By Satyne Doner, Arts & Culture Editor
Whether we like it or not, 2023 is here and off to a running start. We are almost a month in and starting to get comfortable with the idea of a new year at our heels.
Naturally, we asked staff writers at The Lions’ Pride Media Group to give us their predictions for what 2023 will bring – and they gave us the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
Not to freak anybody out, but several of our staff writers expressed concern about the environment. Their 2023 predictions echoed this concern.
“This is the year that everyone around the world starts to see detrimental impacts on the environment,” said Emily Dominguez, a sophomore majoring in social work. “Global warming will be a problem.”
Rashaad Darling, a senior studying business management, said the same. He thinks that in 2023, global warming is going to get worse – and he may be right. According to Axios, 2023 and 2024 global temperatures could hit a record high.
On a completely different note, we had a few staff writers who speculated on the future of music. Sophie Sullivan, a freshman studying English, said, “This is the year One Direction is getting back together.” Keep dreaming, Sophie.
Similarly, Jacob Onken, a senior who also majors in English with a specialization in creative writing, felt this could be a big year for certain genres of music.
“I think that R&B is going to be down the line,” said Onken. “It’s going to emulate 80’s synth-pop music.” Maybe we’ll see a resurgence of both 80’s synth and R&B. Who knows?
What will we wear in 2023? Isa Riano, a junior majoring in clinical psychology, gave us the low-down.
“In 2023, I think that cutout dresses are going to be a trend,” said Riano. “I see them everywhere.” She may be onto something; according to Glamour magazine, cutouts are going to be a trend in 2023.
We are confident that you will see cutout dresses all over the giant social media platform called TikTok – ever heard of it?
Madison Wilson, a freshman majoring in accounting, thinks that TikTok will become the world’s largest platform in 2023 and continue to grow. In a study by Wallaroo, as of January 2023, TikTok has over one billion users. It seems like its closest competitor is Instagram, with 1.4 billion users.
In terms of television, Jay An, a sophomore studying both political science and theatre, thinks that Doctor Who is going to see a resurgence in popularity because of its perfect blend of fantasy and science fiction.
Our staff writers at The Lions’ Pride Media Group left no stone unturned: we even received some predictions on current world events.
Hadassa Ferreira, a Brazilian native and freshman studying both political science and international studies, thinks that this is going to be a better year than 2022 for both Ukraine and Brazil.
“I think the current Brazilian president (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) is going to make improvements to the government this year,” said Ferreira. “I also think that the Ukraine war is going to come to an end.”
The new Brazilian president was sworn in a little under a month ago, so hopefully, he brings a brighter, more positive future into the new year for Brazil. As for Ukraine, BBC predicts that it could win back its land by the spring, depending on NATO and the motivation of the Ukrainian people.
The last staff member to give a prediction for 2023 was none other than Bao Han, a sophomore studying computer science. He had a laundry list of predictions for himself.
“I’m trying to fight my mental health,” said Han. “I want to do better in my courses and try to help people more.”
Bao, we feel you, and we completely understand. One step at a time!
To sum it up, our staff writers had a lot to say about 2023. We heard predictions about music, fashion, television, governments, science, social media, and mental health. While these are just predictions, one thing is for certain: on behalf of The Lions’ Pride Media Group, we wish you an incredibly happy 2023, filled with blessings and abundance.
