A Recap of 2026 Summer

I will be going back to school in few days, so this is a recap of the summer of 2026, from your teenage reporter, Margaret.

First of all, as a figure skater, this summer is a very good one because Russian skaters are back! The competition that we got to see them debut at is the Xian junior grand prix, which they all did so well in. They won in all four categories: men’s single, women’s single, pairs, and ice dance. One of my friends also got her first junior grand prix medal this time and I am just so happy for her. Not only was competitions nice to watch, I personally also did a lot of skating this summer and I finally learned how to do the fly camel spin, and I am training for the butterfly jump. All in all, skating this year was really fun for me, and I look forward to the rest of the season for Russian athletes!

Next we’ve go movies, and this year is the year for Hollywood. Just this summer, we’ve got Spiderman, Obsession, The Odyssey, Backroom, and Avengers coming in December. I watched Spiderman, and I think that it’s an amazing movie not just because of the story, but also because of the ending music of “oh, yeah?” by Steve Lacy. I really love how it was integrated with the different scenary of New York City, perfectly showing the power of everyday life and the extraordinary and magic of the ordinary. I just hope and MJ and Spiderman can get back together, but let’s just hope for the best. As for The Odyssey, it has definitely evoked a lot of discussion within China and people are having mixed feelings about it, but I haven’t watched it yet so I can’t judge. Christopher Nolan is surely a big name, so people obviously had high expectations. After I watch it, I will let you guys know how I feel. As for Obsession, I don’t think I’ll ever watch it because I just can’t watch horror movies, but from what I have seen online about it, it seems like a good movie, so let me know in the comments what you think about it! Another horror movie that came out this year is Backrooms, and even though I don’t think I will be watching it, the fact that it is inspired by a series of YouTube videos is already so fascinating and is truly showing what the future of filmmaking and cinema will be like. I know that this might not fit our current discussions of western movies, but there is one Chinese movie that I think deserves a shout out, and that is 欢迎来龙餐馆. This is a movie about a Chinese man who opened a Chinese restaurant in Iraq amidst a war with the US, so it touches the theme of war, interpersonal relationships, and humanity. I haven’t watched it yet but from what I see online about it, it seems like a very deep and heart-warming movie and I think it is definitely worth a watch. Other than those movies released this Summer, Avengers: Doomsday will also be coming this December! I actually haven’t watched any of the Marvel movies other than Spiderman: Brand New Day so I can’t wait.

Now, as for the music of this summer, one of the biggest things that has happened is probably Ariana Grande with her tour, new album, and music video. There has been a lot of discussion on her looks in the music video, but to me, as long as she is healthy and her body can sustain what she is doing with all the touring and work, I guess we don’t need to overcomplicate the situation. As for her tour, I am just so jealous of everyone who is there. I don’t think I’ll be able to go in-person, but I know that she said that this is going to be the last tour she would do before she rests and steps away from the music industry for a while, so we really need to cherish this tour and album!!! I really love Petal, and I think this album is kind of like Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl, as they are both albums that reflect their careers in the music industry, and reveals the behind-the-scenes moments and thoughts for them as female artists. Another artist that had something major drop is Olivia Rodrigo with her new album “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love”. I haven’t gotten a chance to listen to it yet, but again, from what I see, people are enjoying it, so I am pretty excited to listen to it. One song that definitely got people talking is “du bist gut genug”. It means “you are good enough”. To me, it doesn’t seem ironic or anything other than words of encouragement. I know that people are having fun with the “yes music” “no music” memes in the comments of this song, but another meme that I guess was derived from this song is “中国人能飞” and I really don’t know how this came about or what it means or if it is just absolutely nonsense, but I think it has something to do with SKAI IS YOUR GOD, the Chinese rapper. If you know what this is all about, let me know in the comments because I have no idea.

As for the World Cup, because that is arguably the biggest thing that has happened all year this year, I also got something to say, even though I don’t usually watch soccer. One of my biggest impressions of this year’s World Cup is everyone suddenly getting to know Erling Haaland. I think he’s a great guy too, as he not only is a great player, he also seems pretty nice, and hopefully I get to meet him one day. Something new to the World Cup this year is the half-time show, and we got Justin Bieber, Shakira, and all those A-list celebrities performing. IShowSpeed also performed at the Closing Ceremony, which is also something new but FIFA really got us non-soccer-fans-other-than-when-the-world-cup-happens watching the games a lot more this time. I personally am a Ronaldo fan, okay, and before Messi fans come and attack me on how Messi is better and Ronaldo is trash, I would just like to say that both are really amazing soccer players and both are top players of our time, and they don’t have beef between them, and this whole feud is just what the media and fans have built over time. Thus, I support both players and think that they should both be celebrated. It is sad though, to see Ronaldo not win the World Cup this year, as he is a very competent player and is 41 this year already, but maybe he might be at the 2030 World Cup? I just hope that he can win. Another part of the World Cup that was really discussed about this year is Argentina. Suddenly, so many people started to blame Argentina for the referees not judging the game fairly and letting them slip past fouls, but hey, it is not the team’s fault that they got judged like that. We, as audience members, have no evidence of Argentina paying the referees to let them slip past so many things, so all we can do is to acknowledge that there is a bias in the referee’s decisions and watch the rest of the games happen. That is all that we can do, just like figure skating competitions. Another thing that happened on social media during the World Cup was the theory of whichever team IShowSpeed supported is the team that will lose as you might see in his videos. So, he once used this pattern and supported Argentina once but didn’t work. That was just a conspiracy theory, but I guess it was fun to see how the games went.

I also included a section of Miscellaneous, which is basically random stuff that I think happened this stuff. The Starbucks unicorn frappe was back for I think two days? And I know how trendy it was back in 2016 and 2017, because I was the girl looking up photos of it and how to order it on Bing during my online math lessons back then! I think that it is everyone’s dream to bring back 2016, but 2016 is more than just a frappe, it is the economy, and the sense of freedom in everybody’s stylistic choices and the sense of confidence in the air because the world is in the phase of simply rising. I will definitely be doing a video on 2016 and what I think about the whole bringing back 2016 trend so stay tuned!

We also witnessed four couples get married/engaged this summer. Anna Shcherbakova got engaged, Mr. Beast got married, Taylor Swift got married, and a Russian couple climed up the Empire State Building and held up a flag that said “if the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace”. I think it is a great message and something that the world should definitely hear and after some research I learned that this couple actually has a history of doing this and they even have come to China and climbed up tall buildings in Chongqing and Hong Kong. As for Taylor Swift’s wedding, some people had a lot ot say about it. Some people were criticizing her for having her wedding at Madison Square Garden and saying all kinds of things that criticize her. However, we need to remember that she is Taylor Swift, and she can get married wherever she wants and however she wants okay?

As for the most-talked-about show this summer, it is definitely Off Campus. Even though I haven’t watched it yet, I have heard a lot of good reviews about it so I definitely should some time!

So what did I do this Summer? Well, other than updating on this blog and the podcast, I also took the SAT and the IELTS, and I also watched Modern Family! I started in June and am now on Season 8. I am loving this show so much and I really think that every human being on this planet should watch it. Also, I have 2 secret projects that would be released either later this year or next year depending on my progress but I will just keep it like that, but if you are curious as of what it is specifically, go check out this podcast episode: https://youtu.be/b6mWy4mxAv4

Let me know what you think of everything that happened this summer in the comments below!