Author: liz

Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz!

Being in our twenties, we are still trying to figure out our place in the world and what it ultimately means to be ourselves. While some people figure those things out faster than others, it’s still such an important milestone to discover when you are living in your 20’s.

But getting to know yourself means getting to know your limits, boundaries, morals, values, and the things that just make up the entity of you. In other words, we become more self-aware with the things that in the past we were not able to fully comprehend. Maybe we were embarrassed to be a certain way in our teens, maybe you felt shameful for being a certain type of person; whatever the case may be, we just simply don’t care about what image we have and ultimately take care of ourselves when we are more self-aware. Therapy has helped me become more aware of myself over the past year, and because of it, I do have a lot of restrictions and boundaries I’ve created because I just have a better understanding of what I like and don’t like. I have a pretty good idea that if you guys are anything like me, your boundaries and restrictions are set up in the same way.

That doesn’t mean we are complaining.

As I’m writing this, we are currently going through a heatwave in NYC. I’ve known for years how much I don’t enjoy the summer; I get sick easily, I’m more depressed in the summer, I seem to never be cooled down, and I’m a lot more cranky and isolated during the hotter months. Because of this, I tend to trap myself in my air-conditioned room and let the day pass by. Of course, it’s not the healthiest thing to do, but it’s the way that I cope. Yes, I will tell you that I’m not coming out because it’s too hot. Yes, I will tell you I didn’t run my errands because it was too hot. Yes, I will not do a damn thing in this damn heat because it’s too fucking hot.

While I understand that everyone is feeling it the same way I am, my body is going to respond the way that it’s going to respond, and it’s my job to listen to her when she needs assistance. If I feel light-headed and dizzy and that I can’t breathe, I’m going to sit down and rest for the day. If I feel a little on-edge this particular day, I’m sorry but I’m just having a bad day. If I’m fine one minute and then all of a sudden I’m having an anxiety attack, my internal world stops in order to assist my body in whatever she may need to get out of that situation. I’m not trying to say that my problems are uniquely my own, I’m saying that I respond to them the way that I do, that’s all.

Of course, to the public eye, restrictions and boundaries are sometimes translated into “I can’t”, which again, isn’t the worst thing in the world. Saying no or that you can’t doesn’t mean you have a negative perspective on things, it just sometimes means at this moment, your boundaries or restrictions are not looking for any wiggle room. Yeah, that could change in the future, but at this exact moment, I’m listening to what my body needs and I’m going to put her first.

We are just self-aware of the things we can handle and what we can’t at this moment, so please be respectful of that. For many of us, this self-awareness took years to be discovered and heard and we are still new and unfamiliar with its contexts. Don’t just assume we are “complaining” about our problems or having a negative perspective on something. We are just human, and we always have room to grow.

Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer thus far; whether you’re working, in summer school, or just cooped up in the house, I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather in their own way! Of course, if you are a person who gets a bit depressed in the warmer seasons, then I hope you are finding (healthy) ways to beat that depression and enjoy yourself!

As a person who’s been very active in their own mental health awareness within the last year, I’ve noticed that there are just times where I feel an intense wave of sadness. I could have a really awesome day before, and then the next day comes and it’s a complete 180. Sometimes, I am able to identify the things that get me sad, meaning that at times, my sadness acts as a reaction, but there are just times when I have no idea what is causing this sudden wave of sadness. The people around you will continuously ask you what’s wrong, yet you don’t even know what’s wrong yourself.

As a person battling their own waves of depression, I’m here to tell those who may be battling it themselves AND the people who may not understand it that sadness is first and foremost an emotion, and like other emotions, it is about the chemicals in your brain.

The average person normally looks at depression as just sadness, which to a certain extent is true. Although depression is simply not just sadness, it is a contributing part yet it isn’t always because something is happening or because something has happened to us. Sadness, like happiness, can occur at any moment. While we can be happy and content for no apparent reason, the same applies to sadness, and that’s because both emotions are caused by chemicals in our brain.

When we are feeling happy, we have a lot of serotonin going on in our brain, because serotonin is a “feel good” type of chemical. Dopamine, another chemical in our brain, is sorta the same thing, but it plays more on our pleasure elements in our emotions. In anxiety, our dopamine is low because instead of enjoying ourselves, we are very fearful and worrisome, whereas in Schizophrenia it’s extremely high, often leaving people with the disorder having a grandioso persona of themselves, and having a feeling of invincibility as well. In depression, both our dopamine and serotonin are low, which causes us not to just feel sad, but unmotivated to do anything as well. It’s why you hear many people with depression having a hard time getting out of bed, struggling to pass their courses, and even keep their jobs. Having MDD (major depression disorder) is actually considered a disability because in severe cases, it leaves people unable to function in society.

But in less severe cases, like mine, I just sometimes get sad out of nowhere without knowing the true meaning behind it, and I’ve learned to accept it for what it is. “Yeah, I’m feeling sad in this exact moment, and even if I don’t know why I’m sad, I know I’ll be okay.”

To an extent, I’m saying that it’s okay to be sad. It truly is; we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t experience the ups and downs of our emotions. It happens, but like happiness, IT’S TEMPORARY AND THINGS WILL GET BETTER. Acknowledge your unspecified sadness and realize it’s just an emotion; not everything in life has an answer, so why would your emotions have one too? As a society, we are so caught up on the fact that if we are sad, it’s because something made us sad when truly, that’s only half of the reason! We could be sad because, at this exact moment, our chemicals in our brain are not running high and that’s okay! It will go up again! Stop trying to figure out what is wrong with you when you don’t know what it may be; truth be told, forcing a reason for you to be sad is just going to actually make you even sadder.

Make it apparent to yourself and those around you that just because you may be feeling sad today, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world and it doesn’t mean that you are “broken and have to be fixed.”

For me, it took me a while to stop trying to find out the reason that I was feeling sad whenever there wasn’t no true reason behind it. Yes, there were times when I was sad and there was a reason, but I honestly accepted sadness as its own entity when I accepted that it’s just another human emotion, and there will be days when I feel it, and there will be other days when I don’t. It’s that simple. 

So, the next time someone in your life notices that you’re sad and asks you what’s wrong, just tell them, “Nothing’s wrong, really. I’m just feeling sad today, but I’ll be okay.”

Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz!

Yes, it’s a SAS post, and yes, I know it’s not Saturday. For Blogust, SAS posts are on Sunday for the time being, so hi, welcome back!

Again, I really must thank my therapy sessions for inspiring me for these type of posts; I learn a lot about myself and life in general through those sessions, and they make really good content to share with you guys!

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been having to recap some of the major milestones I’ve made since first going to therapy and document if I’ve personally seen any change regarding my anxiety and depression. At first, it was a little difficult. I was only able to think of things at the top of my head like “being more assertive” and “more self-aware of my mental health”, and it honestly took someone who’s only known me for 4 months to tell me more about myself than I could. She explained to me that victories and victories, no matter how big or small they may be. While yeah, that’s true and all, we have to define what’s truly something big and that’s something small, and she described it in the most perfect way: “sometimes, when something is not tangible, we tend to forget that those things still exist, so when we talk about victories, those things that you unknowingly worked on are considered victories as well. 

So, here we are for this SAS post.

The little things I looked over, like being able to trust and express a little more and having a better balance of my feelings and the feelings of my loved ones are some of the things I’ve worked on without truly ever realizing it. Looking back, I don’t remember the last time I didn’t say nor do something just so I didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. I don’t remember staying silent about something just to protect someone else’s feelings. I also don’t remember the last time I allowed my anxiety to say “no, we’re not going to that social gathering”. Also, I don’t remember the last time I told my therapist that “no one understands me.”

This idea of documenting the intangible victories applies to more than just the mental health victories you’ll make. Feeling defeated because it seems like the hard work you put in your projects or agendas isn’t paying off? The fact that you keep coming back every single day to just try is a victory. The fact that you’re putting things into action is a victory within itself. Feeling like your goals are too far away to reach even after actively working on them? You still working on achieving your goals is a victory; you didn’t give up!

At the end of the day, you really can’t be too hard on yourself for only seeing the major victories in your life. Most of the time, the big ones can only happen if the small ones are constantly being met, so take things one step at a time! I must say this every time there’s a post about this, but Rome wasn’t built in a day! Every day, people actively put in the work to see it become something in the future. Take it from somewhere who is tremendously hard on themselves when there seems to be little to no change in their life: be patient and keep going. Document those intangible victories to keep yourself going!

Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz!

As you can read from the title of this letter, you would know that we reached 300 posts on this blog! How crazy is that? From something that started just in the spur of the moment to turning into this tiny community that we have going on, it’s simply surreal, to say the least.

When the blog started, she was called TNTH, or “Today’s News, Tomorrow’s Headline”. Although it was different and calling my blog “TNTH” was simple and easy, after two years it just didn’t fit the mission I was after anymore. Then, Letters From Liz is born, and even with the simple name change, I felt closer to the blog and to my audience more than ever, because yeah, this is me, writing you guys letters to read, hoping that one of them helps you in any way possible.

I have so many ideas for the blog in the future but as of now, I am content with where I’m at. Writing on here twice a week has helped me on my own journey of recovery, so thank you for allowing me to do so.

Like every celebration post, here are some of my favorite posts I’ve written since we’ve celebrated 200 posts on the blog:

• October 2018: How Writing Saved Me: A Story.
• November 2018: “It’s My Turn”: A Dear Jane Letter.
• December 2018: Travel Diary: Bangor, Pennsylvania.
• January 2019: Things I’ve Accepted Halfway Into My Twenties.
• January 2019: Let’s Stop Pressuring Women Into Motherhood.
• January 2019: How I’m Learning to Embrace Womanhood.
• February 2019: Why I Honor You, Eighteen: A Dialogue.
• March 2019: How A Curiosity in Rhetoric & Writing Studies Became A Passion: A Story.
• March 2019: I Went To A Party: A Victory Against SAD.
• April 2019: Discussing “Trauma Secrets”.
• April 2019: Music Favorites: KPop Edition!
• April 2019: Music Favorites: KPop Rookies Edition!
• May 2019: The Reunion: A Dialogue.
• June 2019: When History (Sorts) Repeats Itself: A Scene.
• July 2019: My Truth About Healing From Trauma On My Own.
• Summer 2019: Overexposed: A Self-Love Project Series.

Thank you so much for the support on Letters From Liz! Here’s to the rest of Blogust, and here’s to the next 100 posts!

Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz!

It is now officially August, which means it’s BLOGUST! That’s right: for the next 31 days, you will be getting a daily dosage of our letters! We started this series last year, and I honestly loved dedicating my time and focus on something I was really enjoying, so a year later we’re bringing it back!

Last year, we started the series with a reintroduction, and in the spirit of Blogust, we’ll be doing the same thing. Let’s face it, we change within the time span of a year.

So, without further ado: Hi, I’m Liz!

My first name is Elizabeth for those who may not know, and years ago I had some sort of identity crisis over it. I used to believe that “Elizabeth” and “Liz” were two different people; kinda like how teachers are Mr./Ms. whats-her-face, and with a more personal group of people, you are on a first name basis. I truly thought Elizabeth was this person I had no access to; she was the better person I was supposed to be in the future. Nowadays, I treat my name like a goddamn name: you will call me Elizabeth if you chose to do so, or you will call me Liz. Preferably, I like Liz better than my actual first name, but so be it. 

I’m a fat, Italian/Puerto-Rican 25-year-old woman from NYC. Like I mentioned last year, NYC is truly my home, and I don’t know if I see myself ever leaving it, but I do hope that people who come visit or decide to move here don’t see it with rose-tinted glasses, because NYC is not as glamorous and amazing as people think it is. But then again, I’m a resident here, not just a person on vacation that does commonly known tourist things, y’know?

Also, yeah, I’m fat. Calling myself fat isn’t a negative thing either, so don’t think to even say, “don’t say that, you’re beautiful!” I say it because it’s facts: I’m fat, and it’s taken me a very long time to come to terms with that and start accepting my body for what it is. You can actually read my journey of self-acceptance called Overexposed: A Self-Love Project.

Also, I’m half Italian, half Puerto-Rican! When I was younger, I looked a lot more Hispanic than I currently do, but between my sibling and I, I definitely have more of my father’s looks than them. Being half-white and half-Latina sometimes mean that people question my Hispanic heritage, or consider me to be completely white when in reality, I’m just half. Although I know I carry a white privilege from being Italian American, some of my loved ones from my Puerto-Rican family, including my father, have been racially profiled by authority and wrongfully committed for simply minding their business. Although I know I will never have to face these issues that my Hispanic side does, I still identify as both white and Hispanic, and I stand by what’s right in society and try to use my white privilege as much as I can to help those who are silenced by white supremacy.

Whew, that got heavy. Let’s continue:

Within the last year, I’ve been enjoying a lot of different types of music, thanks to the neighborhood I live in and to my partner that’s a walking Shazam machine, I kid you not. I live in a neighborhood with predominantly Asian people, and every now and then, I come across flyers and music playing that is KPop. A year ago, I discovered KPop in a laundromat, and the rest is history. Since then, I find myself listening to more KPop than mainstream Top 40 these days, and at first, I was quite embarrassed to share my interest in KPop, but as time went on, those around me have come to learn that I’m a big fan of KPop. If you guys will like to see some of my recommendations (I mainly listen to girl groups; I’m not a boy group kind of gal), you can read my KPop Favorites, as well as my KPop Rookies Favorites. I also listen to a lot of oldies but goodies, meaning I like to listen to music from the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s. I was born in 1994, so I grew up with 90’s music, and my whole adolescence years were surrounded by music from the 2000’s, and I just really enjoying listening to old gems I forgot about all these years! I guess you can say I hit that age where I don’t really know mainstream Top 40 music anymore…

I have social anxiety disorder as well as major depressive disorder, and because I do, I am a huge mental health advocate. I was diagnosed with SAD last summer and MDD during the holiday season, and I talk about my journey and the topics I struggle with so publicly because I hope that one day, mental health will be taken seriously and that people will stop thinking of mental health as some sort of taboo. We are in a generation where mental health issues are quickly multiplying, and it’s so important that these issues get treated and helped by a doctor like it was your own physical health. I’ve written tons and tons of letters on my own mental health journey, so you can find some to read anywhere on the blog.

Although writing is my craft and I identify myself as being a writer, my passion as expanded into academics; rhetoric & writing composition to be exact. In grad school, I took a course that ultimately changed my life forever, and although I will always love writing, my next challenge is to help college students and college-bound students take ownership of their writing and to not be afraid to express their voices through their writing, despite popular belief. My Master’s Thesis speaks more about this topic, and I’m currently turning that piece into a journal article for an academic journal. I hope that in the near future, I become an academic advisor for college students to help the next generation of students have a smoother experience in their college life.

Lastly, although sometimes it’s hard for me to tackle things and keep going forward with all the amazing things I’d like to accomplish because of my depression, I am still very happy with myself and who I’m becoming. This time last year it was rough for me; my grandfather had just passed away and a lot of my inner demons wouldn’t let me relax and focus on myself or whatever I needed, but things time around I feel a lot more confident, in control, and willing to improve no matter what aspect of my life it is.

There you have it, folks! Day 1 of Blogust has wrapped up! Stay tuned for the other 30 days to come for Blogust!

Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz!

So, it’s the end of July, and to be quite honest with all of you, I’m going through a really bad writer’s block. All of the content I’ve been writing for this past month has been for preparation for Blogust, which starts in TWO DAYS!

Because of this, I feel like I’ve been sort of away from the blog in a way. Meaning, I feel like I haven’t had any sort of update on my personal life and what’s currently going on that’s not this blog.

So, whatcha been up to, Liz?!

Well, in regards to being productive, I am currently in the research part of my project with my co-writer. For the last two months, we’ve read tons of articles for our collab article piece, having meetings to discuss some of the key points, and we are soon going to start the writing process, which I’m the most nervous about. It feels like I’m writing my thesis all over again, just with a higher and more qualified person helping me write it as well. Nevertheless, the writing process is going to be a long one, so I’m happy to at least entering the second, and longest stage of the project!

This past month, I read Vershawn Young’s newest book, Other People’s English: Code-Meshing, Code-Switching, and African American Literacy, which discusses a lot about languages being used inside the classroom setting and how minoritized groups of students should be able to express themselves in the language they are most comfortable in and without forcing them to strip away their identity to “act white” in their writing in academic and professional settings. In other words: SAE shouldn’t be the only language that is considered a “successful” one. Like the Obamas who’ve used the technique of code-meshing to maintain their identity in a position of power, we can still be ourselves and be successful. Just saying.

So yeah! A lot of writing studies and rhetoric composition being read this summer!

While I do that, I’ve also been job hunting, which has been a process within itself. It’s taken me a lot of self-talks to become a little more realistic in what I would like to do, and some encouragement from my partner to keep me level-headed every now and then whenever I find myself being more of a dreamer than a person with a plan. I’m not saying dreams aren’ unreachable, but work needs to be put into them to be able to achieve them, and sometimes that requires doing things you wanted to avoid. Yeah, maybe working a couple of hours of retail may help me achieve my goddamn dreams in life. I am still quite okay with the process I’m making, but I am getting a little antsy hoping that something will strike.

Regarding mental health: I’ve been doing pretty good! My anxiety and depression aren’t as troublesome as it usually is during the summer (I easily get more depressed in the summer) so I consider that an enormous step towards my healing journey! Of course, there are times when I go through a depressive episode and there are times when I’m feeling extremely anxious to the point of having an anxiety attack, but I am opening and more comfortable having them because I have a better understanding of what I have to do in order to overcome them. So, I’m good, she’s good, and the house we live in is good as well.

I’ve still been trying to enjoy my summer every now and then, whether it’s going out with my partner on the weekends, or going to the community pool with my sibling. Instead of letting the hot weather control me (which it still does to an extent), I am trying my best to enjoy it for what it is and to stay happy and productive! It’s so easy to just stay in the house cooped up in my room with my AC on, and although it’s nice to do something like that after a long day of productivity, I wouldn’t want to spend all of my days just sitting there.

Nothing is that exciting in my life, but I’m glad that it’s going a lot better than it did this time last year. Last year, I had just lost my grandfather to cancer, and dealing with that plus my mental health was a lot for me to handle, and I honestly wasn’t in the greatest place last summer. I’m just happy that this summer, I am a lot calmer and mentally healthier.

That’s about it! I hope you guys are excited for Blogust 2019! We’ll be returning some series throughout the month: voiceless rant, creative pieces, Overexposed, and maybe even some Self-Appreciation Saturdays Sundays! I hope you guys enjoy all the content coming your way!

Thank you guys for your neverending support.

Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz!

So, we’re doing something a little different on the blog today. Today (as in the day I am writing this) is Thursday, July 18th. I say that because it’s pretty important to point out that this section of this post is before the official results of the final lineup on Produce X 101 is revealed, and before that happens TOMORROW (8pm in Korea, so roughly about 7am in NYC), I wanted to share my ideal lineup, as well as the predicted lineup that I feel will most likely be revealed tomorrow.

Before we start, I would like to give a little background on the Korean survival show. Produce X 101 is the fourth installment of the wildly popular Produce series. Season 1 put together girl group IOI, season 2 put together boy group Wanna One, and season 3 (which was called Produce 48) put together girl group IZ*ONE. With that being said, this season was now looking to put together a boy group! This season, like the last season, played around with the rules of the show a bit, which was interesting considering many of its viewers were beginning to predict how these final line-ups were going to look like under the old rules, which was just simply Produce 101. In Produce 48, the trainees were a mixture of both Korean trainees under Korean entertainment agencies, as well as Japanese idols under AKB48, a popular company in Japan. This season, although has some global trainees in the show, is known for the X, which is the unknown position. In other words, the top 10 boys at the finale will debut no matter what, but they are debuting 11 boys. In other words, 11th place at the finale would normally be the one to debut, but instead, the X boy is the person with the most votes in the entire season will be the one who debuts. You’ll understand later on.

With that being said, this is my ideal top 11 boys:

1. Wooseok (aka Wooshin in UP10TION) seems like a strong face to become the center of the group, not only because he has already debuted in a group, but he has this aura about him that makes him the perfect center for these boys. While being on the show, he has played the center for some of the performances throughout the season, so seeing his willingness to stand out and be a center has been proven.
2. Yohan has been a favorite of mine ever since he sang a song with wheelies on at his first evaluation in episode 1. He’s cute, he’s funny, and he’s improved so much throughout the season; it’s crazy to think that this was a boy that only trained for three months prior to the show. He’s proven himself time and time again that he’s flawless at everything, no matter what he does. He’s definitely debuting.
3. Hyeongjun has also been a favorite of mine since the beginning because he just had that idol appeal to him. Although he was showcased as a shy kid who didn’t want to dance for the judges during his evaluation, he’s definitely proved himself to be an all-concept type of guy. I’m glad that Korea sees something in him because I was truly afraid he was going to be eliminated early on. Plus, his iconic “OWW!” during the Finesse performance was behind cute.
4. Dongpyo, our PDX101 center for “X1-MA“, is the cutest thing and he has stood out since the first episode. His personality, aura, and looks remind me a lot of IZ*ONE’s Yena, and I hope Mnet portrayed him that way because he was no doubt going to debut. As of lately, his ranking has been going down, and as of now, he sits at 12th place, which is concerning because I feel like this group will feel empty if Dongpyo isn’t in the final lineup. I also believe he’s center material for the final lineup because he is that cutesy, yet sexy concept switcher. I mean, his Believer performance was… out of this world. I hope he debuts in the top 10!
5. Seungwoo (a member of VICTON) was someone that I believe flew under the radar until just recently when he got more screentime. As of the top 20, he is the oldest contestant on the show (he’s 25 in Western age, but 26 in Korean age) and he just oozes in both sex appeal and overall likability. He has one of the most amazing voices on the show, and if he debuts, I believe he would make an amazing leader for the group. His high-note in “U GOT IT” is just mesmerizing.
6. Jungmo was someone I thought wasn’t as popular as he really is, but he’s been in the top 10 for most of the season with the exception of is ranking currently, which is 15. He’s definitely someone that’s interesting; because he is widely popular, he will most likely be the X boy that debuts. His accumulated votes as of now rank him as one of the highest, so if every single boy that has more votes than him debuts in the top 10, he will be the X boy.  I would prefer him to be one of the top 10 boys instead of the 11th because second after him would be Dongpyo to debut if he doesn’t rank in the top 10, but needless to say, he’s debuting. Probably.
7. Dohyun as our maknae please! He is the fiercest 16-year-old ever and I believe he would be a great addition to the group because of his rap skills and versatility. He was also another person who was under the radar until he got put into the top 10 throughout the season. He definitely started to stand out for me when he rapped for the position evaluation in episode 6.
8. Yuvin (a member of MYTEEN) is a pretty damn good vocalist if you ask me. He has a lot of color in his voice, he’s able to control it well and be stable due to his experience, and he does have pretty good stage presence. In the following weeks, his ranking has fallen and I believe it’s because people are becoming less interested in him, but I still hope he makes the group and becomes a main or lead vocalist!
9. Wonjin is such a humble and hard-working trainee, and it saddens me that he hasn’t been ranking high like he was at the beginning! I hope he gets to debut with this group because he has color in his voice that a lot of the trainees don’t, and it would be nice to have someone in the group that sounds a little different. Plus, he’s hella funny! Also, I believe he has the potential to be the leader of this group as well because he is so hard-working!
10. Tony has been my absolute favorite since the beginning and I’m so shocked and happy that he has made it to the finale of the show. Although I don’t think he’ll be debuting (not a lot of people are rooting for him because of lack of screentime and being lost in the rankings), I feel like he would be a good fit for the group. Being the only foreign trainee left on the show, I feel like he would be a good representative for the group for the international fans, and even fans in Asia (since he is Chinese). I feel because they want this group to be global, it wouldn’t be right if there wasn’t a foreign trainee in the group! Tony is such a hardworking trainee, he speaks perfect English (like perfect fucking English) and he’s cute! I hope he debuts in the top 10!
11. Mingyu will debut. No doubt. He’s the Sakura of this season. He can do no wrong to voters, and even though he isn’t anything special, he will debut due to his popularity. I feel like he has a lot of room to improve and if he does debut he will, but I don’t see anything special about him. He’s just… there. But, he is a very hard worker and he’s always ready for a challenge!

Prediction Line-Up:

1. Yohan
2. Wooseok
3. Mingyu
4. Jinhyuk (became popular & currently high-ranking. Fire ass rapper!)
5. Seungwoo
6. Eunsang (another popular & high-ranking trainee. He’s okay in my opinion.)
7. Hyungjun
8. Dohyun
9. Seungyoun (a trainee I wouldn’t mind in the lineup!)
10. Junho (another popular trainee I don’t care for.)
11. Dongpyo

Let’s see what happens tomorrow!

July 20th, 2019:

Hello! Saturday Liz here, also known as “the Liz with tears in her eyes as she’s writing this”. I just finished watching the finale of Produce X 101 and my god was it a roller coaster. There were twists and turns, and tons of tears cried from everyone watching, but for the most part, I am happy with the lineup of this new boy group, X1!

Lots of familiar faces, huh? I’m a happy camper, even if some of these members were not in my ideal top 11, I actually do like most of these boys in this lineup. The official rankings and positions are as follows:

1. Yohan (OUI) – Center, Sub-Vocalist, Lead Rapper
2. Wooseok (TOP Media) – Lead Vocalist
3. Seungwoo (Plan A) – Main Vocalist
4. Heongjun (Starship) – Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer
5. Seungyoun (Yuehua) – Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper
6. Dongpyo (DSP Media) – Lead Dancer, Sub-Vocalist
7. Hangyul (MBK) – Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist
8. Dohyun (MBK) – Main Rapper, Maknae (Youngest in Group)
9. Junho (Woollim) – Lead Vocalist
10. Minhee (Starship) – Lead Vocalist
11. (X) Eunsang (Brand New Music) – Sub-Vocalist

It’s sorta crazy how I predicted 9 out of 11 members of the final line-up, yet I was still shocked to read the final rankings yesterday morning when they were first announced. (Funny story: I was at a job interview looking at them) Anyway, I really do like the line-up of this group more than I did when Produce 48 announced the members for IZ*ONE. I feel like for a group that will be promoting for 5 years (the longest in the Produce series), I’m very excited to be a fan of these boys. I’m so glad that Dongpyo made it into the final line-up the most; he was always one of my top picks and I think he’s going to do a great job in this group. I’m also quite content with Yohan as X1’s center; he truly is the face of the group and even this season of the Produce series. Plus, he deserves it so much.

Of course, I am devastated for Yuvin and Wonjin the most out of the top 20; they were both visibly upset after the announcements and it’s a shame that their talents will not be showcased in X1. Of course, Yuvin will be back in MYTEEN with other Produce X 101 trainee, Kookheon, and I hope their group will now gain more fans and fame now that they were on the series. The same goes for Jinhyuk; although I bawled my eyes out when he was sad he couldn’t debut with fellow UP10TION member, Wooseok, I just know that UP10TION will now get the hype and love from fans of the show. As for the Starship boys left who didn’t debut, I hope that they could possibly debut in a cutesy boy concept within their company; they were all so incredibly talented and well-loved! 4 out of the 5 made it into the top 20 after all! As for my first-ever pick, Tony, I hope he has gotten the recognition he got being on the show and possibly start doing some solo work within his agency and become the global star he’s bound to be!

I know a lot of the fans of the show came up with a concept that the first season of Produce girls who ranked 12th to 19th place (I believe) did after the show; it was to become a group within the eliminated trainees. This fan project for the Produce X 101 boys is called BY9 (Be Your Nine) and I’m honestly all here for it and hope someone takes the opportunity to debut them as a group.

I was very surprised to see that Starship’s Minhee was announced as a member of X1. He was never in the top 10 during the season, and he was always just overshadowed by everyone throughout the season. I believe him becoming the main vocalist for the concept evaluation saved him in all honesty. I wasn’t that surprised to hear that Woollim’s Junho and MBK’s Hangyul made it into the final line-up; they both had a lot of fans and support throughout the season. This was also Hangyul’s first time being in the top 10 in the season, and I’m happy that he’s in the group! As for Junho, well, maybe I’ll get to know him better when he debuts in X1.

As for the X member, I was shocked to hear that it was not Jellyfish Entertainment’s Minkyu that was the trainee with the most accumulated votes. He was always in the top 10 throughout the season (although I don’t understand why) and was wildly popular for his visuals. He was hard-working, yes, but I’m not that upset that he didn’t debut. If anything, he should leave his company to try to debut with someone else. It’s no doubt he will. I’m quite happy it was Eunsang that debuted as the X member; he was also a good vocalist on the show.

It’s just very interesting to see how straight-forward the results were this season. Last season, a lot of people were upset at the lineup for IZ*ONE just because a lot of them were just visuals and not that talented. I had my favorites and was upset when they didn’t debut, but to see how successful IZ*ONE is now and to see the improvements of those questionable members, I can’t see them being anything else than what they are now.

And that’s it for Produce X 101! I’m excited to see what next year has to offer in the Produce series, as well as being introduced to all of the female trainees waiting to debut!

As for now: X1 hwaiting! ❤