A Tier Ranking of 2022
Music, Pop Culture, Hobbies, Ranked
In honor of the week between Christmas and New Year’s feeling extremely fake, instead of my usual overanalysis, I present: a tier ranking of 2022 things, a (mostly) unserious and incomprehensive list by me. From music to food to pop culture events to niche hobbies, these are some things I’ve been thinking about upon the year’s end.
In SZA’s song, “Prom,” she sings, “Promise to get a little better as I get older.” And with every new year, both calendar and birthday, I take that sentiment with me.
See ya in the new year <3
S-Tier
Unions
From the HarperCollins Union to the Starbucks Union to the LOONA Union, what a time it’s been for union power. Remember: picket line means don’t cross.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
In all honesty, I haven’t watched many films this year, but Everything Everywhere All At Once is so well-deserving of the hype. I sometimes find Western media about the Asian diaspora lacks nuance and uses representation as a marketing point, rather than something that feels fulfilling to watch. There’s an audience for it, and it’s okay that it’s not me.
But Everything Everywhere All at Once left me speechless and incredibly unwell. It was the first movie I watched in theaters post-quarantine and I just remember holding myself, arms crossed against my chest, a futile attempt to control my sobs. Experiencing the silence of the rock scene in a theater full of people? My god.
Nowadays, nihilism is all the rage—life is meaningless, the Earth is dying, society is bad…so why do we even try? But this film turns nihilism on its head. Because life is inherently temporary and meaningless, instead of being plagued by this, we should embrace what we have and free ourselves from the “what-ifs.” It's not perfect, but isn’t living enough? Even better, isn’t living surrounded by care, love, and community enough?
Face the Sun, Seventeen
My favorite K-pop group is Seventeen, so out of obligation, this album ranks at the top for me. But it’s genuinely good! Comprised of nine songs (13, if you listen to the repackage), each song stands out on its own. I still remember my life-changing first listen of “Don Quixote.” “‘bout you” is the cutest song I’ve ever heard. “Ash” stands the test of time. Highly recommend!
Songs Not By Men
Contrary to the last rec, most of my other favorite music releases of this year have been by girl groups and female artists. They truly carried this year!
My favorite albums of this year: The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen, Renaissance by Beyoncé, Bad Mode by Hikaru Utada, YOUNG-LUV DOT COM by STAYC, ANTIFRAGILE by LE SSERAFIM
My favorite songs of this year: “DM” by fromis_9, “Attention” & “Hype Boy” by NewJeans, “In My Dreams” by Red Velvet, “Love Me More” by Mitski, “Love Dive” & “After Like” by IVE, “Hold The Girl” by Rina Sawayama, “Beg For You (A. G. Cook & VERNON OF SEVENTEEN Remix) (feat. Rina Sawayama)” by Charli XCX
Top Tier
Black Sesame
My favorite flavor of this year is black sesame. Particularly, I’ve enjoyed desserts with black sesame quite a lot. My favorites: Black Sesame Sponge Cake from Spongies Cafe, Black Sesame Mini Burnt Cheesecake from Kuih Cafe, and Hetty McKinnion’s recipe for Banana and Black Sesame Loaf.
My runner-up flavor of the year is pandan! (Rec: Kaya Butter Toast from Kopitiam)
Scrapbooking & Deco
I’ve been journaling on-and-off for over a decade now, and this is the first year I really embraced journaling with something other than my words through pen-on-paper.
I started decorating pages with washi tape and stickers, along with random items from my day. I’ve also forayed into making cards and themed photo spreads, with my sticker and rubber stamp collection only growing. It’s fun, creative, and whimsical, but very bad for my wallet.
My go-to sticker shop is @mostly__harmless!
Taking K-pop Dance Classes
If you told me at the beginning of this year that I would add “taking dance classes” to my list of hobbies, I would not have believed you. But I truly have learned the choreo to ten K-pop songs this year, and it’s honestly been very fulfilling.
Especially in the weeks where all I want to do is stay in bed, these classes are the one thing that helps me make sure I get some sort of physical activity in. It’s fun and lowkey enough, and it’s kind of wild to think that I took my first dance class ever just last year. I’m excited to only get better!
Concerts
I’ve been to 31 concerts this year, which even I can’t believe. I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and I’ve only ever wanted to leave early once! I also invested in earplugs, which have been by my side through most of the shows.
(I wrote about seeing Lorde here and Seventeen here.)
Twenty-Five Twenty-One
Controversial to list this K-drama as Top Tier? Perhaps. Many people do not enjoy the ending, and I’m one of them. But regardless, this is one of my favorite shows I’ve watched this year. I thought the acting, characterizations, and soundtrack were phenomenal. If only the pacing kept up!
My runner-up favorite show of this year: Soundtrack #1
Mid-Tier
Coffee
I gave up my emotional support daily cup of coffee this year, as I was suffering from the inability to sleep and also caffeine anxiety. I do feel better on the day-to-day now, but I miss the taste a lot and now order decaf. Embarrassing!
Concert Etiquette
If you’re into live music at all, chances are you’ve seen Tik Toks or tweets discussing how concert etiquette has truly gone downhill post-quarantine (probably with Steve Lacy concerts as the example).
Concert crowds have always been messy, but there’s been a hypervisibility to it all because of social media. Regardless, I have experienced some truly awful concert crowds this year, from fans throwing things on stage to people yelling the foulest things at artists while they’re trying to speak to being in crowds where people are more concerned with recording than bopping. Let us all have fun!
Rhythm Hive
I’ve been addicted to a mobile game called Rhythm Hive (I describe it as Tap Tap Revolution/Revenge but more intense). There are levels to beat, as well as cards to collect and level up. It’s fun, but at what cost?
Bottom-Tier
Negative Self-Talk
I fear that therapy has taught me that self-deprecation is actually not funny at all…high school me is shaking!
Elon Musk Buying Twitter
I’ve unfortunately been a Twitter user for many years, and am currently watching the downfall of this website before my very eyes. We all know that the content of Twitter is often already hellish and depressing, but at least the usability was alright. Now, that website is truly confusing to navigate. A disappointing turn of events.
(Top Tier: Learning to manage my time off social media)
Union Busting
Union busting is, in fact, disgusting. Support your workers.
Thank you for reading! If you’re comfortable sharing, I would love to hear what you want to see more/less of for current-ly in the future. Send me a DM!
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See ya in the new year!