2022: Year in Review
I’ve been writing Monthly Reviews and publishing them here so that I can keep track of my monthly activity. I started this in September 2021 because I watched many films that month but couldn’t write a blog for each movie.
I started it off as a compilation blog, but some friends like to read those monthly reviews.
Also, they act as my monthly journal to reflect on my personal life.
To continue the tradition, I thought of publishing year-in-review blogs starting this year, where I can reflect upon my personal life throughout the year.
Let’s get started with the numbers.
Movies:
I watched around 80 movies this year (both in cinema halls & OTTs combined). This number includes the movies released in the past years as well. Out of these movies, I loved:
- Movies released in 2022: RRR, Ante Sundaraniki, Sita Ramam, Monica O My Darling.
- Movies released in the past: Get Out, Liar Liar, April 1st Vidudhala, Dasavatharam.
Reflecting upon selecting these eight movies, I think they have strong writing, be it in the characters or the story, and are driven by emotions or humour.
Web Series / TV Shows:
I watched eight web series / TV shows in 2022. I really loved watching Better Call Saul & Guilt Minds.
It was an emotional moment to see the finale of BCS, but I was happy with how they ended the show. Impressive performances and writing. We (friends) discussed this show and its brilliance.
Reading:
I read eight books this year and two screenplays. Out of the books I read, I liked reading these two books:
ShoeDog by Phil Knight & Best Short Stories of Yandamoori Veerendranath (Telugu).
Travel:
2022 was kind enough to let me travel places. Even though I was in the Southern part of India, I enjoyed exploring the places I hadn’t been to. It was a good experience travelling solo again and learning things.
This year I have been to Hampi, Bengaluru, Coorg (Virajpet), Kanchi — Tiruvannamalai, Pondicherry, Sakleshpur, Kukke Subramanya — Dharmasthala. It was a good mix of places to chill and peace! ✌️
Blogs:
I’ve been fortunate to write blogs this year consistently. Excluding this one and the ones to come this year, I’ve published 37 blogs, 33 of which are on Medium, 1 for Svatah, 2 for my workplace, Fyle, and 1 for Pranav’s TravelCase on Pondicherry.
Wait, is this the year in review?
No, there are things beyond numbers 🙂
Looking beyond the numbers:
At the start of the year, I made it a point to meet friends in real life and have meaningful conversations with them. If you know me personally, you can understand why I ask for at least half a day of your time when I ask if you’re available. Thankfully, a couple of friends obliged, and I had a good time talking to them.
I made a couple of new friends too! Thanks to the group created by Harish Parthu, he united a couple of folks, and I truly am glad to have those folks as friends. We talk about everything under the Sun but are connected by our liking for Cinema! Suresh, Vishnu, Pruthvi Sai, Apurva, Susruth, Nageshwar and many friends 🥰!
Meeting my college buddies (Revanth, Nakul, PVS, Tarun, Aditya, Vatsav, Madhu, Naman, Yeshwanth, Shivarag, and others) brought back memories of college and felt heartwarming.
Even in the workplace, I made good friends. It means a lot when they read my blogs and provide feedback on my writings. Glad to have these people in my life this year, and looking forward to spending more time with them in the upcoming years 😀
One takeaway from 2022 I’d like to mention is to find joy in the little things. Be it travelling 200 km just to watch a movie or losing to a 5-year-old in cricket or piling books without turning a page or engaging in conversations with people from 3-year-old kids to ~70-year olds or just walking on the terrace immersed in self-thoughts, I enjoyed everything this year.
If you’re reading this blog, thank you so much. You know what you are to me, and I look forward to meeting you soon.
Thank you, 2022, for being kind, pleasant, and helpful. Hope 2023 turns out better 🤞
