The Best of 2017 and Goodbye to The Writings of Luke Reynolds

2017 was a very busy year for me. While definitely better than last year, there were still moments of utter despair and sadness that wracked our whole world. Despite that, I became involved in so many great things: my school newspaper, show choir, choir, and staff at anime club. I read through my first full-length novel and am working on revising it so I can query agents (I wanted to do that this year, but I became too busy). I had a solo at a spring theatre production, another great time at a local anime convention (and even one out of state), and read so much and watched a lot of good things and I honestly couldn't ask for anything more.

But at the same time, I realized I need to close an era of my life: this blog. While I am going to miss it, I'm not as active as I once was, and I want to move on to something that's not only professional but manageable. This is, but I guess I'm just not as interested or invested as I once was. Unfortunate, but understandable (at least I hope). But before I leave for real, I wanted to do one last Best of list because I love recapping all the wonderful things in the media I consume.

The Best of 2016

Well, there goes another year. 2016 was perhaps the craziest and most toxic 12 months in this decade for various reasons (namely all having to do with the US presidential election). However, there was still some legitimate fun to be had. Although I read less than I normally do, I read some absolutely wonderful books (and even started reading advanced reader copies thanks to a really good friend of mine). Even though pop music was kind of a dud in the mainstream, I still found some great stuff to listen to. And, to top it off, the anime I watched are definitely going to be cherished for some time (primarily regarding one character we'll talk about later). Also, Zootopia was amazing. It's easily one of the best Disney movies I have ever seen, and it included such a positive and inclusive message right when we needed it.

It wasn't even the material stuff that made my year. I made some new friends, was on stage for two plays at my school (one student-directed, one through the school's theatre, and another student-directed one to come in January), and have finally accepted my identity and am going to roll with it (I'M GAY! YAY!).

So why don't we get started and shine some positive light for 2017's sake? Here are the best things to come out of 2016.

The Best of 2015

Another year, another chapter of the book of life completed. Although there were some awful events that occurred (all the mass shootings, the aftereffects of Leelah Alcorn's suicide, the tsunamis and earthquakes that occurred around the world), there were still great moments, and a big one was the legalization of same sex marriage in the United States. I don't know about you, but in my opinion, 2015 was a fantastic year, one full of happy and sad moments, finding identity, of reading/listening to music/watching anime that made me emotional, but most importantly, of just finally gaining some of the confidence needed to stay true to myself.

This post is going to highlight some of the greatest things to come out of anime, books, and music this year. All of these things are held on very high pedestals in my brain, and they'll definitely be remembered for their excellence for years to come. We might as well get started, shall we?