Like last year, 2019 was full of changes. Most of them were personal and quite small while others were big and more significant.

I finished my Masters’ in Creative Writing at Northumbria University, turned 23, made some videos, wrote some articles, reviewed more films, read more books, got my first job and tried a few lifestyle changes.

I’ve learnt so much from completing my Masters’, so much that I think I know everything I need to write a good story. Whether or not I will is a question that both haunts and excites me. I just hope that whatever happens, I make something that I enjoy making and maybe, just maybe, someone appreciates it.

In terms of quantity I definitely feel that I’ve failed on YouTube this year, uploading a total of five videos. In terms of quality however I’m not sure. The first one I uploaded was a short Valentine’s Day video that I slapped together on my phone. It may’ve gotten a chuckle out of one of the thirty-seven people who watched it but, in all honesty, it was just a desperate attempt to compensate for the lack of content at that point in the year.

Some of the videos that followed I’m actually quite proud of, especially the last two Captain Swedens. Those videos were experiments for me as they were more like traditional sketch comedy than silent slapstick. I think they were successful and they’ve definitely inspired ideas for future sketches and even some potential web series. I don’t know if I’ll ever go ahead and do a web series as fears of failure and embarrassment are very strong but I still have ideas for sketches. I just hope I produce more videos than I did this year, that was one of my biggest failures I think.

On the upside, I saw more films in the cinema this year. In fact, I saw enough to be able to do a Best and Worst of 2019 list. I haven’t done that since 2016! That’s a big improvement compared to last year where I almost saw nothing. I must admit that some of the films I saw this year I didn’t review because I just honestly couldn’t be bothered, they were either so bad or so boring that I couldn’t think of anything interesting to say about them. Don’t worry though, you may hear some of my thoughts in the upcoming Best and Worst list, particularly in the Worst section if you know what I mean.

So what does 2020 have to offer?

For me I don’t know. Since I have no intention of going back into education, I am going to be totally immersed in the world of work where I have no deadlines, assignments or tutors to abide by. I will be responsible for every action and decision I make. Right now, this notion terrifies me but I will try to be optimistic. I hope for a lot of new experiences, successes and domination of old habits and fears.

For cinema it looks to be an exciting year for the horror genre with the Jordan Peele produced Candyman film, A Quiet Place Part 2 and Halloween Kills. There’re some franchise films I’m looking forward to, the main one being of course Godzilla Vs Kong however I’m also curious about the upcoming Denis Villeneuve-directed Dune reboot, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Scoob and Sonic the Hedgehog (I honestly don’t care about Sonic, the film just looks so silly and insane that I think I might have to see it).

To everyone who’s followed this blog, watched my videos and read anything I’ve ever posted on social media I thank you for sticking with me. I don’t care how many of you there are. You could be one of a thousand, one of a hundred, one of a dozen or the only one at all, the fact that someone’s slightly interested in what I have to say and do gives me a small but legitimate feeling of joy.

I hope you’ve had a Merry Christmas and I hope you have a fun and safe New Year.