Friday I'm In Love
January
I’ve always wanted to have a monthly newsletter. I feel so inspired by those who can, those who can be consistent and commit to writing something each month. I’m not really one for new year’s resolutions, but this year I’ve made a promise to myself that I’ll write more. So, hopefully, you will be hearing from me on the first Friday of each month.
I’m starting “Friday I’m in Love” as a space for me to write about what I’m grateful for, what I’ve been loving, and honestly just where I’m at. I’ve been trying to practice gratitude a lot more lately, and have found that writing it all down makes everything feel much more impactful. Maybe by sharing the media, books, music, and art I’ve been loving, it’ll encourage me to pay more attention, to watch more, to read more. Sometimes I may write about a specific moment, or sometimes it’ll be more scattered and themed like this one. By committing to writing about what I’m loving each month, I’m committing to writing something fun without the pressure of perfection. I’m learning that I can write for fun, and other people can see it. We’re writing for the love of the game.
So, Happy Friday and Happy New Year.
I love celebrating the new year and setting a few goals for myself, but again, I’ve never been one for crazy, high pressure resolutions. I’m not cutting out sugar or training for a marathon, but I love to make a mood board. A little manifestation can’t hurt. Here’s some of what my Pinterest mood board for this year looks like to start out.
I want to grow my hair loooooong. I want to travel more (fingers crossed for Oregon in March/April at the very least). I want to fill a journal again. I want to stretch more. I want to save money. I want good things to come my way.
No,
I will grow my hair looooong. I will travel. I will journal. I will stretch. I will save money. Good things will come my way.
One thing I am holding myself to is reading and writing more. We’ve talked about the writing piece of this in my last few posts, but not the reading. I’m trying to read for fun again. In college, I was forced to read so much that I never really had a book I was reading for pleasure. After graduating, I found book clubs that still held me to a due date, but I’ve always ended up falling off of those. Without obligation, I found it hard to read.
That was until I found books that I felt seen in. I want to go back in time to when I read Big Swiss by Jen Beagin, or Milk Fed by Melissa Broder, or Whoever You Are Honey by Olivia Gatwood. I love reading about strange women, especially strange queer women. They’re so entertaining and unfortunately relatable. So, this year I’d love to read more queer books, and generally consume more queer media. My girlfriend recently gifted me Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth and I’m excited to start out the year reading it.
I don’t want to put the pressure of reading a specific quantity of books this year, but I’d love it if I could write about what I’ve been reading in each of these monthly newsletters. I think I only read five or so books last year, so any sort of improvement is a win here. If you have any recommendations, I’m all ears. Truly, please help me.
While we’re on the topic of gay media, I want to quickly mention I love LA. I haven’t yet seen Heated Rivalry… I’ve heard there’s beef with that cast and Jordan Firstman… we’re not talking about that. What I would love to talk about is this video of Josh Hutcherson from about 14 years ago that I believe completely manifested his role in I Love LA.
Crazy foreshadowing in my opinion.
I could talk for hours about the comedic impact that this video has on myself and a select few of my friends for hours. This hilarious but serious straight guy allyship is the exact reason he landed the role in I love LA, in my opinion.
I love that Josh Hutcherson’s aura is so normal, and so is Dylan’s. With this video for context, it’s truly like he’s playing himself. We won’t talk about what happened with him in the last episode, BUT I will say that I love how his character feels so out of place when he is arguably the most “normal” character on the cast. The show is satirical, hilarious, and wonderfully written. Odessa A’zion really surprised me in the best way possible. True Whitaker is charming and funny. I love anything and everything that Rachel Sennott does, so I had to watch. The short Ayo Edebiri appearance was so necessary, although the accent was a wild touch. I was surprised we didn’t see Molly Gordon. Between The Bear, Shiva Baby, Bottoms, and now I love LA, there’s always two of the three girls in attendance. I’d love to see the three of them together.
In 2026, I hope that fun media like this is in. I hope gay comedy is on the rise.
At the very least, I will continue indulging in and supporting queer art. I’m excited to talk more about it here.
Another “in” for me this year is rekindling old hobbies. When I was a teenager, I got a guitar for Christmas one year and simply wouldn’t put it down. I wasn’t great, but I loved it. Recently, I’ve been drawn to it again. I recently got new strings and I’ve been practicing a bit. I’ve also been helping some friends write music, which has been a crazy experience.
It’s strange and comforting how cyclical life can be. As I’ve started to pick up songwriting and playing music again, one of my old friends asked if I’d like to write with him and his band. They’re so talented and have such an ear that seems so natural. Writing lyrics without much of a sound in mind can be a bit lonely. It’s extremely fun to write and work with them. Seeing someone translate a bit of humming into a full intro in just a few minutes is crazy. I don’t feel like I have the brain for it, but I’m so grateful to be there and contribute in any way I can.
Sometimes your younger self knows how to ground you. I’m trying to take more inspiration from younger me. She wasn’t afraid to sound a little bad or fail publicly. I would never want to go back to the person I was at 15, but I may draw inspiration from her. She really didn’t give a fuck, for better or worse.
So, I’m falling back in love with music in a different way than I was before. I’m liking it a lot though. I made you a playlist so you can hear what I’ve been listening to lately.
As I start this year, I am grateful for my cat, Baker. I’m thankful to have a lovely partner that makes me feel seen. I’m grateful for all the friendships I have, new and old. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to write in new forms. I’m thankful for the accessibility I have to writing and opinions and media, even though sometimes it feels like a curse.
I’m grateful for you, especially if you’re reading this.
I’d like to leave you with some lines and passages that have inspired or stood out to me lately. Maybe a few affirmations as well. Then, I’ll set you free.
I’ll see you next month…
She is so good at writing write more write more than once a month please your fans are waiting