25 pieces of media that have defined my first 25 years of life
A fun, reflective exercise. I am happy to be defined by content I love so dearly.
It’s my birthday today, and I feel like I have done a lot more reflection on myself and my life approaching this milestone (25) than any before.
Maybe it’s my prefrontal cortex finishing developing. Maybe it’s the circumstances of my past few months — moving cities, starting a job I’ve dreamed about since 13, forming relationships with new people and figuring out how I share myself with them.
One question I found myself thinking about felt appropriate for my March newsletter:
What are the 25 pieces of media that have defined my first 25 years of life?
It was tougher to narrow this list down than I thought, and I probably did not include as much content from the past 1-2 years as I should have! But I can’t wait to look back on this in another 25 years (when You Leik That? is part of my full-time, creative-work-only employment, maybe?) and do the same practice over again.
I waffled on whether to include my honorable mentions. Ultimately I opted not to, as a practice in restraint and true meditation on what has actually shaped me internally and externally.
Many of those that actually made the list will be familiar to those who know me beyond this newsletter, but I believe that’s because I have always been pretty transparent about the content I love — and why I love it. But there should still be some fun Emily facts in here for those that know me well, too!
Without further ado, and in near-chronological order, here are my 25 picks.
1. The Star Wars prequel trilogy
The first piece(s) of media I can remember myself obsessing over. My dad said there were trains and Teletubbies before this, but this is the beginning for me.
To be clear, I don’t believe I had actually seen the trilogy, at least in its entirety, this young (I most certainly didn’t see Revenge of the Sith until a few years after it released), but it still dominated my consciousness regardless.
2. Disney’s Hercules
This movie is probably why I went through an intense phase of primarily redheaded crushes (lmao) from late elementary school through high school. I was also obsessed with Michael Bolton’s “Go the Distance” music video that played at the end of the VHS.
3. “Beautiful Soul” by Jesse McCartney
I don’t feel like I have a great recollection of specific moments from my childhood, but there is a memory of listening to this song during bath time and while getting ready for bed. I felt pretty confident in declaring it my first favorite song, but when I went to my mom, she quickly corrected me that American Idol winner Clay Aiken’s debut album was the first CD I ever owned.
Oh well. “Beautiful Soul” gets the shout here.
4. The High School Musical trilogy
This certainly is a 1B to the Star Wars prequels’s 1A for most influential and impactful content of my life to date. I remember sneaking out of my room to listen to the first movie playing on the TV downstairs one night. I had parties themed around the movie. The third movie is probably the first I remember at least wanting to go to the theater for, if not the actual theater experience itself.
5. Nickelodeon’s “The Naked Brothers Band”
My first appointment television viewing! And it was on Sundays! I’ve spent so many wonderful Sundays since then watching some of the best TV of my life — Succession, The White Lotus, etc. It was one of the first romantic plot lines I was ever invested in on TV, and one of the songs from the show, “Nowhere (I Miss My Family),” is one I think about and sing to myself often since leaving home.
(For those who don’t know, the show spawned actor-musicians Nat and Alex Wolff, who you may know from collabing with Billie Eilish or movies like Paper Towns or Hereditary.)
6. Lines, Vines & Trying Times by The Jonas Brothers
The JoBros’ fourth studio album stands in for all their work to that point. It was a mainstay CD in our car, and one I think most of the family did not mind being played. I was a Nick girly.
7. Harry Potter books + movies
As I feel most children raised in the 2000s-2010s, the Harry Potter books and movies were a large part of my childhood. While the allure of them has faded quite a bit for me due to the author’s bigoted opinions — I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a marathon of all 8 movies, which used to be a yearly occurrence in the fall — this series will always have a special place in my heart. I attended the midnight premieres for the 6th, 7th and 8th movies. I used beach wood as wands. The first fanfictions I read were Dramione ones. How can I not acknowledge that?
8. Richard Sherman’s “I’m the best corner in the game“ post-game interview with Erin Andrews
This was one of the ones that didn’t come to me immediately but ultimately felt like it needed a spot here because of its role in pushing me toward sports journalism. I believe it was by this point that I was doing my own blogging about football.
9. Glee
The first show I watched out of FOMO. And not even really entirely about the show itself. It had more to do with Cory Monteith’s death: I remember seeing a video from the Season 3 finale captioned something along the lines of “At least Cory got to see Lea in a wedding dress before he died.” I believe it was pretty shortly after that that I decided to catch up before the finale season or two.
I watched a large chunk of this show on my iPhone, in bed when I was supposed to be asleep. Sorry, mom and dad.
10. Stuck in Love (2012)
This movie had a GRIP on me from 15-17ish as I was really coming into my desire to write a novel and was feeling extra moody. The tone of it influenced a lot of my writing at that time, and the music influenced my writing playlist.
11. Riverdale
Okay, remember how I mentioned earlier having a redheaded crush phase? Okay, well this show premiered FIRMLY in the middle of that and, if you don’t know, features a redhead lead who was VERY MUCH my type and a blonde who I saw a lot of myself in (at least in the first season, the rest of this show is a whole different conversation).
When those two finally got together in the show like five seasons and dozens of insane plot points down the line, I believe I literally collapsed on the floor. I wish I had video to embed. And for years I kept friends appraised of what was going on on this show so they could keep up with all the absurd memes it spawned online.
12. La La Land (2016)
This was the first movie I ever went to see in theaters by myself, and one of the first movies I had cried at in a long time.
Going to movies by myself is one of my favorite past times now. And I openly sob (though as quietly as possible because I respect the theater experience) in theaters when the movie calls for it now.
13. Illuminate by Shawn Mendes
I don’t know that I’ve ever admitted this to anyone except the elementary school friend who ran the account with me: I had a Shawn Mendes stan Twitter account in high school, the peak of which came around the time of this album’s release. The single “Mercy” is one of the last I recall purchasing on iTunes before fully committing to Spotify.
14. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies
I’ll use this as an insert for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. Tom Holland’s performance as Spider-Man is what got me really in to the MCU, I’d say starting with his introduction in Captain America: Civil War but really not ramping up until Spider-Man: Far From Home. Only fanfiction I’ve ever put out on Tumblr is about Peter Parker and was written the summer FFH premiered.
15. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Though it took me probably two years to get through, I credit this book for getting me back in to reading for enjoyment after graduating high school. I rarely go to bed without reading a few pages of a book these days.
16. Hamilton
I pushed off my Hamilton phase until college but it was inevitable that I would have one eventually as a former theater kid. I know every word now. It’s my long-drive go-to, especially when I need to stay awake. I have listened to “The Room Where It Happens” before nearly every journalism job interview I’ve done dating back to my interview for the assistant sports editor job at The Maneater (Mizzou’s student newspaper). I can’t recall a job I haven’t gotten if I’ve listened to it before at least one of the interviews.
17. Hadestown
I listened to this countless times working in the book-repair unit of Mizzou’s library the 2019 summer I stayed in Columbia. And it was the musical I picked for my first Broadway show as a result!
18. Netflix’s Set It Up (2018)
I’d say one of the first movies of my adulthood that I’ve really come to consider a comfort movie. It is so charming and a perfect movie in my book (though it’s surprisingly not in my Letterboxd Top 4!)
19. The Normal People score
We’ll lump the book by Sally Rooney and TV show itself in here, too, but the score is the piece of Normal People I consume most often. It’s been my sleep music since I first binged the series in 2020 during the lonely, COVID summer I spent in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thank god for the Spotify hack that helps you do a bit of curation on your Wrapped data because pieces from this score would for sure take up the Top 5 every year.
20. Folklore by Taylor Swift
I owned the Fearless CD as a child, and I believe the Speak Now one, too. I remember listening to 1989 front-to-back the summer it came out. I privately enjoyed some of Reputation upon its release, even as I fell victim to the misogynist, anti-Taylor narrative around that time.
But it wasn’t until Folklore came out — also during that summer in N.C. — that I truly became a Taylor fan. It remains probably my favorite album.
21. Beach Read by Emily Henry
The book that made Emily Henry a must-read author for me! And made me recognize how much I LOVE a romance, especially when it’s well-written. A special bonding book for me and my best friends from college, too.
22. This one Outer Banks fan edit
Okay this is definitely the most insane selection on here, but there was a phase in 2021 where I was watching this edit pretty much every night. I’ve been there since DAY ONE on Drew Starkey. Never forget it.
23. Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”
Got me in on the Olivia Rodrigo train early, got me (for a few years) on the Joshua Bassett train, got me (by affiliated mess) on the Sabrina Carpenter train early.
Another piece of content that grew me closer to several friends, particularly ones made online, too.
True story (that I’ve probably said to many of you who are reading this): When casting for this show was announced, I remember finding the audition sides online and considering sending something in, but I was appalled that they’d chosen the name NiNi for the main girl character. Little did I know…
24. Season 17 of “The Bachelor”
Reality TV is not something that’s been a mainstay through my first 25 years of life, but Season 17 of “The Bachelor” — Katie Thurston’s season, or as I call it, Greg Grippo’s season — is one that couldn’t be left off this list.
For one, it marked the beginning of the end of my real foray in to reality TV because of how much I HATED how things ended between Katie and Greg. The word gaslighting went mainstream the summer this aired, and I think we are just as worse for it as society as we are better.
25. The Ringer’s “Binge Mode” and “Ringerverse” podcasts
I had to sneak a two-for-one here. “Ringerverse,” in many ways, is “Binge Mode”’s baby, anyway.
“Binge Mode” got me into podcasts in the first place and also opened me up to pop culture journalism outside of straight critic reviews being something I could do. In many ways, I believe it’s why I am here writing to you all right now.
“Ringerverse” has been a continuation of all that PLUS it’s brought me closer to already-close friends and given me new ones, too.
I loved reading this so much! Happy 25th Birthday! 🎉