September 2026: That’s The Way It Is
September happened. Live, laugh, love!
Television
Adults
Generations before us had Friends, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and many other sitcoms, but Adults was made for Gen Z through and through.
Adults Season 2 dropped on Hulu at the end of August, which led to me finally checking out the first season after a year of saying, “I should watch that.” Season 1 was decent, but Season 2 is what really hooked me in and had me watching a few episodes more than once as this is your typical 22-minute, 8-episode run.
What made those repeat episodes so good was that you truly could not predict what was going to happen with this group of Gen Z’ers within the 22 minutes they had to go on insane adventures. Some of those adventures happened within the confines of their own house — which is my favorite kind of drama.
If you’re between 20 and 30, I highly recommend Adults. And if you’re not in that age range… Feel free to watch and laugh at us. It’s easy to do.
Television… Marketing?
This is a new one, but it’s one I felt compelled to talk about.
In August, Taco Bell launched a genius marketing campaign for their Decades Menu, which featured throwback 2016 menu items. The commercials and marketing materials for this campaign featured 2016 slang, hashtags, and famous Vine buzzwords all set to the 2016 hit “Closer” by Chainsmokers and Halsey.
Seeing it for the first time left me yearning for a year that now lives a decade in the past. 2016 was probably peak high school. The back half of my junior year, the first half of my senior year. It was also ironically the year I tried Taco Bell… What a time.
Music
“Mercy” by Shawn Mendes
Speaking of a decade…
September marked 10 years since the release of Shawn Mendes’ second album Illuminate, which notably featured hit singles “Mercy” and “Treat You Better.” Both songs struck a cord for me in 2016, with “Mercy” being one I distinctly remember crying to in my car on a rainy December night. Teenage emotions, am I right?
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Such a powerful song, especially this live version. The desperation of this bridge…
Consuming all the air inside my lungs
Ripping all the skin from off my bones
I’m prepared to sacrifice my life
I would gladly do it twice
Miley’s Bass Persuades
The one and only Miley dropped her newest album, Bass Persuades, on September 18th featuring 10 new tracks. I’ll admit I’ll need to spend more time listening to it before offering my full thoughts.
I wouldn’t say there’s anything I strongly dislike. Much like Ariana’s petal, I may need to spend weeks digesting each song before finding my full appreciation for it. That’s kind of how I felt about Endless Summer Vacation, which I have grown to love.
Céline Dion’s “That’s The Way It Is”
September marked a return to the stage for icon Céline Dion. Due to her health, she hasn’t performed a full concert in six years. You can’t help but smile when seeing clips of her on stage belting out her famous hits. Coincidentally, I’ve been going out of my way this month to listen to “That’s The Way It Is.”
When you want it the most
There’s no easy way out
When you’re ready to go
And your heart’s left in doubt
Don’t give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that’s the way it is
The Man That Gravity Forgot
For the second month in a row, I am writing a tribute for someone I grew up watching.
Benjamin Satterley, better known to wrestling fans as Neville or PAC, left this Earth at the young age of 40 on September 27. It is one of those losses that we may never understand. An all elite performer in the prime of his career. Someone who was on television every single week. Someone who just had a pay-per-view match on September 26.
He was, in my opinion, the greatest modern-day WWE Cruiserweight Champion with his 2016–17 run that stole the show, whether it was on Raw, 205 Live, or premium live events. Not to mention his incredible NXT run where he put on instant classics against the likes of Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze, Tyson Kidd, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and many others.
His TakeOver match against Zayn is one of my all-time favorite matches. Rest in power, PAC.
Pondering
There were a lot of things this month that brought me back to a decade ago. That seems to be a theme with all of these recaps really. Not only is it reflecting on the past month, but I’ve been taken back in time to 10 years ago, 5 years ago, last year, and so on.
We’re officially entering fall with the “ber” months upon us. It’s typically the time of year where we learn how nice it can be to let things go, to be grateful, to be merry, and to look back at what this year gave us.
See you in a month.
