This week’s round-up includes making my way through the Rocky films, diving into writing fiction, supporting the women and girls of Afghanistan, and much more.

Film

I’ve just started watching the Rocky series for a film club I’m going to be doing over at Dawn of the Tapes, and I’m so very pleasantly surprised by the series so far. I vaguely remember watching films I-III as a kid and not enjoying them in the slighest. Clearly, I was just too young to understand. For most of my adult life I’ve always thought of sports films as not really my jam, but there have been one or two that have changed my mind in the years since (Southpaw, Bend It Like Beckham, for example). Granted, I’ve only watched I and II so far, but I am enthralled. The first film has instantly become one of my favourite films, an absolute five-star film. Sylvester Stallone is incredible, the very heart and soul of the film and a terrific writer to boot. I’m concerned that it’s going to be more downhill from here, but in true film critic style, I can’t stop at one and let that be that. I’m excited but apprehensive of what’s to come, especially when heading into the Creed part of the franchise.

Television

I recently finished watching The Summer I Turned Pretty after months of on-again-off-again watching. I somewhat enjoyed it, but damn, it’s a weird story, isn’t it? I will admit I’ve been in a sort of similar situation IRL, but most certainly not to the extent that Belly, played by Lola Tung, goes to with brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). Still, these kind of Wattpad-style stories-turned-Amazon productions seem to be increasingly popular, with stories that often put a girl/young woman between two boys/young men. I guess it follows that ‘New Adult’ genre that is growing quickly in the book and film market. I’m here for it, but probably feeling a little too on the ‘adult’ side for some of the stories!

Gaming

As mentioned in the previous Dawn Summary, I have made my way through the Life is Strange games up until Reunion. Well, I finished Reunion, and it really didn’t take that long at all. I was a bit disappointed by how short it was, especially for ~£45, but I did enjoy having Max and Chloe back together. It was beautifully designed (see the screenshot below!) and nicely blended aspects of Max’s life, but it felt anticlimactic by the end. Was this game really just fan service? Maybe. I would recommend it to fans of the game, but maybe wait until it goes down in price.

Music

Since playing Life is Strange again, I’ve been obsessed with the soundtrack. Hearing it the first time around it made for such a chill atmosphere in spite of the circumstances of the game, and it has become synonymous for me with nostalgia, meditation, reflection and relaxation. Fortunately there are a few playlists on Spotify that have curated playlists of individual game soundtracks and one overall playlist with popular music from all the games. With artists such as Daughter, First Aid Kit, Wolf Alice and Tessa Rose Jackson, to name literally just a few, it’s such a perfect playlist for summer vibes.

Life

Usually I try to do three posts (at least) between Dawn Summaries, but life has been… well, life-ing lately. I’ve mostly been focused on my own story writing and trying to cobble together an outline before diving back into writing the story itself, and yeah, it’s hard, especially for impatient perfectionists (what an oxymoron) like myself. It bothers me that a story cannot be fully formed in my head and then written down as is, but I’m still finding what works for me regarding outlining or pantsing. I think pantsing is not the way to go for me, and I’m finding so far that outlining presents new ideas and connections as I plan. I’m going to try to go back to somewhat regular posting, but I can make no guarantees right now!

On Friday May 15th it was Teacher’s Day in Korea. I was so pleasantly surprised to receive unexpected little gifts and letters from students. It was so genuinely heartwarming as I’ve been feeling like a pretty crappy teacher for the past ~2 years. Things have been getting a little more difficult for English teachers in Korea (it’s always been relatively difficult, but my job felt easier until recently), so I’m not sure what the future holds, for me or many other teachers. All I know is, it has been an incredible experience and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

A Random Thing I Learned This Week

This week I learned something that the rest of the world also learned, something that is absolutely horrific. The Taliban, the current authority ruling Afghanistan, have imposed further abuse against girls by essentially legalising child marriage and making it even more difficult to get out of. I honestly do not have the words to express my anger and disgust. I am in no way being hyperbolic by saying it makes me feel sick. My sentiments are shared by people, women, across the world, and the outrage is being silenced. Information on resources and ways we can help the people of Afghanistan, especially women and girls, are available on the Obama Foundation’s webpage. Donating to charities and causes that are on the ground helping, if you are able, is probably the best way for most, otherwise sharing the Foundation’s page and charity links helps a lot, too.