THINGS WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2018

It could go badly wrong — think Donald Trump. But hey, it might also go wonderfully, awesomely well. Why not?

We’ve dubbed 2018 “Your year of living well.” It’s about doing things that make you happy, taking care of yourself financially, physically and mentally. It’s the year of protecting your peace and living your best life. We’re looking forward to being as happy as we can possibly be. These are other things we’re amped about this year.

More rest

Doing absolutely nothing is a luxury. Here’s hoping you can squeeze in a little quiet time this year, even if it’s one day a month. This could especially be difficult if you have kids, but “me time” needs to be scheduled into your life. In the words of Tom from Parks and Recreation (and us here at Lifestyle): treat yourself.

Reconnecting with old friends

It’s time to stop being terrible friends who don’t check up on each other. We need to put the same energy into our friendships as we do our romantic relationships. Visit people. Chill on the couch together. Oh, and call your mom.

Going to the cinema

We’re looking forward to the awardwinning film Inxeba: The Wound getting a wide release. Another local flick we can’t wait for is the Xhosa-Sotho Western Five Fingers for Marseilles.

Internationally, we have Taraji P Henson in Proud Mary; Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water; Disney’s Wrinkle in Time (starring Oprah!); Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird; and the all-female Ocean’s 8. On the superhero front there’s Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Aquaman. Daniel Day-Lewis is retiring from film this year, and he leaves us with Phantom Thread, another collab with the genius Paul Thomas Anderson. Let’s hope this is a false alarm à la Jay Z.

The end of influencers

AWe’re living in the age of influencer marketing, but let 2018 be the year that it ends. Digital agencies and marketing folk need to be more discerning about who they dub an “influencer”. Respect us, please.

Not dying at the hands of Donald Trump and/or Kim Jong-un

So far it’s just a Twitter war, with @realDonaldTrump tweeting: “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times’. Will someone from his depleted and food-starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” Let’s hope we don’t get blown up before the year is up.

The royal wedding

We hope you’ve marked your calendars and have started planning the viewing party for May 19. Royalist or not, you won’t be able to ignore the hype and frenzy surrounding the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Duchess of Sussex?). Who will she wear? Who will be her maid of honour? Which celebrities will attend? We can’t wait!

Pretending to care about football

Yep, it’s Fifa World Cup time again. For ceremonial soccer fans, it will be a month of watching the big matches, arguing about who will win it even though we know very little about the teams’ style of play, and of course, salivating over the hunks on the field. After July, it will be back to regular programming and who cares about the so-called beautiful game anyway.

More money for everyone

Iceland just made it illegal for men to be paid more than women for the same job. Wouldn’t it be great if South Africa could follow suit? They say money doesn’t buy happiness, but it sure buys plenty of other things: bags, shoes, books and more importantly – food in your belly, clothes on your back and a roof over your head.

Being gaudy and proud

Having an obnoxious Hermes belt will no longer be reserved for men with big boeps wearing giant shades indoors at Sandton City — it’s time for us all to bring out our inner tasteless fashionista. With Versace paying tribute to its ’90s self with the return of the Barocco print, the time for minimalism and monochrome is dead. While fashion has whispered for the past few years, now it’s time for it to shout. In 2018 we’re wearing medallions, logos, J.Lo circa2000 sunglasses and looking like Dapper Dan clients.

A new president

Since it’s “new year, new me” season, it would be great if our politicians could follow suit with “new year, new president”. Will Cyril beat chess master uBaba this year? Stay tuned to find out. Either way, 2018 will be a really interesting political year.