What’s Trending in October

by Selene Ashewood ‘22

As expected with the importance of 2020’s presidential election, the debates surrounding it are being discussed everyday on practically every online social platform. While the initial showdown between Biden, Trump, and for some reason the moderator, didn’t surpass the 84 million viewers of the 2016 debate, promises from Biden and white supremicist shout-outs from Trump are still being quoted, dissected, and argued about two full weeks later. The more tame debate between  possible vice presidents Kamala Harris and Mike Pence also placed in second for their category, being short of the 12.1 million viewers of, coincidentally, the 2008 debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. Due to telling but somehow neutral facial expressions, complete opposite views on systemic racism, and one little fly, this one also made a big splash. Now what’s trending is the less disastrous final debate, where questions were raised about the candidate’s foreign relations.  

Miley Cyrus once again showed off the life she can bring to past music at the iHeartRadio awards with her cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” Teenagers and young adults went wild at her powerful and autotune-free voice, immediately demanding a streamable version, and currently demanding a rock album from Cyrus with this vocal persona. Fans wanted more, but she’d graced them five years prior when she belted out Arctic Monkeys’ “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High” This older cover, Cyrus’ “Heart of Glass,” and all of her socials are receiving an immense amount of love. With Blondie’s approval and encouragement, the star released her version of “Heart of Glass” to nearly all music streaming platforms. This pop culture occurrence sparked multiple tik tok trends, the most popular being to dress in a fashionable yet over the top manner and lip sync as if you were actually belting out lyrics like Cyrus did. It’s nice to see this often discredited star be recognized for her organic talents. 

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan made an intelligent and sweeping statement strongly discouraging trick-or-treating in the state during the Coronavirus pandemic. The nationwide prevalence to ditch masks and partake in large gatherings that only fuel the virus has left the more competent people mainly stuck at home, and without spirit this October. But as a Halloween fanatic, I and masses of people across the country are finding festivity inside. You may have been seeing autumn ambiance and cozy/spooky autumn playlists in your recommended videos on Youtube. Taste-testing autumn products and baking of maple, pumpkin spice, and apple treats are at an all time high, as tik tok keeps pushing that content to its users. Other safe activities include pumpkin patches with masks and a small, safe group — from which the resulting pictures will be assaulting your Instagram feed every weekend. From pumpkin carving, to reading spooky literature, to outdoor walks to look at the changing leaves, movie marathons, or just eating candy, there’s an abundance of ways to celebrate Halloween at home.