Tomorrow we will be telling you about some exciting things to come for 2025 along with some special thanks to some people who made this space as wonderful as it is and will be. But for today, we wanted to jump into your top ten most read articles this last year…with a caveat.
Fem Friday has become a force of its own, so this is what you read besides Fem Friday! And in it is a fascinating reveal about the audience and what you want.
When we assembled a small team to start this in January of 2024, we had no idea what would happen or what you would want. We certainly did not expect more than 50,000 people to read what we have to say. But what you did read showcases how much people are not given enough credit for yearning for deeper thoughts and topics.
In this year stories have been told, connections have been made, books have been written, and unexpected beauty has come from spaces unexpected. Thank you for reading and being the driving force of what will be on deck in 2025. More on what is to come on New Years Eve.
Your top 10!
#10-Musical Discovery and the Crime of Gatekeeping by Jeremy Ritch
You agreed with Jeremy that we have a choice to either be the guide that shares joy and beauty with the next generation or the one who is a gatekeeper of joy blocking discovery. We need to foster discovery of beauty, not hold it back.
#9 Yearbook Nostalgia and the Artistic Quest to be Kind by Pat Green
Combining reader submitted images and an iconic section of The Breakfast Club we created something beautiful that many of you resonated with.
#8 Justin Case You Need to Read Great Books by Pat Green
The Justin Case Chronicles are written by a good friend of Pat’s. Scott Edwards is an amazing author of clever sci fi that will entertain you, put you at the edge of your seat, make you laugh, and move you in ways you would not expect. We did not expect this one to get the traction it deserved so we are glad to see it here. We hope it led to many sales for Scott and many new readers for this wonderful book series.
#7 Lets Go Back to the Mall for a Better World by Pat Green
This piece had the most research performed. Pat delved into the original intention of malls and the sociological importance of the third place to a functioning society and democracy. There was also an experiment. More work was put into this than any other piece at Gen X Watch and it is wonderful to see that so many enjoyed it.
#6 Swatch and the Adventures of Not Being Too Late in the 80’s and Now by Pat Green
Swatch Watches are more than trendy plastic watches. They saved an entire nation’s economy. We learned an industry of watchmaking exists as an answer to religious oppression in government, and what it means to not be too late.
#5 The Soundtrack of Your Life in a Walkman by Pat Green
The unexpected history of the Walkman, the impact it had on society and technology. Most importantly, what it did for us in discovering beauty.
#4 Surviving the Upside Down: The Enduring Power of Nostalgia by Pat Green
This begins the validation of our founding theory. Nostalgia can come from a space of healing from trauma. The rest of the top ten shows that this is a powerful idea that you share as we unpack one of the most tense moments of Stanger Things and how it relates to us.
#3 We Are Time Travelers Yearning to be Heard by Pat Green
Trauma and nostalgia continues to be unpacked. We use Ray Bradbury’s Green Town Trilogy to discuss how we can be living time travelers for others and together we can discover wonder.
#2 Limited Time and the Unspoken Truths by Pat Green
This one goes to the very reason why Gen X Watch and the Hearts of Glass book series exists. The death of a fear friend of Pat’s named Erika. Erika died on Christmas morning of 2023. This reminder of the fragility of life is why all of this exists. You shared and held space in our loss and reflected on your own losses.
#1 Is There Still Time for the Mister Rogers Generation by Pat Green
There are no words for what this article meant to us and that you made it the most read article we have ever published. It is a bittersweet reflection on what Mister Rogers said to us when we were kids that we still need now, but also what he wanted parents and grandparents to know about children.
More to Come
See you tomorrow as we give special thanks to amazing people, and let you know what to expect in 2025!
Stay totally awesome!
Stay true to you!
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