This semester hasn’t been the easiest for me or any of my friends. My friends are experiencing anything from burnout, lack of motivation, or just other personal issues. I have had a slew of health issues since the beginning of the semester, and so have a few of my family members, causing much stress on my family and me.
In addition to this, I have also been dealing with my first-ever breakup and some very exhausting shifts at work, so to say the second semester has kicked my ass would be a bit of an understatement.
To remedy this stress and distract me, I have found a bunch of pieces of media to help me cope and try to get me to my last exam. Here is a list of my comfort media from this semester to recap what I’ve loved and hopefully give you something new to enjoy!
1. Critical Role
Anyone who’s been in a room with me for more than 10 minutes has heard me bring up the long-running YouTube Dungeons & Dragons show Critical Role (CR). This show has been running for almost a decade and has streamed almost every Thursday, except for the COVID-19 pandemic, where they took a six-month hiatus.
It has spanned three campaigns, taking about three to four years for each one. I binged Critical Role’s second campaign, “The Mighty Nein,” first semester and then completely sailed through campaign one. I am pretty much caught up to campaign three as of right now.
Now, you might be wondering, why would you want to watch people play Dungeons & Dragons for almost five hours each week? Even going to the lengths of sitting in a Cineplex for five hours watching it?
Well, for me, as a theatre kid, it’s almost like watching experimental choose-your-own-adventure plays every week. It also helps that the players and Dungeon Master are all actors and extremely passionate about telling the story well through their characters. You’ll see characters ranging from an alarmingly optimistic southern robot to half-elven twins with daddy issues and a vast knowledge of weaponry.
I am obsessed with the vast number of characters, locations, and possibilities for each character. CR has provided me with lots of background noise for long essay writing or study sessions and allowed me to entertain myself on early GO-train trips to campus.
2. Crab Park – Atta Boy
I came across Los Angeles-based indie rock band Atta Boy in my summer of 2022 obsession with Top Gun: Maverick (TGM), where I fell in love with the cast and needed to intake every piece of media they had even sneezed near.
Atta Boy is the band of TGM actor Lewis Pullman, who plays drums, as well as actress Eden Brolin (vocals), Freddy Reish (guitar), and Dashel Thompson (keys).
This album came into my stream of consciousness at its release in the fall of 2022, having the same release date as Taylor Swift’s Midnights, funny enough. But I didn’t actually have the time to give it a full back-to-front listen until February of this year.
Considering I already love artists like Clairo and Arlo Parks, who have that similar bedroom pop “underproduced” sound, I was obsessed with this album. The overall relaxed 2018 Tumblr vibe of the album really captivated me, and I have at least one song from the album on each of my Spotify playlists.
I’d say my top three favourite songs off Crab Park are “Stellar’s Jay,” “Deep Sea Ladder,” and “Blue Moon,” so those have been taking up the majority of my space on Spotify.
3. GAYOTIC with MUNA
GAYOTIC is a podcast by the band MUNA. Their podcast has a queer celebrity guest every week ranging from drag queen Trixie Mattel to Julien Baker. The honest camaraderie between its members and how they always make the guests feel included and validated makes for an easy listening experience.
Katie Gavin’s honest commentary, mixed with Naomi McPherson’s quick wit and Josette Maskin’s impulse to say anything, is super endearing. My favourite episode, “Going Off Our Meds with Julien Baker,” really showcases the power of GAYOTIC.
The topics of conversation go anywhere from misheard texts sent with Siri, to the danger of compartmentalizing information in our phones, to accidentally writing a $400,000 cheque while trying to fix a broken window.
These topics are navigated with ease and respect when needed, but there is almost always a laugh at the end of every conversation. Whenever I have “Sunday Scaries” or just need a laugh, I turn on GAYOTIC and let the chaos happen.
4. Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Hear me out. Nothing will ever touch the magic of the first movie, but I have recently discovered the nostalgia the sequel gives me.
I watched this and the first Princess Diaries movie like clockwork in my youth, and I can still quote them back to front today. The dated dialogue still makes me laugh, the totally high-tech wardrobe Queen Clarisse sets up for Mia is forever iconic, and the skeevy uncle throwing darts at a painting of Machiavelli is a total gut-buster.
Whenever I’ve felt down this semester or need some levity after a long study session, I turn this on, turn off my brain, and enjoy. Royal Engagement has an early 2000s flair that brings me back to times of neon cargo shorts and light-up sketchers, and that has been such a comforting sensation, especially when this semester has been so hard on me.
Final Thoughts
This semester has been far from easy, and I’ve been clinging to these pieces of media to help skate through the struggles the semester has brought with it.
I know my friends have found comfort in shows like The Real Housewives, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and even Saltburn to feel something.
Regardless of genre, if a piece of media gives you comfort or happiness, that’s all that matters! If watching Selling Sunset or House M.D. gives you the power to finish that paper you procrastinated, nobody should judge you for that!
I hope you and that niche piece of media make it out of exams okay.