2019: A Year in Review

A Great End to the Decade

They say life begins at the end of your comfort zone, and 2019 has proven that more true than any year this decade. But it doesn't say that you should be mentally and/or physically ready to stray from your comfort zone. 
This year has been the most challenging year and rewarding year yet, from graduation, to theatre trips, to travelling around the world. Even with how difficult some of it was, I wouldn't change any of these experiences or the lessons I learnt from them. 
There have been so many more highlights from the year, so I'll try to keep each big one brief. The smaller highlights I'll keep to myself - this post will already be long enough without every highlight being mentioned.

January:

The year kicked off with seeing 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Part 1 and Part 2' in London with a couple of friends. I wanted to see the play on the West End so I could give it a fair review - the script doesn't do it any justice. Whilst I still don't see the play as canon, seeing it on stage with the score and acting is much better than just reading the script. Next time I go see the show I'll book different seats, as our £15 ones were restricted view. 

Sitting outside The Palace Theatre. Photo Credit: Imogen Burns

Towards the end of the month, Imogen and I went to Disneyland Paris, and it was just magical! We got a lot done in the two days we were there, and yet it felt like we had done nothing at all. From being forced to wait 6 hours and bonding with the other girls in the lobby, to meeting our favourite characters, riding all the rides we wanted and watching the parades and illuminations - nothing can compare. It was a holiday that meant a lot more than just Disney magic, and I learnt to just go with the flow a little bit more.

Meeting Peter Pan. 

Think of the happiest thing, it's the same as having wings.

February

I don't have many pictures from this month. A lot that happened were little things, such as walking around London, or having a friend visit for a couple of days. 
I did turn 21, but there was no big spectacle about it. We just had takeaway and watched some films. Which suits me just fine, we don't need to do big events all the time. Besides, March had two big events, so I could build up to those this month. 

March: 

In 2017, I had a concert in the middle of the month, then 'Disney on Ice' at the end of the month. This time it was the other way around. 

'Disney on Ice' is a show that changes with every season and this second time was better than the first. I've joked with the friend that I went with that we'll go every two years to see it, so we'll see if we go again in 2021. Despite the troubles with the trains, we had a wonderful day and enjoyed it immensely. 

Disney on Ice

I can hear Princess Party from DLP playing. 

Panic! At The Disco was such a wonderful way to end the month. Imogen and I have been wanting to see them for a long time, and we were so lucky to be able to go. It's up there as one of my favourite concerts of all time; I just loved the music, the atmosphere and the people who I was with. 

So many photos, so little space on this review.

April

April was the month of birthdays, and finishing coursework. Though I've got pictures from the birthdays I celebrated, I'm not going to share them this time. It was so lovely to just spend time with friends and really enjoy it. I even forgot about coursework for a couple of days, which is always a relief close to deadlines.

May

Another month of small highlights. I submitted my final pieces of coursework for my uni career, we had the end of term party and end of third year party and another friend visit us. Once again, I won't share those photos, they're better kept for personal use. It was a fun month and really nice to just relax after a stressful year. 

June

I only had one big event in June, and it was seeing 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' on the West End. The tickets were Imogen's 21st birthday present and it was well worth it. Seeing Bianca Del Rio as Loco Chanel was a work of art. It was the first musical I'd been to since the 'Lion King' when I was in secondary school and the atmosphere was fantastic. I fell in love with musical theatre all over again. 

Outside the Apollo Theatre after the show. Photo Credit: Imogen Burns.

July

I graduated! After three years, a lot of stress and anxieties, I actually graduated uni with a 2:1. It doesn't matter what the destination is, it's how you get there and this is one journey I worked incredibly hard on. 
'High School Musical' lied to me though - graduation is nothing like they make it out to be. In reality it's a lot of clapping, and realisations that the day is actually here. It was such a special day though and one I'll never forget. 

One of my graduation photos. Photo Credit: My Grandad.

August

Honestly, August was my quietest month of this year. I was preparing for Fiji and spending my time volunteering in the library again. I saw some friends this month, but there was nothing too exciting going on in terms of big events.  

September

The month where I travelled the world in three days... via plane travel. I wasn't mentally ready to go to the other side of the world, and it showed because my coping mechanisms didn't work. I had a breakdown in Singapore and I knew I was in way over my head when I arrived in Fiji. Despite this, I completely exceeded all expectations I had for myself when I set out on this adventure. Next time I go, I'll be better mentally prepared. It's an experience I won't ever forget, and I've learnt a lot from it.

The view from [inside] the hostel I was staying at.

October

This month was essentially returning to normality from Fiji, and preparing to search for work/London in November. I celebrated a birthday, and had a lot of fun celebrating it. But I still did something "big" this month. I got to see one of my favourite bands 3ree at their London gig. It was a last minute decision, but one I was so glad to make because it meant I got to meet them too. It was a wonderful night. 

A seflie from the 3ree gig. I got lucky with the lighting.

November

Back to the theatre with Imogen! This time to see 'Dear Evan Hansen' on the West End. This was my 21st birthday present and well worth the wait. I did an entire post on it recently, which you can find here, so I won't go into too much detail. But I adored the show, and hope to go back in 2020.

On the steps of the Noel Coward Theatre.

December

Ending the year, I had two big events. Aside from finding a temporary job, which was wonderful to me, I returned to Leavesden Studios for the 'Harry Potter Studio Tour', and went to see 'Six' on the West End. 

Hogwarts in the Snow is my favourite season at the studio tour, and this time was no exception. There were more additions this time from the last time I was there, and the magic was just as real as the first time I went. Gringotts was gorgeous - I could spend all day in there. As always, I definitely recommend any Harry Potter fan going. 

The Burrow in Winter.

'Six' was such a feel good musical that I couldn't help but laugh and cry at it. I was excited to see it - the idea behind it was so unique. It's about Henry VIII's six wives, but the stuff you don't remember beyond who was divorced, beheaded, dead or survived. I'll do a review soon of it, but I recommend you go see it. 

Sitting in the theatre cafe before Six.

This post took a lot longer to write and format than I thought it would, but it's been wonderful to go through 2019. My decade review will be slightly different in format, in that I won't break it down month by month.

Thank you for reading through this! I know everyone will be doing them, so I couldn't help but join in on it. 

See you soon! 

-Emmaberry-

E3 2018 Highlights

E3 2018 Highlights

What a week it has been in the world of gaming. We've had game play footage, announcements, and enough hype to keep us going through to September. I've also realised how much my bank account will suffer with the number of games that I want to buy. 

I'll admit, I didn't watch a lot of E3, but I have been keeping up with it via social media. It honestly makes me wish I could be there. I watched E3 via streams, so I took part in stream chat and it was such a wonderful experience. 

Without futher adieu, and in no particular order, here are some of my E3 Highlights. 

• Spyro Reignited Trilogy Gameplay Footage

For the weeks leading up to E3, a lot of speculation went round about what Spyro news would be shared. The majority of fans, myself included, expected to see concept art from Spyro: Gateway to Glimmer/Ripto's Rage and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. I believe we were hoping for some game play footage and we were not disappointed. It looks stunning. I never played the original trilogy, but I watch so much game play of it, predominately through speed runs, so there were a few things I picked up on. I still haven't warmed up to Sparx's design, and he looks even more dopey when in these demo levels. But the colours, I love the way gems reflect off the grass, the burnt colour you get from singing the grass and the reflection of the boxes in Sunny Flight. 

What I hope we'll see in the coming months is more concept art, especially for Spyro: Gateway to Glimmer/Ripto's Rage and Spyro: Year of the Dragon, as well as game play for the other two games. I can't wait for the release date of September 21st. Hey, at least I have a week before lectures start to play through the game. 

• Soulcalibur VI

I'm not going to lie, I have been excited for this game since Soulcalibur V. I grew up playing Soulcalibur II, and because of the E3 announcement of the season pass bundle, the character reveals and the character game play, I am revisiting the second game. 

The character game play, looks incredible. Some of the characters I liked from previous games look better than ever. I've even heard rumours of one of my favourite characters returning, though until it is announced, I'm only taking that rumour at face value.

Though an official price has not been announced for the game and season pass bundle, this is a game I will most definitely have to buy. I am hoping that the game will follow a similar style to Soulcalibur II, with the Weapons Master mode as a story mode. Whilst it is highly unlikely, I definitely preferred this to the story mode of Soulcalibur IV and Soulcalibur V. 

• Fallout 76

You would think that because I used Fallout 4 in my coursework, I have actually played Fallout before. Well... I only played an hour and got out of the vault. Bethesda Games announced a massive bundle for Fallout 76 (which I will not be getting), as well as Fallout Shelter now being on the Switch and PlayStation 4. 

Still, I am really excited for Fallout 76. The game play we were shown looked like even I could play it. And trust me, I am not good at Fallout. Whilst I like that we will be able to play online, I'd probably annoy everyone, so I think I'll stick to solo play until I learn the ropes. 

Graphically though, it looks stunning. The transition from the bright and colourful vault, to the seasonal patterns of outside the vault really make me want to play this game. Though the idea of it being four times bigger than Fallout 4 is a bit daunting, there is emphasis on this game should be played multiplayer. With a November 14th release date, this might just end up on my Black Friday list.

• Spider-Man

I'll admit, I wasn't too hyped about this game until I saw game play footage of it from E3. With a September launch, I will struggle to not play this game. 

From what I can tell, it is a similar format to the older games, but graphically, I love it. I remember when Spider-Man came out on the PlayStation 3 and thinking that it looked stunning. But I was blown out of the water by the attention to detail. I especially love that Spider-Man now runs up the walls, rather than climbs in a very Hunter-esque (Spyro: A Hero's Tail) manner. It's little things like that, that really make me want to play, especially as it shows how fluid the game mechanics are. 

• Kingdom Hearts 3

This is a game franchise I should have played before. I am saving up for the 1.5 and 2.5 bundle as well as the 2.8 bundle. With a release date of January 29th 2019, I am hoping to have a least played through part of this franchise before then. 

It's Disney, so how can I not enjoy it? The Frozen world looks gorgeous, and I absolutely adore the Tangled world. Comparing the character models to their animation, they are so accurate that in a side  by side, I struggled to tell the difference. 

I will confess, I need to know the history of Kingdom Hearts before I play this game, just so I don't make a complete fool of myself (which I will probably do anyway). I highly recommend Tealgamemaster's videos on the Kingdom Hearts franchise. His are the videos I'll watch to know the game. 

• Assassin's Creed Odyssey 

Okay, so I've never really show an interest in Assassin's Creed. I know the story, I've seen my brother play hours of it on the PlayStation, and sure Ezio has a decent story line. BUT, Odyssey is set in Ancient Greece! Those that know me, know I am a massive Greek mythology nerd, and have spoken about Ancient Greece in coursework the past few years. 

The graphics look fantastic, and in a new addition to the game, you can now play as a Kassandra, a female who shares the same story line as Alexios, the male character. The characters navigate through the tribes in the Peloponessian War with allegiances to the Athenians and the Spartans, as well as various other historical events within Greece. I don't want to spoil it, but doing the last little bit of research for this blog post, I completely fangirled reading it. All the history that I know about, combined with a game franchise that I am familiar with, is making me so happy. 

It will be interesting to see how I play the game, considering I've never played it. Still, I am excited for it and this is definitely going on my list. 

I'll leave it here, because I could go on for hours. There are other games I am excited for, and games I still need to look into, but you can guarantee I am going to spend a lot of time playing video games over the next twelve months. 

10 Songs from my Spotify

10 Spotify Songs

Over social media, I occasionally see tags where you put Spotify on shuffle and write about the first 10 songs that play. I listen to a lot of different genres of music, so I thought that this week I'd share 10 songs from my Spotify. 

1. Dear Maria, Count me in - All Time Low. Oddly enough, this was not the first song I heard from All Time Low, nor is it my favourite. So listening to this song, and even watching the video it's very reminiscent of it's time (I am aware it's only 10 years old!). This song is on my favourite All Time Low songs playlist, and I do enjoy listening to it. I just don't search it out any more.
   
   
   
   
2. We Don't have to Dance - Andy Black. Truth be told, I forgot I had this saved. I'm fairly certain it's in a few playlists that I haven't updated in a couple of years. I still enjoy the song, but I definitely don't seek it out. I remember when this came out, and I think I listened to it because a couple of friends liked Andy. This is probably the only solo song I have listened to from him, and I always had the intention of listening to the rest of his stuff.
   
   
   
   
   
3. You and I - One Direction. I'm not surprised a One Direction song showed up. Occasionally, I still listen to their music. I don't think I'll ever stop, I just don't listen to it as frequently as I used to four years ago. Funnily enough, I really didn't like this song when it was released. This was a time I was starting to like pop punk over bubblegum pop, and this song was so slow and bored me. It wasn't until I watched the music video, that I started to enjoy it. I remember all the lyrics to the song, and probably sung it spontaneously, but it isn't in my favourite One Direction songs playlist. Still, it was nice to listen to it whilst writing this.
   
   
   
   
   
4. You are the music in Me - High School Musical 2. The version that I have playing is the Sharpay version, but I actually prefer the original version. Yes, I still listen to High School Musical songs, and I love going back and watching the films. This is one of the songs I forget when I think of High School Musical, probably because I enjoy some of the other songs more. I think the original version is on my favourite High School Musical songs playlist, but not the Sharpay version. I tend not to seek this version out, but I definitely don't hate it. I enjoy listening to the song, just prefer the original to the Sharpay version.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Story of Another Us - 5 Seconds of Summer. I don't know why, but I don't listen to this song as much as I should do. I've probably used it as a character theme at some point, but I don't think it has ever gone into my favourite 5 Seconds of Summer songs playlist. I really enjoy listening to the song, though I don't actively seek it out. It was on the extended edition of Sounds Live Feels Live, so I ended up listening to the song later than I probably should have. I'm definitely going to be listening to this song more.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Life of the Party - Shawn Mendes. This was the first Shawn Mendes song I ever heard, and it was because the video for it played in an ad break between Catfish episodes. Who would have thought Shawn would be the reason I got back into pop music. Listening back to it now, I know it isn't  my favourite Shawn song, but it is definitely in the favourite Shawn Mendes song playlist. I think he sung this on the Illuminate Tour, but from what I've heard through videos, it definitely sounds good live. I don't seek this song out, like I do some of the other songs. I'm going to start listening to it more, because I forgot how much I enjoyed it when it came out.
   
   
   
   
   
7. I've got a dream - Tangled. This is not my favourite Tangled song. I don't mind the song, but it's one of those songs I sometimes contemplate skipping. If At Last I See the Light was playing, I'd definitely be praising it. That being said, it's a good song - I just think it works better with the film footage accompanying it. I don't seek it out like I do with When will my Life Begin and At Last I See the Light, but I'm going to make it my goal to not contemplate skipping this song when it comes on.
   
   
   
   
   
8. I'm not the Guy - Lyon Estate. I am so happy that this band made the list, especially since they are so unknown. This is my favourite song on the EP, and definitely a contender for my favourite Lyon Estate song. Listening to the lyrics, I sometimes wonder why I love the song so much, but I really can't explain why. It is a pop punk sound, and I can't resist pop punk at the best of times, but I think everything works with the song. Whilst I missed out on the recent merch release (because I am broke and when I got round to looking, my size had sold out), the new single is out soon! And there are music videos coming out soon! Basically, I'm saying check these guys out because they deserve all the love and support.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Tonight (We Live Forever) - Union J. I haven't listened to this song in years. I haven't really listened to Union J since George left, though that isn't because he left. I actually saw Union J on tour for this album and it was such a good night, and they sound so good live. With this song, I think it was one of my favourites, but I never created a Union J favourite songs playlist. I enjoy the song, and I think if I still sought Union J out, it would be one I'd seek out and listen to. I'm going to start listening to some of my favourite Union J songs more, and see if the list has changed over the past couple of years.
   
   
   
   
   
10. A Million Dreams - The Greatest Showman. I adore this song. When I first heard the Greatest Showman songs, This is Me was my favourite. But, over time, I really came to love A Million Dreams. I think it is because I can use it as character themes, but this as the first major opening song really lifts my spirits. I find myself singing this song more than I should, but I don't care. Any excuse to sing it is fine by me. 

I promise my music taste is more varied than pop, pop punk and musicals. I just pressed shuffle ten times on my Spotify, and now have a bit of fixing up on my recently played. 

I hope you enjoyed reading some of the songs on my Spotify playlist, and who knows, maybe I'll do more of these in the future, I really enjoyed this. 

See you next week!

-Emmaberry-