Favorite Places We Went Last Year:
Emily: In 2024, I went to Europe for the first time. I was able to go to three countries all within the British Isles. This trip was important to me because it changed where I wanted to go to school and what I wanted to study. I fell in love with the United Kingdom and wanted to spend my university years there, at the least.
Kaylee: During the summer, I went to Tennessee to visit an old family friend and loved the scenery there. The house we stayed at was in the middle of a swamp, and they had tadpoles and a tortoise in their backyard. There were hundreds of lizards, and I’ve never seen so many cockroaches. While it was very humid, we went at night, and the stars were beautiful!
Favorite Books of 2024:
Emily: The top book that I read in 2024 was Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng. This book perfectly captured the heartbreak and angst that Asian Americans felt in the past, and even women who were forced to give up on their dreams for family.
Kaylee: The best book I read was I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, by Harlan Ellison. This book is known for being one of the first dark and gut-wrenching sci-fi books. Written in the late 1960’s, it’s set in an alternate universe where the Cold War only escalated, and so an AI computer was made to keep track of all the complicated alliances made. However, the three AIs made (via Russia, China and America) gain contact, and wipe out humanity. The supercomputer the three combined to make calls himself AM, and he keeps five people alive for 109 years, to torture them as he chooses.
Favorite Concerts of 2024:
Emily The best concert that I went to in 2024 was Noah Kahan at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre. I have loved Noah Kahan for a very long time, and being able to see him and hear the music that mattered so much to me, up close, was the perfect experience.
Kaylee: The best concert I went to was NF at the Ball Arena in Denver, CO. My family has been a fan of his music for years, and it was so exciting to see the concert — especially since it was his return after a break!
Favorite Movies of 2024:
Emily The best movie that I saw was Challengers directed by Luca Guadagnino. This amazing director did it again with this fascinating movie starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor. The film is formatted like a tennis match, keeping the audience engaged the whole time.
Kaylee: The best movie for me had to be Smile 2. I loved the first one, and so I was already excited for the next one. While it wasn’t as good as the original, it was still the best movie I had seen in all of 2024.
Favorite Meals of 2024:
Emily: The best meal I had in 2024 was in Cape Cod. My family and I went to a fresh seafood restaurant, and I had the best lobster risotto that I have ever eaten in my entire life.
Kaylee: Near the beginning of the year, I went to Lariat Lodge. One of the options on the menu was this meatloaf that is the owner’s grandmother’s recipe. It had to be the best meatloaf I had ever eaten. I returned there recently, but sadly it had been taken off the menu.
