harrietteann

[harrietteann]

Blog #9: My Life With The Walter Boys

Hey! Me again! Now I’m going to talk about a show where I have seen the first season twice because it’s so good. This show is called My Life with the Walter Boys, and it streams on Netflix. They are coming out with season 2, I believe, in August. This show is a little cringy at times, but that is what makes for good TV, in my opinion. 

The show is about a girl named Jackie who is from New York, and her parents and sister tragically died in a car accident. She is then told she has to go live with her mom's best friend and her big family in Colorado. Her mom’s best friend is named Katherine, and she is married with seven sons and one daughter. Jackie was used to only having one sister, and now she has to adjust to this big, chaotic family. She goes through challenges from being bullied by the popular girl in school, to not feeling welcomed, or feeling like she fits in. She soon realizes she starts to have feelings for two of the brothers, Cole and Alex. Cole and Alex both want Jackie and will do whatever they can to make the other brother jealous. It becomes this messy love triangle. This show is filled with drama, laughs, family, friends, comfort, and love. Everything you could want in a show. 

Side note: I also really enjoy this because I have a major crush on the character Cole. His name is Noah LaLonde in real life. So do with that information what you will. 

On a real note, the show is very entertaining and expresses lots of ups and downs that someone can go through in their lifetime, from losing family members to being thrown in uncomfortable situations that will help you grow as a person. It also teaches you how to live more independently and stand up for who you are as a person and love who you want to love.

Alex (on the left), Jackie (middle), and Cole (right).

[harrietteann]

Blog #8: Wicked

Hey y’all, I’m back! I thought I’d talk about something new again, and today I’m going to be talking about the musical Wicked! I know not everyone loves musicals and loves it when the actors and actresses break out into a song and dance every 10 minutes, but for me, I love it. I have always loved music, loved to sing, and even dance. Other than Wicked, I would have to say that my favorite musical would have to be Mamma Mia. I love the storyline, I love the costumes, and I love the songs. 

Anyways, back to Wicked. If any of you have ever seen The Wizard of Oz, Wicked is based on that movie, except it is about the good witch, Glinda, and the “bad” witch Elphaba. In the movie The Wizard of Oz, the movie portrays Elphaba is portrayed as a super evil witch who doesn’t like anybody, including Glinda. In Wicked, that isn’t exactly the case because in the beginning, Elphaba and Glinda became best friends in college when they were roommates. Elphaba had this power that no one else had, and all Glinda wanted to have was some sort of power and respect from their “principal,” Madam Morrible. Elphaba soon begins training from Madam Morrible, who works with the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba then gets invited to the Emerald City, where the Wizard is, and she takes her new best friend, Glinda, along with her. 

Oh, I forgot to mention that there is a prince named Fiyero that Glinda falls in love with, but there is a constant, undeniable chemistry between him and Elphaba. 

Anyway, so Elphaba and Glinda arrive in Emerald City and meet the Wizard. All Elphaba wants to do is save the animals. I forgot to mention in the beginning that animals talk, and they are losing their ability to talk and are being locked in cages. All Elpbaba wants to do is save them by getting help from the Wizard. She soon realizes that this is all the Wizard's fault. Before, they let Elphaba read the Grimmerie, which causes the Wizard's guard monkeys to grow wings. Elphaba soon realizes she can fly with her magic broom while the whole Emerald City is calling her an evil witch and trying to capture her. The movie ends with her flying away to the iconic song Defying Gravity. 

Part Two, Wicked: For Good, comes out November 21, 2025, and I am so beyond excited. If you haven’t gotten the chance to see Wicked, I recommend it, even if musicals aren’t your thing.

Here is the ending scene of Wicked to the song Defying Gravity. It gives me chills every time I watch it.

Here is a different song called "I'm Not That Girl." It is another one of my favorite songs, but a totally different vibe from any other song, in my opinion.

[harrietteann]

Blog #7: Morgan Wallen's new album, I'm the Problem

Hey everyone! I decided to talk about something new today, and that is Morgan Wallen's new album. For those who don't know who he is, he is a country/pop singer from a small town in Tennessee. I would say that he is very popular and well-listened to by girls and women teens to maybe late 20s.

I know that country music is not a lot of people's cup of tea, but that is why I like Morgan Wallen, because he adds a little bit of pop into his songs.

He released his album on May 16, 2025, with 37 songs. To me, 37 songs is a lot for an album. It is now over a month later, and I can finally say that I have fully listened to the album. There were only a couple of songs that I did not enjoy as much as the others. I ended up counting how many songs I do like, and it is about 25 out of 37 songs that I enjoy. I feel like I have never added this many songs from one album to my playlist. Every time I get into my car, it is the only thing I listen to.

Some of his songs in the album are more upbeat and sound more like a pop song, while others sound more country, and there are some that are slower and softer. His most popular song, called "What I Want," features Tate McRae. I think that is one of my favorite songs. It's also funny because I didn't like the song at first, but the more I listened to it and heard it on TikTok, the more I liked it. There were a couple of songs that I heard on TikTok, and for some reason, it made me like them more because I heard them there first.

Anyway, if any of you get the chance to listen to his album, please do, and if you absolutely despise country music, maybe listen to the song with Tate McRae, and it will change your mind!

Here is the song, in case anyone wanted to listen!

[harrietteann]

Blog #6: Mukbangs

Hey y'all! Today I am going to be talking about something that can be a little controversial and that is mukbangs. Specifically, mukbangs on TikTok. I know a lot of people hate watching other people eat and hate the sound of people chewing or smacking or swolling, which is totally valid, but for me, I love to watch videos of people eating. Don't worry, I'm not some creep who watches people eat in a restaurant. I'm not that obsessed with it. As I mentioned in my intro blog, I LOVE food, so watching mukbangs is like my happy place. I don't just like watching people eat and find it satisfying, but I like seeing what they are eating.

When it comes to mukbangs, there are a variety of things that people eat. People will do mukbangs with Wingstop, Raising Cane's, In-N-Out, Buldak ramen noodles, Asian food, Mexican food, Nigerian food, seafood, Taco Bell, sushi, and so much more. What I like about mukbangs is that there is a wide variety of different foods that people eat. Not only is it satisfying for me to watch, but it shows me different foods from different cultures.

There is this one food content creator who tries different types of food, whether its different fast food items, restaurants that are only local in one area, or foods from many different cultures. It has helped me get a better understanding of what others eat in their country and what is special and specific to only them. It has made me branch out more and has me dying to try all of these types of food. For example, there is a Nigerian dish called fufu that I have seen many people do mukbangs with, and I want to try it so bad because it looks absolutely delicious!

I hope to one day really branch out and try these different types of food, but I only have TikTok, mukbangs, and my love for food to thank!

Picture of FuFu above

[harrietteann]

Blog #5: Love Island

Hey everyone! I’m sorry if y’all are sick of me talking about Love Island once again, but it is so hard not to because the last few episodes have been extremely drama filled and super interesting. 

It picked up where we left off from the last episode. Everyone is debriefing everything that happened from earlier. Charlie just left and Hannah is very upset. Huda then has a conversation with Ace and Nic who both chose for her to go home. The conversations go well, I thought that Huda was gonna give it to them and start yelling, but she did fine and reasoned with them. They gave her explanations to why they chose her and she understood which was good. Later that night, Huda realizes that Jeremiah has still not comforted her or wanted to have a conversation with her at all which in my opinion is awful. She was about to be sent home and he didn’t even have the decency to check up on her at all that night. He ended up over hearing her saying some provocative words about him and that made him rethink things about their relationship. Moving onto the next day, the new bombshells, Iris, Pepe, and Jalen get a text saying that they get to go on a date with their new couple. They get picked up on a boat and head to a private island. Huda wakes up to realize that they’re gone and starts to get upset. 

Each of the new couples have a fun time at their date. At Iris and Jeremiah’s date, Jeremiah ultimately tells Iris that he is open to getting to know Iris. They all then leave the island and head back to the villa. When they arrive, Huda decides to act a little petty and sit on a beach chair and not welcome anyone back to the villa. The girls and the boys separate to talk about the dates, while the bombshells are upstairs talking with each other. Huda then walks behind where the boys are talking to hear their conversations. She hears Jeremiah say that he honestly wishes she went home, so then she decides to walk past them flick off Jeremiah and say screw you, but the other word instead. Then she goes over to the girls to talk to them while she is screaming mean things to him across the villa as she is clearly upset. Then she goes upstairs to talk to Iris and the girls follow her. She asks Iris how the date went and she basically told her that Jeremiah was open to getting to know other people. Huda begins to sob and then we move into the night. Everyone is ready and Huda decides to pull Jeremiah for a chat. They go at it for a couple minutes and the conversation leads absolutely nowhere. She calls him selfish while he is just acting immature and denying everything. The episode ends with them basically ending their relationship. 

This was a very emotional episode for many reasons. Austin expresses his anger towards the triangle that he is in with Chelley and Ace that he currently does not want to be in anymore. Huda is clearly very upset by the way Jeremiah has been acting. I am starting to feel bad for Huda because she is getting bashed on the internet and all over TikTok when she is very upset after creating a relationship with somebody that she thought she really liked and could really trust. Being in this show, the people need to focus on their mental health more than they realize because they are going through so many trials and tribulations as well as emotional roller coasters that some of them have probably never even gone through before. It teaches you how to not act out on your emotions because it can get you hurt and it teaches you how important your mental health is. 

I hope tonight’s episode goes a little better than the last!

Iris and Jeremiah, Pepe and Hannah, and Olandria and Jalen on their dates.

[harrietteann]

Blog #4: Love Island

Hey y'all! So, last night, I think that I watched the most jaw dropping Love Island episode I have ever seen in my life. I'm gonna skip talking about the beginning because nothing major happened then.

They all started off participating in this lumberjack challenge, which was fun to watch. Before the challenge, though, Charlie pulled the new bombshell, Iris, for a chat. Hannah, who is coupled up with Charlie, did not like that, so she took Pepe, who is also a new bombshell, to "talk," basically to get back at Charlie. Then, after the challenge, Charlie asked Amaya, who is Hannah's best friend in the villa, if she was open to exploring him. She denied, and he got upset and so did she. Later that evening, Charlie and Hannah had a chat, basically saying that they really like each other and they don't want to pursue anyone else.

Then the host, the queen, Arianna Maddix, walked in. Told all of the islanders to gather around the fire pit. She then brought the 3 new bombshells, Iris, Pepe, and Jalen, to the front. She told everyone that America has been voting on who those 3 should couple up with. She started off with Jalen. America chose Jalen to couple up with Olandria, so then Jalen and her current partner, Taylor, swapped places. Next up was Pepe; he got chosen to couple up with Hannah, so he and Charlie swapped places. Finally, Iris was chosen to couple up with Jeremiah, so she and Huda swapped places. Now, if you remember from my previous blogs, Huda and Jeremiah have been together since day 1, but no one really likes them together.

Huda, Taylor, and Charlie were told that they were single and vulnerable now. Then Arianna dropped a bomb by saying that their friends who were not chosen to switch within their couples had to choose one of those 3 islanders to go home. At the end, Taylor had 1 vote, Huda had 2, and Charlie had 2. The 2 people who voted for Huda were Ace and Nic, Jeremiah's two closest friends. These two basically stood up and said that Jeremiah and Huda both need to explore other people, and the fact that they have been closed off since day one is not good. Ultimately, Charlie had the most votes and was told he had 30 minutes to pack his bags. As you can assume, Hannah was very upset, because she and Charlie had a conversation 30 minutes before about how much they liked each other. That is where the episode ended.

This episode made me very sad. It put everyone in an uncomfortable situation that they did not want to be in. They had to make a choice that they did not want to make. They had to send one of their friends, one of their fellow islanders home and break up a connection that they had with someone. This episode made my opinion stronger on never ever having the desire to go on this show. You can get put in very uncomfortable situations that you don't want to be put in.

I hope that tonight's episode gets better, but I have a feeling that it is not going to.

[harrietteann]

Blog #3: Love Island

Hey, it's me again talking about Love Island! Last night was a very good episode, so let's unpack it. In the beginning of the episode, it was kind of boring because everyone was walking and talking around the villa. Nothing major or dramatic was happening. Ace was trying to win over Chelley by doing a "hibachi" style breakfast for her. The more I think about it, the more I am so confused why Ace did not choose Chelley at the first re coupling, but instead chose Amaya, when 5 minutes after he told her how he was not affectionate. I may have a small idea that the production had something to do with his re coupling choice because I feel like he really wanted Chelley, and Austin wanted Chelley, but also would have been perfectly fine with choosing Amaya. Moving on to that night, they find out that they are having a lace party. I'm not sure what the name of the party was, but they were basically all dressed in skimpy leather clothes. They each took a turn tying up their partner and kissing them. The girls went second, and once the guys were done kissing them, TWO new men bombshells walked in and kissed each girl. Oh, but that's not it. Then, it was the guy's turn, and a GIRL bombshell walked in and kissed each boy. Her name is Iris, and once Iris got to Jeremiah, Huda turned upside down, breaking her back and her neck to tell the girl to stop kissing her man. The episode ended there, and I just know that this show is about to get a lot crazier.

I don't like to say this, but I felt that the end of this episode represented Huda's insecurities and how she is feeling towards her relationship with Jeremiah. Right before this, she was kissed by two men and Jeremiah was not freaking out. I mean, he didn't love it, but he did not turn around and tell those men to stop. This is just part of the show; it's meant to make you think about things, and if you are really strong in your relationship with someone, you wouldn't have these insecure feelings about your partner kissing someone else when it is supposed to happen because it's a challenge.

Can't wait for tonight's episode!

Talk to y'all next week!

[harrietteann]

Blog #2: Secret Lives of Mormon Wives

Hey everybody! I figured since last night, Love Island didn't come out with a new epsidode that I would talk about Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2 that I finished a couple of weeks ago. If anyone has seen this show knows that it is very drama filled.

Starting off with Season 2, the main character, in my opinion, Taylor, is still very rocky with her boyfriend/baby daddy. There were rumors about him cheating back in season 1, and throughout this season, they constantly fight and never end up going anywhere with their relationship. I think that they just want to be there for their child, that they have together and co-parent.

The rest of the girls have drama within each other. Let me break it down: Demi thinks that she is the queen of "Momtok," which is what they call their friend group and business. She thinks that she is always right and above everyone. She ends up getting heated with Taylor towards the end of the season. Taylor doesn't like Whitney from last season, and neither does Mikayla, but Taylor decided that she can be around her and be civil with her, but Mikayla cannot. Mikayla and Mayci announce that they are pregnant, but not in the way that they wanted to. Demi has been trying to get pregnant and cannot, so after a game of pregnancy test roulette, it did not end well for anyone. Moving on to Jen, she has a husband who manipulates her and doesn't let her do what she wants to do. Last season, the girls went to a Vegas strip club, and Jen's husband did not enjoy that and basically told her she was a terrible person. It did not end well in his favor. She also ends up pregnant and leaves for the rest of the season to focus on her mental health. Finally, Jessi is kind of Demi's sidekick and best friend, and then there is Layla, who is quiet and doesn't get into drama.

Oh, I almost forgot about Miranda, she's new. She doesn't get into drama, but she had a past with Taylor.

This season had its ups and downs, with lots of arguments between all of these women.

I think that this group of women represents themselves in a way that does not uphold their Mormon standards in their culture. Some of them are not very good friends with each other, and it helps me learn to not act the way that they act. They put their friends in uncomfortable situations that a friend should never do.

Layla, Miranda, Jessi, Mikayla, Mayci, Taylor, Jenn, Whitney, Demi

[harrietteann]

Blog #1: Love Island

Hello everyone! Today, I am going to be talking about and discussing the most recent episode of Love Island USA Season 7 that came out last night. Basically, as of right now, Ace, Austin, and Chelley are in a big love triangle because Austin and Ace both really like Chelley. She has different attractions to both men. In my opinion, she has more of an emotional connection with Austin and a more physical connection with Ace. Next up for Huda and Jeremiah: they became attached to each other too quickly, and I think that they need to explore more options and maybe not be together. Hannah and Charlie: don't have a problem with them. They seem cute and like an unproblematic couple. Taylor and Olandria: I like them separately but not together. I don't think that they have a physical connection. Nic and Cierra: I don't hate them, but I don't love them. I honestly don't have much to say about them, to be honest. Finally, Ace and Amaya: they are terrible together. As soon as Ace chose Amaya to couple up with, he sat her down and was immediately like I don't like affection, and I am not touchy, so don't expect anything from me, and I'm still open to other people. That was out of the blue on his part, but then Amaya went a little crazy and started arguing with Chelley when it was not her fault at all. She was also talking over Ace constantly and Chelley, which was awful. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone who enjoys reality TV shows with lots of drama. Anytime I try to show this show to my mom, she is not interested, but then she will sit down and start asking me questions and getting invested. You just have to give this show a chance, even though it may seem silly at times. I feel that I relate to this show more now that I am single and not currently in a relationship. All of the people in this show are looking for love, and that is essentially what I hope to find one day. I also think that this show shows its viewers what to do and what not to do in relationships. Love Island today is a lot different from Love Island when it first started. Love Island today is a lot more inclusive, in my opinion. There are more people in the LGBTQ+ community, and more people with different ethnic backgrounds, which I enjoy.

I also put a picture of the original cast so that you can get a better idea and picture of some of the people that I am talking about above.

I can't wait to see how the rest of the season plays out!

[harrietteann]

Intro Blog

Hello! My name is Harriette Ann Bowden, and here are some of my interests to help you get to know me before I tell you why I am here:

I love cats

I LOVE food

Hot take: I don't love action movies because they stress me out the entire time

I love to watch TV shows and movies, but if you give me a TV show to watch, I will finish it in at least a week

I love all kinds of music

Anyways, I am here for my current summer class called Communications, Pop Culture, and Performance. Each week, I will be writing a couple of blogs on here describing any type of pop culture I have experienced that week, that day, or some time in the past. It will most likely be about the new Love Island episode I have just watched, Morgan Wallen's album that I cannot stop listening to, or Wicked that I can't stop thinking about, because I am so excited about Wicked: For Good.

Can't Wait!!