The Best of 2017

Favorite Country Song of the Year -
     Tie between Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood's "The Fighter" or Brad Paisley's "Last Time for Everything." It came out in February 2016, but I also liked Dan + Shay's "From the Ground Up."

Favorite Music Video of the Year -
     Either "Last Time for Everything" or the Dancer's Version of "The Fighter."

Favorite Non-Country Song of the Year -
     Definitely not new, thus sort of breaking my rules for this category, but Nickel Creek's "This Side," I suppose. It has great mandolin.

Favorite Unexpected Happening of the Year -
     Definitely Ashland visiting for a weekend in June. Becoming part of a racing news website (Frontstretch.com) in October as basically a general-assignment backup reporter was also cool.

Favorite Semi-Expected Happening of the Year -
     Graduation Day actually happened. There were a lot of times I wondered if it ever would. Still haven't figured out what comes next, though.
     Also, finishing a 5K in early April. Next time, try to do it without walking.

Mixed Emotions Semi-Expected Happening of the Year -
     Josh and Sara's wedding was a good one, but weddings are weird to attend.

Most Disappointing TV Show of the Year -
     13 Reasons Why was awful, but it was research for a project in Pop Market, so I forced myself to finish it. Inhumans was such low production quality that I gave up halfway through the pilot, and The Good Doctor felt like a typical hospital show only with an autistic lead character, which undercut the premise too much.

Favorite New TV Show of the Year -
     Definitely The Gifted. 

Favorite Movie Seen in Theaters -
     There was a lot to choose from this year. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 did a fantastic job at building onto the world of space in the MCU. Wonder Woman was amazing. Cars 3 was a typical sports movie (both good and bad), but it brought the series full circle. Spider-Man: Homecoming integrated Peter Parker into the MCU in a great, yet fairly-low-stakes, way. Thor: Ragnarok wrapped up his trilogy nicely, though it was too comedic. Justice League was about what I expected (disappointing and choppy), but there were some good human moments. The Last Jedi was disappointing.
     Wonder Woman wins.

Personal Growth Moment of the Year -
     It wasn't that big a deal, but asking Brittany out was a big deal for me. The timing was terrible, so nothing happened, but getting to that point where I'm open to going out with someone was good.

Strangest Skill Learned -
     How to braid a girl's hair. Might come in useful in the future, though.

Quote of the Year -
     Heard on the radio years ago, from Haddon Robinson: "Sometimes, with God, the quickest way from one place to another is a circle. And sometimes you have to mark time to make time."