2023 was quite a year for everyone. There were countless ups and downs for everyone who was blessed to experience it. So much happened throughout those 365 days, that I was not even aware of some of the largest parts of the year. Now to review this whole thing I thought it would be a good idea to look at the whole year, but in smaller parts. Like looking at what you all believe to be the most important or favorite part of 2023, but specifically, pop culture moments that we experienced throughout the year. 

Now starting we have our answer from Grace Griffin who thought the Titan Submarine incident was pretty memorable. This incident was extremely tragic, but also a bit perplexing. In June of 2023, a group of philanthropists, business owners, and explorers decided to embark on a quick trip to view the Titanic and sadly did not return to the surface. This catastrophic event was extremely influential on social media and the new scene. The event populated everyone and caused multiple days of worry with a countdown of time until they were to be pronounced dead. This whole situation should have been stopped for multiple reasons, including the old Xbox controller being the main source of steering for the submarine, but I will not dive into that mess. Regardless, it was a huge part of our year and a noteworthy addition to this article. 

Now Taylor Swift was quite a front-runner in the news this year. From her new boyfriend to her worldwide tour, she was quite an iconic part of 2023 and peoples’ opinions reflect that. Lucy Allen, a sophomore here, thought that the Eras Tour was a huge influence on the year. That makes a lot of sense with the large amount of trends and news that stemmed from the tour. 

Her new relationship with Travis Kelce also stirred up quite a bit of importance in the media. There were also a lot of options reflecting the relationship between the two. Mr. Floyd believes that Travis Kelce brought Taylor Swift to the forefront of international media, whereas Mr. Percy has a contrasting opinion to that statement. He also believed that it was a very important aspect of 2023, but instead thinks that Taylor Swift made Travis Kelce more well known. I might have to side with Mr. Percy on this one because I think Taylor Swift has already been internationally recognized. The relationship between the two has probably had less of an effect on international media. Regardless of who made who famous, the relationship has brought together two different sections of entertainment that don’t normally overlap. 

On the subject of the Eras tour, another important part of the year was seen with Sabrina Carpenter and her presence on the tour, but most importantly in one of the songs she performed as a part of the opening act. She sings her song Nonsense in every location and changes the “outro” every time with new lyrics that match the city that she is playing in. I think it is safe to say that Charlotte Halford was right in noting how important this was in the year. 

Sousa Waggner also brought up another Taylor Swift moment, but more specifically the day and all that happened. On October 27th, her album, 1989 Taylor’s Version, was released but that was the same day the new Five Nights at Freddy’s movie was released as well. Now these being released on the same day is quite an interesting combination. There was most likely a bit of a conflict of interest between friends trying to spend the day listening to Taylor Swift or going to see the new movie. I was on the Taylor Swift side, but I would have not minded going to watch Josh Hutcherson on the big screen.

Towards the end of the year, a lot happened very quickly. Maris Jones thought it was necessary to bring up the release of gypsy Rose Blanchard and the controversy between Simone Biles and her husband. First up we must talk about the release of our favorite criminal, Gypsy Rose Blanchard. She is known for the murder of her mother, who has Muchousans by Proxy, and this caused a large amount of trauma to Gypsy. The release was also just a large part of the media due to Gypsy also becoming a large part of social media and continuing to fight off the haters with her husband by her side. Now Simone Biles, the world-known gymnastics champion has married a Green Packers Player. Now the drama revolving around the relationship stems from his little appearance on a podcast where he stated he was the more famous person in the relationship. This became a larger problem as Simone Biles started to agree with him. I think it’s safe to say that she is just a bit more famous than him, which may be due to holding the title of being the most decorated American gymnast in history. 

Zuriel Nyametsaka made a very good point of mention for this article that I was unaware happened in 2023. He thought that the Young Thug trial was very influential on the year, and after doing a quick search I have come to realize why. Now this trial is pure comedy as the rapper, Young Thug, is on trial for the accusation of starting a gang known as YSL, but it is safe to say the trial is not taken as seriously as it should be. Now I am going to let all of you decide what your opinion is on these translations of certain acronyms used in the case.

• First off is YSL which is believed to stand for Young Slime Life, but the defendant states that it stands for Young Stoner Life.
• The next acronym is Pushing P. In this case, it is argued that the P stands for positivity, so in the song, they are Pushing Positivity.
• Another was THUG, which is present in his name. The defenders define it as saying “Truly Humble Under God”. I honestly did not know Young Thug was religious, but this case has been truly eye-opening.
• SLATT in this case stands for “Slime Love All of the Time”
• SWAG is “Someone Who Admires God”. Once again I did not realize just how influential God is in his work.

While there were many other large parts of 2023, we can’t finish it off without mentioning the Chamoy Pickle Kit which managed to sweep the nation with its Red-40 and flavor explosion. Our very own Suzanna Carlsten experienced the kit firsthand and truly loved it.