Well folks, we’re in the clear and mercury is out of retrograde. I’m not someone who is 100% bought into astrology (I mirror Grace’s sentiments, pretty much exactly), but it is good to feel a positive spin on everyone’s minds this week!
Two articles I loved this week about Myers Briggs (if you haven’t taken a MB quiz, check out this one) & how it can impact friendships:
- What Kind of Friend Are You? I consider myself in between two MB profiles: ENFJ and INFJ. And when reading this article, I related to the “type of friend” that fall into both of these profiles. I have different roles in different friend groups — in my high school group I’m a strong planner/coordinator, however in my dorm friend group I’m a bit more passive, because we’re all really Type A and there are often too many cooks in the kitchen. This article really hit on those aspects, and some of the relationship building assets that I think I bring to all of my friend groups!
- What Kind of Friendship Do You Need? Although I’m in between two profiles, most of the time I consider myself an INFJ… and the description in this article is scary accurate. Group vacations can be hard for me, because I sometimes just need a few minutes to myself. I’ve had flat out panic attacks because of too much together time with my best friends (no idea why this happens, I’ve just accepted that it’s part of my personality and I need to troubleshoot for it). My ‘sneak away tactic’ that I’ve found works for me: do the dishes or straighten up the AirBnB. Doesn’t completely close me off to the conversation if I want to jump back in (because OF COURSE I also have crippling FOMO), but also allows me to take a few minutes of (semi) quiet. It’s great to have some friends who understand this and don’t get upset when I need my space.
Although I’m not prioritizing dating right now, I found this article about A ‘One’ vs ‘The One’ interesting. My friends’ relationships don’t all fit into the “normal” track we imagined as kids (or were shown by Hollywood) – some want marriage but not kids, some want kids but not marriage, some are just happy being with a person who loves them right now no matter what the future might hold. This year (inspired by The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo) I have been working not to judge peoples’ relationships, or try to understand/explain them other than their own terms. They’re allowed to set their own definitions and have their own trajectories.
But on the other hand – I’m a sucker for a great rom-com, and it seems like Netflix is bringing them back! Last Friday (maaayyybeeee during work hours, but I was just doing timesheets!) I watched To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before on Netflix and fell in love. This movie wasn’t about fixing the main character’s love interest – it was about opening up and not being afraid to feel things, which made it different than lots of other teen rom-coms out there. This article wrote: “Is it delusional to think that women [Rom Com] leads in the future can be more like Lara Jean, more concerned with figuring out her own feelings than fixing whatever’s standing in the way of her boyfriend’s emotional growth?” I agreed with this article, “This movie made me want to have a crush even though in my experience crushes are 99 percent pure hell.”
Jo published a list of her favorite podcasts this week, some of which are also faves of mine – high recommend The Daily (I totally also talk along with Michael’s sign on and off every day), My Favorite Murder, and Call Your Girlfriend. Another one I would add to Jo’s list: Skimm’d From the Couch on which the founders of The Skimm interview other queens of media & business. I’ve actually stopped reading The Skimm, because I think it can sometimes feel condescending, but Carly and Danielle are excellent interviewers, and I always wonder how they come up such amazing questions (I guess another example of curiosity being an indication of success!). Although the purpose of The Skimm is to scratch the surface of what you need to know, this podcast digs deep into what makes successful women tick.
On a related note, I really related to this article about speech gender bias’ out there. Women are criticized for using the word “like,” but men can get away with obnoxious phrases like “How we doin’ today gents?” and “That bar had a ton of Betty’s last night” (both things I actually heard this week and one of which included a fist bump). Or my favorite: referring to women as “females”. “Like” may be a sound filler, but there are worse (more offensive & condescending) things that could be coming out of our mouths.
I loooooooooooooooved these looks from Blake Lively this week and can’t wait for A Simple Favor to come out. I read the book and it’s VERY full of twists and turns (some of which are absolutely crazy).
How sweet was this tweet from VMA winner Camila Cabello to “baby” Camila Cabello (6 years ago)?
Movies I Saw This Week
Crazy Rich Asians: I went in expecting to spend two hours just being enamoured by the characters “being rich” (and was excited to — nothing wrong with some, excuse the phrase, “luxury porn”). Instead I found it delightful, funny, and endearing (but beware: different than the book). There’s already been a creative team assembled for a sequel, so
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (Netflix): As I mentioned (in probably far too much detail) above, I’m obsessed this this movie.
Juliet, Naked: Rose Byrne is lovely and relatable (not for finding random friendship with a superstar, but for fearing she hasn’t taken enough chances on life)
BlackkKlansman: It was cringe-y in how much this relates to modern day. The Grand Wizard of the KKK makes reference to “making America great again” and ”America First.” The footage shown at the end of the movie is haunting, and will stick with you. Take it with a grain of salt though – Spike Lee took a lot of creative liberties with historical fact, and some characters with excellent potential were very underdeveloped. And was I really supposed to believe that in a police department dealing with its first black detective, there’s only one racist “bad cop”?
Books:
American Marriage: This book is slooowwwww, but not in the worst way! I found that I was never desperate to be reading it, but when I did sit down to read I poured through 100 pages at once. It’s thought provoking, timeless, and relatable.
kADthryn 