(Last) Manic Monday! (of 2012)

I know that it is technically already Tuesday. Today was another busy day! Happy New Year everyone! Here are some of my favorite things from this trip around the sun.

1. Favorite Album/ Song

I absolutely love fun., and I have listened to their album "Some Nights" A LOT this year. I love every song, but my favorite from the album and from the year 2012 would have to be "Out On The Town". The song starts with the lyric, "I set all my regrets on fire". That should be everyone's New Year's resolution. Resolutions are about what we want to accomplish in the future, but accomplishing goals can be difficult unless with let go of the mistakes we've made. We can't step into the future until we stop treading in the past, so let it go and start over with a fresh new year! (I get a little too philosophical late at night)

2. Favorite Movie

I did not allow myself to decide my favorite movie of 2012 until I saw "Les Miserables". I went to it this morning, and while it was very good, my favorite movie of the year would have to be "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". It's a coming of age story of friendship, and growing up, and learning to love being alive. As a teenager, I found it very relatable. Most teen movies pure cheese; they're about perfect kids who don't think they are perfect enough. This one was much more genuine. In the end it left me feeling hopeful about the future that I have ahead of me, and yet content to live in the now.

3. Favorite Show That I Went To

I went to four musicals this year. "Rent" at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle, "Billy Elliot",  "Les Miserables", and "Beauty and the Beast", all at the Des Moines Civic Center. Though they were all FANTASTIC my favorite was, hands down, Les Miserables. I've wanted to see it for so long. As a musical theater fanatic, I wouldn't physically be able to die until seeing this show. The story is moving and the score is powerful. During the final song when (spoiler alert) Valjean is dying, I cried. And I cried all the way to the end and through the curtain call. I mean, I cried during other parts of the show (during the song "I Dreamed a Dream", Fantine's Death, "One Day More", Eponine's Death, Gavroche's Death) but at the end, it was a good half hour of uncontrollable sobbing. When people talk about theater magic, they're talking about shows like Les Miz.

4. Biggest Personal Accomplishment

My biggest personal accomplishment this year was being accepted into the Iowa All State Choir. I have tried out all four years, and to make it my senior year was a good way to end. It was an unforgettable experience. I am fortunate and very, very glad that my hard work was paid off.

5. Best Adventure

Trip to Seabrook. It was fun and relaxing and I got to see all of my distant relatives (distant in proximity, not in relation). Oceans are great, and this trip introduced me to the book "The Help", which is the best, and one of only three books, that I read this year.

6. Best New Restaurant

As a rural Iowan, I don't have convenient access to a variety of restaurants. Zombie Burger is not a new restaurant by any means, but this year marked my first dining experience there. It was when I was at musical theater camp. The day of the showcase, sessions started later than usual, so we had to eat lunch before we got to the Civic Center. A couple of friends from camp who knew the area took me to Zombie burger and a fun t-shirt store called Raygun. It was great fun and a great meal!

7. And the Oscar Goes to...

Me. Because I am the best Wicked Witch EVA!!!!! (not only do I become philosophical late at night, but I also lose any trace of humbleness)