Most of our themed blog posts start with a text. Just imagine the little speech bubbles and those agonizing populated dots, ticking away as the other person types. And here, AC (Ali) pops up with her adorable picture saved in my phone and says, “Let’s do a roundup of our favorite things for 2014, literary and not.” Now here comes the JM (Jessica) bubble, adorable picture in place, with the “Yay, that’s great!” followed by the AL (me) bubble with a picture of my chubby pit bull, “Schwing! It’s on.”
And thus, this blog post was born.
Our mission: Review 2014. Each of us bring a unique flavor of professions, interests, and sarcasm levels to make each roundup different from the other. Throughout the month of December, all three of us will be posting our roundups. We hope that we can spark a conversation from this — what was 2014 for you? Was it a great book, a terrible moment, or a triumph professionally or personally?
Fellow bloggers and commenters, join us! Post your favorites of 2014, add to our lists and expand on our thoughts. While these entries are just fun, I think they are also important. The end of the year is a time when our brains naturally switch gears and look towards the new year approaching. We look towards another year of achieving goals and perfecting the dream life we set out for ourselves. All of that is fine, but I think we are missing out on an important part of our lives — remembering. If you cannot take a moment to remember what amazing, immense, and difficult things happened to you in the last year, how are you expected to remember that years down the road? As my grandmother would say, “Remember it kiddo, because I swear to God, it’s real easy to forget.”
So, it may be silly, but its something simple that I hope you all will enjoy/partake in…
Ramblings & Reviews: AP in 2014
- Book: The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach (you can read my love letter of a book review here).
Characters that I loved, resented, and empathized with, all surrounding America’s favorite pastime; a web of relationships, ambitions, and reality. One of the greatest books I have ever read.
- News Article/Long Read: “Yale, Harvard, Yale, Harvard, Yale, Harvard, Harvard, Harvard, Columbia: The Thing that Scares me the Most about the Supreme Court” by Dalia Lithwick (see article here).
You don’t have to be a legal junkie or a self-professed constitutional law groupie to appreciate the gravity of Lithwick’s arguments. Nine people – seemingly out of touch with reality – make decisions that impact your life tremendously. Does that seem fair to you?
- Viral Video: John Oliver, Dogs Reenacting the Supreme Court.
Again, you don’t have to be a constitutional law/legal junkie to laugh as hard as I did. Just watch it to see how hard John Oliver laughs – that’s a classic.
- Musician/Band/Album: Matt McAndrew (@MattMcAndrew) (Season 7 of the Voice).
Queue up your TiVo and catch up on this man’s run on the Voice. Still competing, still blowing my mind; did I mention his version of “Take me To Church” had me weak at the knees?
- Food Fad: Chia Seeds.
Chia seed pudding, chia seed smoothies, chia seed power drinks. I’m drinking that Cool-Aide hard.
- App: Venmo
I can pay my friends instantaneously and use emojis in the memo line? Schwing!
- Movie: This one is extremely difficult. From what I have seen, I’d like to call a tie for 1st for the following: The Mocking Jay Pt. I, Maleficent, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and The Fault in Our Stars.
I laughed, I cried, and felt compelled to start a revolution on the part of Panem. And then I cried really hard, you know, on the bridge in Amsterdam (all John Green fans know that reference).
- Documentary: Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
Even if you don’t like sushi, this documentary is just beautiful. Courtesy of Netflix, I have watched about 20 times and I fall in love with Jiro every. single. time.
- Podcast: Serial.
Me and the rest of the world, I know. Lawyers and non-lawyers alike – you can’t avoid getting hooked on the weekly update to Sarah Koenig’s inquiry into a decade old murder that just doesn’t seem to add up.
- Person/Celebrity/Public Figure: This isn’t news to people who know me – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
In a legal climate that has been hostile towards women’s rights, (rights that Justice Ginsburg fought for before the idea of contraception was even tolerable in the general public) Justice Ginsburg (#NotoriousRBG ) continues to stand up for us with every beautifully penned, scathing dissent she publishes. Did I mention she’s an adorable legal lioness?
- Twitter Handle: @AnnaKendrick47
I’ve been a big fan of her since Up in the Air (and okay, girl crush real hard in Pitch Perfect). Her twitter account is witty, smart, and extremely funny. I cried with laughter when she live “hate tweeted” Peter Pan Live! If that doesn’t make you laugh, well then, you just don’t deserve her on your twitter feed.
- Vacation/Place Visited: the day after I took the Bar Exam, my sister took me to Harry Potter world in Orlando, FL.
It was worth every penny spent and that night I spent throwing up all the Bertie Bott’s and beer that I inhaled in one afternoon (probably didn’t help that I rode those insane roller coasters approximately 5 times a piece).
- Purchase: BP Ankle Trolley Boots
Adorable, Comfortable, and go with everything. I wear them pretty much every day and am hoping Santa got the message that I’d like a pair in black this year!
- New Thing(s) I learned: “Secondment,” “Hoisted on his own Petard,” “Jack booted thug,” and “Bully for you!”
My officemate never ceases to teach me new phrases to use in everyday conversation. These are just a few of the gems I have learned in the last couple of months.
- Value I learned: Forgiveness.
This isn’t something tangible or really with the theme of this post, but I felt compelled to include it anyway. This year I have been slowly learning about the true power of forgiveness – both giving and receiving it. There are moments in life where we stumble, tripping over some decisions that maybe weren’t the best, and with forgiveness, you know someone is on the other side to grab you right before you hit the floor. Forgiveness is something I will do well to remember and never forget.
Between the Lines Book Club 