For the longest time, I never had a favorite book, show, film, and musician because I wasn’t decisive enough to pick out “the one.” Despite the struggle to filter my giant field of entertainment picks to the cream of the crop, I have narrowed my decisions in hopes that you, too, may enjoy them as much as I have.

Favorite Book: East of Eden
As sad as it is, I don’t consider myself an avid reader, something I hope to improve over the summer. Even so, I knew there was something special when I read “East of Eden.” A novel by John Steinbeck, “East of Eden” is intimidating in size—with over 600 pages—but is well worth the time. The story is an allegory of the Biblical stories of Cain and Abel and Adam and Eve.

Although I tend to stray from pieces with religious allusions, Steinbeck’s straightforward writing style and profound message about the innate conflict between good and evil within humanity and the individual’s decision to choose spoke to me more than any other book I have ever read.

Steinbeck’s piece is an insightful look inside humanity’s inborn traits and has opened my eyes to a person’s true character. Frankly, this was one of the few famous literature pieces I didn’t want to Sparknotes. I loved every word of it.

Favorite TV Show: “Friends” (1994-2004)

Anybody who knows me understands I have an unhealthy addiction with television shows. In fact, I start and finish at least three different TV shows each year. Even though I have watched countless television shows, there has only been one that has stood out in my mind.
I have watched “Friends” over and over from the beginning to the end several times, including the blooper reels. The sitcom chronicles the lives of six different friends living in New York City and their character development throughout the years. I have never watched a show that has as funny lines and likeable character as “Friends” does. Chandler Bing will go down as my all-time favorite fictional character. Anytime I have a bad day, I just put on an episode and my bad mood is immediately alleviated. My giant “Friends” poster hanging in my room is definitely something I will be taking to college.

Favorite Film: “The Parent Trap” (1998)

Directed by Nancy Meyers, “The Parent Trap” is the tale of two twins (Lindsay Lohan) separated by their divorced parents and raised on two different continents without knowledge of each other’s existence. They eventually reunite at a summer camp and attempt to bring their parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson) back together again. In addition to its catchy soundtrack, the movie has its moments of knee-slapping laughter to heartwarming tears.

“The Parent Trap” may be an adorable film that encompasses Lindsay Lohan’s best years before her string of bad publicity events, but it also holds a special place in my heart. Since my parents worked a lot when I was younger, my TV was pretty much all I had.

I remember watching “The Parent Trap” on consecutive days when it aired on Disney Channel (throwback to those 8 p.m. Disney Movie weekends). Watching the movie is a nostalgic taste of my elementary school days full of carefree attitudes and blissful ignorance.

Favorite Musician: Frank Sinatra

I wish I had listened to Frank Sinatra’s jazzy, swingy tunes earlier to shorten the time I had to put up with this generation’s lackluster taste in music. Even so, I am glad to have been exposed to the crooner’s effervescent music that epitomizes the swing era. Though it was a tough call between Nat King Cole’s smooth-as-velvet voice and Sinatra’s seductive one, the consistency of Sinatra’s songs, an eclectic range of powerful tunes (“My Way”) and soft melodies (“I’ve Got a Crush on You”), swayed me toward Ol’ Blue Eyes. Listening to any of his songs is enough to pull me from reality and into the 1940s.