The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 20

February 2, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 7 Arts & Entertainment OFFSHORE CALENDAR Feed Your Brain Masterclass Feb. 2 | 2 p.m. RSVP Broadway Musicals and their Divas: 100 Years of Wowing Audiences Webinar Feb. 3 | 8 p.m. RSVP Early Childhood Black Lives Matter at School Week Symposium 2021 Feb. 4 | 5:30 p.m. RSVP Comedy Crossing: The Animal Crossing Standup Comedy Show Feb. 5 | 7 p.m. RSVP Gentle Yoga for Terrible Times Feb. 6 | 9 p.m. RSVP Valentine’s Chocolate Donuts Feb. 7 | 2 p.m. RSVP The Tubman Story: Harriet’s Fight for Human Rights Feb. 8 | 2 p.m. RSVP Shark self-care: Reading We have just entered the month of February, which means that Valentine’s Day will soon be upon us. If you are single, don’t worry. That just means more time for you. With all the pressure to find love around this holiday, make sure to spend some time practicing self love and care, too. Self-care is the practice of taking action to preserve one’s own health, well-being and happiness, particularly during periods of stress. When you are spending most of your time alone, you look for ways to enjoy yourself, whether that be through bingeing shows on television or even going on a jog or walks around your neighborhood. Self-care can be something as small as making yourself your favorite breakfast or taking a fewminutes out of your day to just sit and relax. Self-care looks different for everyone, but speaking for myself, during this time of year, I spend most of my time with my various book boyfriends. As a reader, there is extreme comfort in going back and revisiting books that I have annotated. If you were my mom, you would say that I spend time with my books as some form of escapism, but reading quotes that stuck with me throughout the years has always been able to make me smile and put warmth in my heart that not many other things have been able to do. Reading has not always been a form of self- care for me; oftentimes, it felt like a waste of time. Why would I invest time in reading a story that is set in a world that could never exist in reality? Why allow my mind to be plagued by things, worlds and people who are fictional? For a great part of my life, I thought reading could only serve to distort my view of reality. However, I grew to learn that not everything in life had a specific purpose. I now read because it is a great way to decompress and take a step back from a society that is plagued with so many issues. That being said, as this year continues to blossom into what I hope is filled with possibility and growth, I will continue to read and annotate as a form of self-care and I recommend you give it a try. PHOTO PRINTED PERMISSION BY F. MIRELES Here are some books for self-care recommended by our copy editor Flor Ana Mireles “Something To Feel Good About” by Will Joseph Cook If you want to close your eyes, plug in your headphones and be able to relive memories of a light, breezy summer day, this is your album. Will Joseph Cook’s “Something to Feel Good About”’ is filled with colorful tunes that explore the intriguing topic of self-discovery. It instills hope within people, conveying that they aren’t the only ones questioning their identity and belittling their problems in a shaken world that grows seemingly colder by the day. The first song on the album is without a doubt the most popular. If you’re ever on Tik Tok, you’ll recognize it quickly. “Be Around Me” is a cute, bouncy track where Cook switches in between his own warm voice and a playful falsetto as he sings about the thrill of a newfound love. Following this song is the title track “Something to Feel Good About,” which really encapsulates the airy, floating vibe of the entire album. Continuing with the same light- hearted feeling, “She Likes Me” is sprinkled with sweet undertones and precocious lyrics. As the album progresses, there seems to be more reflection voiced in each track, beginning with “Wayside.” The canorous tune gives off a more subtle emotion than the first three tracks, layered underneath innocent lyrics such as “when you worry, I’ll be the bubble wrap.” Similar to this song is the track that follows it: “DriverlessCars.”Cook sings about feeling like he’s on auto-pilot in a relatable, harmonious way that flows over a steady electronic drum beat in the background. The drums bring out a relaxed frequency that you can’t help but groove along to. The latter half of the album begins showing off Cook’s more reflective melodies. “Downdowndown!” embodies the pain of heartbreak within soothing vocals and a subtle electro-beat. The downbeat vibe of “21” is similar to that of the previous song, portrayed through the use of an acoustic guitar as opposed to the electronic instruments that were used throughout the album. This switch in dynamic played into Cook’s intention of listeners really contemplating the contents of his lyrics. Finally, the last song on the album wraps up his array of thoughts on self-identity and problems everyone faces perfectly. “Last Year” concerns all the makings of a bad year, which I am sure is howmany people classified last year. It borrows from both the reflective and minimalist instrumental qualities of the past few songs. The lyrics are also so down-to-earth and relatable: “Last year felt like a joke, but nobody was laughing.” It’s clear that he went through his own deal of hardships this past year, but who hasn’t? I’ve had this album on repeat since it came out -- it’s so comforting to hear such relatable lyrics over sing-song melodies that stick to your mind like glue. It’s like a mini compilation of teenage anthems. I hope in all these hard times that it can be your “Something to Feel Good About” too. By: Rey Perez Contributing Writer By: Ana Maria Soto Contributing Writer