard to let go, but I did. And then, when I least expect it, I find out our prayers were actually heard after I had already given up and stopped caring! I feel mixed emotions as I play on a new Tomodachi Life island (named Stephtown). Of course, I’m so happy about it, but I’m also worried it’s not going to be everything I’ve dreamed of for the past few years.

Also, it’s releasing the same year that I’m graduating. I was 8 when I started playing Tomodachi Life. I’ll be 18 when Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream releases. That’s a sickening realization. 

In my last blog, I covered disc 1 of Stadium Arcadium and I’m excited to talk about disc 2! For the longest time, I thought disc 1 was the better half and I would only listen to it and replay it when “Desecration Smile” started playing. I’m glad that I’ve moved on from that and now I listen to both halves and love them equally.

Desecration Smile

“Never in the wrong time or wrong place”

Starting off strong! I think this is a really underrated song. I love the acoustic guitar and the vocals. The background vocals are really strong throughout this entire album and I think this song shows that off really well. They uphold the melody well in the chorus and they also echo the verses really well in other parts. 8/10

Tell Me Baby

“The thing we need is never all that hard to find”

This used to be one of my favorite songs on the entire album. I really like the beginning, it’s slow and sweet and it mimics the melody we hear later on . Then we’re thrown into the actual song and (I’ll admit) it’s really jarring, but it’s really unique to this song and I appreciate it for what it is. 8/10

Hard to Concentrate

“And, finally you have found someone perfect”

This song is really different. The intro is really smooth and I think it was done really well. Also, in this song you can hear the lead singer (Anthony Kiedis) extremely closely. Like you can hear his breath and that gross sound when you open your mouth. Anyway, I like this song but I think it’s pretty boring compared to the rest of the songs on this album. Honestly, it feels rather empty to me. 5/10

21st Century

“Not too sure but I know that it’s meant to be”

I absolutely love the bass in this song. It adds a lot to the song and I think it would be completely different without it. It’s quick and I think it has a really unique sound. Other than that, there’s not much that I can say about it. 7/10

She Looks to Me

“Who’s gonna take you home / And hold you when things aren’t so bright”

I’ve grown to love this song a lot! I wasn’t that big of a fan when I first heard it, I thought it was strange, but now I see it as unique and beautiful. The melody is well crafted, and the instrumentals are so complex – I love it. 8/10

Readymade

“Listen, but don’t be afraid”

This is easily my second favorite song on disc 2. I love listening to this song when I clean. I love how the bass and electric guitar match each other throughout most of the song, I think it creates a rich sound that becomes the main focus. I honestly don’t mind it overpowering the vocals. I also love the breakdowns in this song! 9/10

If

“And if I saw the sun fall down / I’d pick it up and make a crown / One that was a perfect fit for you”

One of my favorite things to do when I listen to this album is to read the lyrics of this song. I think they’re so sweet and well written. I like the quiet buzzing noise in the background, it feels like I’m outside in the middle of summer hearing the air conditioner buzz. I think that’s why I like this song more than I do “Hard to Concentrate.” Both are really mellow, but I favor this one any day. 8/10

Make You Feel Better

“I got dreams so wide like a country mile”

I think this song is really catchy. I really enjoy the drums in this. Also, he says “run amok” here again. I’m not sure why that’s notable to me, but the only time I’ve ever seen the word “amok” is in RHCP songs. This song is really upbeat and the bass and electric guitar parts are really simple but good. Also, you can hear a tambourine! I love tambourines.

Animal Bar

“Runnin’ through the mud, I got a feeling of worth”

Surprisingly, I really love this song! The instrumentals are layered so well and I’m a huge fan of the bass in this. It feels like it’s constantly running and it matches the lyrics and vibe really well. I like how it switches in the chorus and I love the ending. 9/10

So Much I

“Please don’t turn away a friend”

My only note about this song is that it’s alright. I feel like it starts off way too strong at the very beginning. I really enjoy the chorus though! Other than that, I don’t have much to say. 6/10

Storm in a Teacup ★

“I know you can battle the masses, dear”

This is my favorite song on disc 2. I think it’s so incredibly unique, fun, and catchy. I love the lyrics and instrumentals equally in this song, which is rare because I usually favor the instrumentals. Surprisingly, I love the background vocals, especially the fun chanting (?) and I really love the feel of this whole song. I don’t love it as much as I do “Wet Sand,” but it’s my favorite out of disc 2. 11/10

We Believe

“Cause it’s not the first time, nor is it the worst time”

I’m not a huge fan of this song. The background vocals definitely give the illusion of a crowd (and I think that’s really cool!), but I just think it’s really robotic in a strange way. I also think this song is lacking a bit, especially after “Storm in a Teacup.” It’s really unique, though, so I love it as is. 6/10

Turn It Again

“I turn to you, I turn into, and then I turn it again”

I like this song. The bass is funky, the electric guitar is cool, and the vocals are unique. I really enjoy the chorus, but that’s really it. I think I’ve overplayed this song so much to where I don’t like it as much as I used to. I bump to this song in the shower, though. 7/10

Death of a Martian

“Lots of love, just keep it comin’ / Making something out of nothin'”

My first thought is that this song is really weird. But it’s so unique and I love it. I think it’s a really good song to end this album with. It has a beautiful sound and such a good chorus. I think this song is so beautifully crafted and then, there’s the ending. It’s a poem. I got so excited when I heard it for the first time. I adore naturally read poems in songs and I think it’s delivered so well here. I will admit, this song was really confusing to me at first. After a very small amount of digging, I discovered it was about Flea’s (RHCP’s bassist) dog and I think that is absolutely precious. I am such a sucker for pieces written about pets. 10/10

After “Death of a Martian,” there’s a 30 minute long commentary from the band members. I’m ashamed to admit this, but I have never listened to this all the way through. I just cannot sit still enough to listen to it without wanting to hear the album again.

I’m really glad that I was able to review this album, it’s truly my absolute favorite album. That fact should be kept in mind when you see the low ratings because even with a 5/10 rating, it’s still an amazing song in my eyes. The second disc is definitely not as popular as the first, but I still hold it in a very special place in my heart. I want to do more RHCP album reviews, but Stadium Arcadium really took a lot out of me.

It’s about time I get this blog out. I’ve been planning a Red Hot Chili Peppers blog since New Years. My original plan was to make a huge blog post (like, over 2,000 words) reviewing every single album they’ve ever made. That’s 13 albums! So (after a while of fighting myself) I scrapped that idea, knowing it was 100 times easier to break down one album at a time (or in this case, half an album at a time).

This blog’s focus will be Stadium Arcadium! I’ve been listening to this album for a few weeks now, and I’ve definitely grown an unhealthy attachment to it.

Stadium Arcadium is an entire 2 hours long with a 30 minute commentary at the end, and it was released in 2006. In this blog, I’ll be going over disc 1, which contains 14 songs.

1. Dani California

“California, show your teeth”

This is such a good song to start this album. It’s definitely a classic, and I think it’s one of the best RHCP songs ever. I have so many memories tied to this song, good and bad, and that makes it really special to me. I think the beat is so catchy and the instrumentals go so well with the vocals. I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know much about the actual production of music, all I know is that it sounds good and I like it! The chorus is also really good and the background vocals support it so well. 10/10

2. Snow (Hey Oh)

“The more I see, the less I know / The more I’d like to let it go”

Another amazing classic. This is one of the most popularly covered RHCP songs that I’ve seen purely because of the guitar part. I think it’s amazing and it’s really unique. When I first got into RHCP a few years ago, I remember not really liking this song. Unfortunately, my opinion hasn’t changed that much… To me, it’s really repetitive to the point where I get bored. I still absolutely love this song, just not as much as others. I will admit, the lyrics are heartbreaking in a way that hits me right in the soul. 7/10

3. Charlie

“My heart, your skin, this love I’m in”

This is one of my favorite songs on the entire album! I’ll admit, I have no clue what he’s talking about in the lyrics, but it sounds really good. My favorite part about this entire song is the background vocals. I think they add a lot of support and fun to the song! And the chorus bridge is so amazing. I feel that part through my whole body and the lyrics in that part are so good! 11/10

4. Stadium Arcadium

“The stadium arcadium / A mirror to the moon”

This is the perfect title track for this album. I think it represents the album in such a beautiful and meaningful way. It completely clears my mind in the way a song never has before. I just completely zone out when I listen to this song, I just think it’s so beautiful. I don’t even know how to describe the instrumentals, everything is just so well done. It feels so universal, like I imagine space when I listen to it (maybe because of the album cover). 9/10

5. Hump de Bump

“It’s not about the smile you wear, but the way we make out”

If “Stadium Arcadium” made you sleepy, this is the perfect song to wake you up. I don’t even know what it’s about, and honestly, I don’t think I want to… I’d rather stay oblivious. It’s so fun, it’s so funky, and it gets stuck in my head all the time. My friends hate to hear me sing this. I love the trumpet and the “oh no!” part. 8/10

6. She’s Only 18

“(Knock the world) / Right off its feet and straight onto its head”

Walk with me here. This song is so good. I was going to talk about how I don’t pay attention to the lyrics and only listen to the sound but curiosity got me and I deeply regret researching the meaning behind this song… Anyway, I love the background vocals. 6/10

7. Slow Cheetah

“It’s so bad it’s got to be good / Mysterious girl misunderstood”

What a song to unwind to after “Hump de Bump” and “She’s Only 18.” This song makes me grab onto my t-shirt like my life depends on it. I think this is one of the only songs on the album that uses an acoustic guitar and I think it’s so beautiful. I really love this song and it reminds me of the By The Way album. 7.5/10

8. Torture Me

“I want it all, I want it bad / Oh, it’s what I know”

What a heartbreaking song. It’s still really fast paced, but rather than catchy (like most of this album’s fast paced songs), it comes off as quick and desperate and that perfectly captures the lyrics and overall meaning of the song. I love the breakdown in the chorus, it adds some clarity to balance through the noise. 7/10

9. Strip My Mind

“Please don’t strip my mind / Leave something behind”

I mentioned “Torture Me” to be a heartbreaking song, but this is the most heartbreaking song on the album (to me). I absolutely love the background vocals and I think they add a lot of grit and personality to this song. I just take a deep sigh every time I hear this song, I love it. 8/10

10. Especially in Michigan

“Cry me a future / Where the revelations run amok”

I really enjoy listening to this song. I’m not sure what this song could possibly be about, but I really enjoy seeing the metaphors that are pieced together from anywhere and everywhere. The background vocals (once again) bring in so much element and the effect over them also fits so well into this song. I also love how the electric guitar (?) at the beginning matches the background vocals that you can hear later in the song. 8/10

11. Warlocks

“Every night I go looking for you / Everyone in the world adores you”

This song is a lot catchier than I thought it would’ve been. It took a lot of warming up to for me to actually like it, but after that, it’s one of my favorites on the album. I think it’s really unique and the flow of the vocals is so strange, I really like it. I’m a huge fan of the bass in this song. 7.5/10

12. C’mon Girl

“And if you let it germinate / I know it will be worth the wait”

This was my favorite song when I first listened to this album. I thought it was really enjoyable and stimulating. The background vocals extend the sound and they really open it up to add so much more depth. It’s moved its way down my list of favorites as I listen to it more, I think I was just so enamored with the chorus that I could only see it as my favorite for a few weeks. 7/10

13. Wet Sand ★

“Oh, you don’t form in the wet sand / You don’t form at all / Oh, you don’t form in the wet sand / I do”

This is my favorite song of all time. This song has such a special place at the bottom of my heart where it is playing on repeat all day, all night. This is actually one of the only songs that I’ve been extremely interested in learning the meaning of. Flea, RHCP’s bassist, says the song is about loving the dark parts of a person along with their good parts. I’m all about loving the human experience and the flesh and blood that creates it with the mind, so that hits me in a place that’s really special. Everything about this song just means so much to me, from the meaning, to the instrumentals, to the vocals. I especially love the whistling and, of course, the chorus. All of it is so beautifully crafted. I think I could scream these lyrics until I die. 100/10

14. Hey

“Hey, what would you say if I change / I’ll change everything but my name”

The lyrics to this song are so gut-wrenching it’s actually insane. But. I do not care for the sound as much as I wished I did. It’s just really plain to me, but I really enjoy the lyrics. I will admit, it’s really catchy. And I love the little triangle part. Not my favorite song to end on, but I still love it. 6/10

And that’s disc 1! I absolutely love this album and I’m really happy that I get to share it now. I used to think that disc 1 was the better half of Stadium Arcadium but I honestly think both halves are amazing. I know my ratings averaged around 7/10 because I love all of these songs equally (for the most part), so it’s really hard to rate them. But when you see a low rating, keep in mind that this is my favorite album right now. So those 6/10’s and 7/10’s that you see are still some of my favorite songs ever. The rating used to compare the songs to each other.

I loved breaking down these songs and talking about them, I can’t wait to do disc 2 because it has a lot more diversity in the tracks.

I’ve been waiting for this one! This show has been the only thing on my mind since it came out at the beginning of February. I was planning on watching the first premier on Adult Swim with my dad, but then I realized I would be at school by that time. So I watched it with my friend the next day on Max, and when I say that was the highlight of my week, I mean it. And it was only Monday!

Common Side Effects was created by Joe Bennett and Steve Hely for Adult Swim. Lots of creators behind this show also worked on another show called Scavengers Reign. I heard that it’s really good, so that helped me put faith into Common Side Effects before it came out. I haven’t looked into it much, but it’s definitely next on my list.

Common Side Effects is about a man named Marshall, who discovered a mushroom that can cure pretty much every health problem in the world. He reunites with Frances, a friend from high school, and as Marshall is trying to avoid the government stopping him from having this mushroom, Frances is trying to impress her boss and get a (well deserved) raise.

This blog will contain SPOILERS for the pilot episode. It’s not anything crazy, it’s not like I’m spoiling the entire show because I literally can’t. If you want to watch it, I 100% recommend it, especially if you’re really big on Adult Swim shows (like me).

Episode 1 – Pilot 

We immediately open to a conference for the Reutical pharmaceutical company where the CEO, Rick (my archenemy), reveals their medicine has a side effect of depression and suicidal thoughts. Frances (my GOAT) is introduced as Rick’s employee, and Marshall gets on the Q&A mic to expose Rick’s company of destroying habitats in order to produce their medicine. Frances recognizes him as he’s getting kicked out, and they reunite for the first time since high school. But Frances hides the fact that she works for Reutical, knowing Marshall wouldn’t trust her if he knew. As they catch up, Frances reveals that her mother has dementia and Marshall proposes the idea of a medicine that can cure anything. Frances is intrigued but she isn’t convinced it’s possible, until Marshall literally breaks a pigeon’s neck and immediately heals it with bits of the Blue Angel mushroom. Then, it’s revealed that Marshall is being spied on by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (I think?). We meet Copano and Harrington, two DEA agents tasked with tracking him down.

Then, we get the awesome intro sequence. It’s crazy that there’s all this information within the first few minutes. Of course, it’s a pilot, so I should’ve expected to be shot with so much information at once, but when I was typing out notes for this blog, my fingers couldn’t keep up!

We open to Marshall telling Frances about how he found the Blue Angel mushroom. We learn that it’s an incredibly rare mushroom that only grows in extremely specific conditions. Upon Marshall’s discovery, he gets hunted down and shot at by a helicopter. He (coincidentally) has an escape plane, but the plane gets shot down! So before the plane goes down and Marshall dies, he eats a Blue Angel mushroom and he survives the crash. Back to the present day, Marshall tells Frances about how he’s almost out of mushrooms and Rick’s company is destroying the environment where the mushrooms grow. He tells her this while Rick is literally calling her. As she takes the call, Marshall realizes he’s being watched and flees.

We open to Copano and Harrington getting put on the case. We see their dynamic and personalities a little more here. I really love them, they’re my favorite characters. Also, (like many others) I thought Harrington was a guy when I first saw a snippet of the show without any of her dialogue, but she’s literally so precious.

We move on to Rick’s employees showing him a new commercial for Reutical’s medicine and it’s very clear that he doesn’t care. He is literally playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Frances comes in, assesses the situation, and I think she would be a much better CEO because Rick doesn’t want people to know about the side effects Reutical’s medicine has. Frances is literally the #1 assistant, I love her so much. When leaving, Frances proposes the idea for a new product and Rick encourages her, saying he would give her a huge raise if she’s able to pull it off.

We cut to Marshall going to his (super cool) house. It’s clear that he’s really paranoid, and he owns a lot of land. In my notes, I wrote, “He hates the city, he loves Frances,” so do with that what you will…

He notices Copano and Harrington watching his house, but they’re just goofing off. They talk about Marshall and the awards he’s won and things he’s discovered. It’s clear he’s a really intelligent guy. But they want to search his house under the suspicion of drugs and they believe he’s creating some sort of monopoly. I’m not good with business or financial talk so I’m not the best person to explain any of that.

They search Marshall’s house, him AND his tortoise are GONE. He escapes with another (convenient) back up plan. He really thinks of everything…

We cut to Frances in her apartment with her awful boyfriend, Nick. I will admit, his first voice line is so funny, and that’s the only thing I like about him. Frances is trying to wipe the fact that she works for Rick off of her social media, knowing Marshall hates that guy and might not trust her if he finds out. Marshall calls her and the difference in her tone when she’s talking to Marshall vs Nick makes it look like she’s literally cheating on him right in front of his face. It’s so funny. The only thing Marshall tells her is that people are following him, and he brought his (stupid) turtle.

That’s the end of Episode 1!

Episode 1 and 2 were released together and episode 3 was released a few days ago, but I don’t want to continue to spoil the show, especially since there’s only 3 episodes out. I also want to encourage my friends to watch it for themselves, and this blog can be like a little nudge to do that.

I really love all of these characters, they’re so entertaining to watch and I’m  really attached to most of them already. It’s easy to make assumptions about some of the characters but they reveal themselves to be so much more than what you think they are. When I first saw Marshall, I thought he was just a funny, hippie guy (mistake #1), but no! He’s a literal genius who’s strange and awkward, but I think he’s really interesting and I want to see what happens to him.

I’m actually a really big fan of the art style. The animation is really nice, and the way the characters look has really grown on me since I first saw this show’s trailer. I’ll be so honest, I thought their faces were really funny looking, but now I think it’s so endearing. The lighting and the backgrounds are so beautifully drawn. It’s clear that so much effort has been put into this show. I love everything about it.

In the next episodes, new characters are introduced and more complications to the plot get revealed, and it makes this show really complicated but clean and colorful! It takes some analyzing and paying attention to connect the dots, which makes it really fun to study (but I might be the only one that needs to take notes because I’m a little stupid). 

I’m really excited for the rest of this show to come out. I’ve been extremely fixated on it all month. I’ve already made a Pinterest board and I refer to this show as “my show” whenever I talk about it. I’m just a really big fan and I’m excited to see what this show turns into!

Last year in October, I randomly became completely obsessed with ladybugs. This obsession just came out of nowhere and surprised both me and my friends. I mean, I always thought ladybugs were cute. I would search for them on the school playground and I would let them crawl over my hands. They were the only bugs I would ever touch because I was scared of most bugs. Ladybugs were just comforting to me, rather than frightening.

So when Halloween came around and I finally finished my (ladybug) costume, ladybugs were the only thing on my mind. I would draw them, I would research them, and my hands cramped every time I thought about that costume that I hand-stitched.

Then, I made a friend that told me the spot where ladybugs hang out the most: the benches between JI and the Y-Hut. So I checked there almost every day and took pictures of every ladybug I saw. I would show my teachers, my friends, and I even posted them on Instagram.

Now imagine my horror when I realized every single picture I took was of an Asian lady beetle instead.

I was so embarrassed. Every single ladybug that I showed off was an Asian lady beetle. There were no real ladybugs on my phone.

But then I came to the conclusion that I don’t care. Ladybugs and Asian lady beetles are cute. And to me, they’re the same thing… Maybe.

Obviously Asian lady beetles and ladybugs are not the same thing. But they could be if I called everything a ladybug. Obviously I’m a ladybug, you can be too and we’ll all be ladybugs. Even Asian lady beetles.

So I’m going to rate some of the ladybugs I found. Don’t ask me which one is actually an Asian lady beetle because everything is a ladybug now.

 

This one used to be my favorite. I think the larger black spots are really unique, I swear I had another picture of a ladybug with bigger black spots but I can’t find it. This one’s pretty cool, though. It has a cute heart shape on it. 8/10 ladybug.

 

This one had a bent shell! I felt so bad for it, but I don’t think I could ever help it. Its spots are kind of fuzzy and tiny. 4/10 ladybug.

 

This one was just straight yellow. It’s really cute, though. And it’s super tiny. 7/10 ladybug.

 

I don’t know what happened to this one. I can’t tell if the shell is bent or not, but there is something going on. Its wing is sticking out a little bit. Poor thing. 7/10 ladybug.

This one’s pretty cool. It’s got a heart shape on its back that looks like the white line in between my dog’s eyes. It’s super round and shiny. 8/10 ladybug.

 

I don’t know what this ugly one is. I don’t even think this is a ladybug or an Asian lady beetle (whatever). Its legs are so freakishly long and it has no spots. And it’s sitting on a water drop. 2/10 … whatever it is.

 

This one is so cute. Like, yeah it’s got barely any spots, but it’s actually cute unlike the last one and it’s long legs. It’s really shiny, too. 9/10.

 

This one’s alright. It’s super orange. Like even the face that’s supposed to be white is orange. The spots are cute, and it looks pretty big. 7/10 ladybug.

 

I think this one might actually be a ladybug. That fleshy background is my hand, don’t mind how pale it is. Wait until summertime and I’ll be a healthy color again. I remember seeing this one on my way to my dorm and it was like destiny that I recognized it 5 feet away getting crushed by a crowd. That was just my ladybug senses. This one crawled around on my hand a little bit, then flew away. We bonded really nicely that day. 10/10 ladybug.

This blog took me a really long time to arrange because I kept forgetting and remembering the timeline of my relationship with Animal Crossing. This actually led me to dive into my childhood memories, but of course not really “childhood” more like… tweenhood? Pre-teenhood? I really don’t like those words. Actually, I don’t like anything that has to do with the ages 9-12.

It’s really unfortunate that I have to start this blog by telling you that I never played Animal Crossing as a little kid. Obviously it’s not a big deal to anyone but me, but I swear it’s important for the context of this blog.

The Animal Crossing franchise was a huge part of many people’s childhoods. I hear so many stories from adults about how they spent most of their childhood playing Wild World and City Folk. I wish I was a part of that, but I was born when Wild World was released so there’s not much I can do about it.

My first Animal Crossing game was actually Pocket Camp, which is a strange mobile version of Animal Crossing. It has most of the characters and some really cute decorations but it’s not really an Animal Crossing game. Of course, Pocket Camp was built around the whole idea of camping. You did all of the Animal Crossing stuff like fish, catch bugs, and I think that’s it… I spent my entire 11 to 12-year-old life on Pocket Camp. I don’t remember much about it, but I remember sitting in my (empty) church’s youth-group room playing Pocket Camp in the corner. I was in some sort of puppeteering club so I would get to Wednesday night service like 2 hours before it started and I would spend that entire time playing Pocket Camp. That also led me to discover my favorite villager, Goldie! She’s just a golden retriever who likes to read and eat apples and whatever else she does and I love her for it. 

The talk about Animal Crossing died down for years and I stopped playing Pocket Camp because it was taking up half of the storage on my little Motorola phone (I think).

 Then (many years later), Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released on the Nintendo Switch right as quarantine started in 2020. March 20, 2020. 4 days before my 12th birthday. Also, super crazy that I was 12 in 2020, like that is just so weird to me. Anyway, I couldn’t scrounge up enough money to buy a Nintendo Switch and New Horizons, but I was able to get Animal Crossing: New Leaf for my 3DS!

So I spent most of 2020 playing New Leaf, and it was a total blur. I know I really liked it, and I know I spent a lot of time on it, but I don’t remember anything else. Except my other favorite villager, Pashmina, who’s a goat with blue horns that likes to wear colorful sweaters and eat oranges. New Leaf is mostly known as the best Animal Crossing game. When you first start up a save, you wake up on a train and answer the questions of a cat named Rover to determine your appearance, name, and town name. It’s a great way of immersing players with something that would usually take them out of the game rather than pulling them in. When you arrive in your town, the villagers mistake you for their mayor and now you’ve got a bunch of mayor duties so get to work! It’s such a cute beginning and I had so much fun replaying it when I restarted my save for this new year.

It’s kind of hard to explain how I felt while playing New Leaf for the first time. It felt like I was reliving my childhood, or dwelling in déjà vu. I never played New Leaf before, yet it felt so familiar.

Anyway, Christmas of 2020 came around and I ended up getting a Nintendo Switch early! Of course, I got New Horizons along with it. It was just my luck that everyone on the internet started talking about how they thought New Horizons was boring and everyone (but me and my friends) stopped playing it.

There are so many memories that I have from playing New Horizons with my friends and it’s definitely a time that I look back on very fondly. I never got around to making my island cute or even making a 5-star island because the game did get boring. I hate to admit that, considering how much fun I had, but I am not hard to entertain. It’s not a hot take that New Horizons is boring. Lots of people think the same way.

So now I’m replaying New Leaf and it’s pretty nice. It’s a great feeling to hold a 3DS again after so many years. That little game console has found itself in my hands time after time and I think that’s really sweet. I should give my 3DS a name…

Anyway, I hoped everyone liked going back in time with me to my dreaded pre-teen years to look back on my relationship with Animal Crossing. I miss Pashmina and Goldie now.

Like most people, I am not one to stick to my New Year’s resolutions. I have a lot of difficulty keeping up with lists of goals no matter the occasion. Like, I can make a grocery list and still not be able to complete it. 

Last year, I made some New Year’s resolutions. Honestly, there were some good ones in there. I wanted to lose weight, read 10 books, publish some works, keep my room clean and work out. But the only resolution I achieved was getting accepted into MSA.

Clearly, change starts with me.

So this year, I will actually try to reach my goals. I’ve made some broader resolutions for 2025 and I’ve cut myself a lot of slack. I’ve also written it in a style that is more personal to me so maybe it’ll actually get through this thick skull.

The first resolution I made was “be yourself” in all caps followed by an explicit. This is obviously my number one goal. Last year, I noticed that I tend to hide my own personality, afraid that other people won’t like me for who I really am. But the thing is, I do it unintentionally. When I’m around people that don’t make me feel true to myself, I change my personality and unconsciously gaslight myself into thinking that’s the real me. So I honestly don’t know who Steph is but I’m working on that, trust me.

That resolution actually had a little more context to it. I wrote, “don’t snuff out your own light to be mysterious for the guys you like, if they don’t like you for your true self, they won’t like you ever,” and I think that’s beautiful. I really need to listen to myself more often because I can give pretty good advice (I think). Maybe I should be a therapist. Right now I think I should be my own therapist, though.

Another resolution I made was to keep my room clean again. I swear this time will be different because MSA has made me a cleaner and more organized person. I will admit I trashed my bedroom when I first got home for Christmas Break but I left it sparkling! I can’t wait to go home.

I also have a resolution that says “go to church.” I think it’s pretty simple. This resolution comes from a flaw of mine where I want to go to church until I’m waking up and trying to get out of bed for it. It also comes from a goal on my bucket list where I want to attend a church service from every branch of Christianity. I’ve already got Baptist, Episcopal, and Catholic checked off my list. I think that’s pretty impressive for me.

Those were all of my New Year’s resolutions for 2025. Of course, I’ve got some that I’m not willing to share and I’ve probably got some more that I’m planning on adding. I’m really curious about everyone else’s resolutions if they have any, I know some people like to break their goals up by the month or week. I spent New Year’s day in my room on my Nintendo Switch watching the Animal Crossing: New Horizons countdown. I’ve watched it with my best friend the past 3 years but it was just me and my villagers this year.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year (even though I’m a little late) and I also wish myself a Happy New Year because I need it.