Song:

“El Meu Avi” (1991) by Los Manolos 

Several professors actually told me not to answer this question because I have such poor taste in music. Ignoring them, I’ll choose Los Manolos’ rendition of “El Meu Avi.” It is a traditional Catalan sea shanty about a grandfather leaving his small town to fight in the Spanish-American War. I still recall vividly attending a live performance on a gorgeous summer evening during a small coastal village’s annual festival. The song, the conversations, the people, the food — perhaps the most perfect day I’ve ever had.

 

Book:

“Markings” (1963) by Dag Hammarskjöld 

This introspective diary of the U.N. secretary-general from Sweden was published posthumously. Hammarskjöld reflected on his struggles with religious doubt as well as his uncertainty about his own motives, abilities, and actions.

 

Film:

“Anna and the King” (1999), dir. Andy Tennant

“Anna and the King” is a 1999 re-telling of the relationship between the King of Siam and an English governess. The film raised serious questions about family, honor, and duty. Surprisingly for a mainstream Hollywood film, the characters subordinated their personal desires to their social, familial, and religious obligations, as well as rejecting shallow “love-conquers-all” tropes.