As a 17-year-old naive, blissful, and young teenage girl, I thought I knew it all even though I didn't even know who I was at the time and still do not. No matter what country, color, or language it is a universal teenage girl experience. Olivia Rodrigo for this reason has over 20 billion streams on music platforms. Being a teenage girl herself she has been able to capture the teenage epiphany admirably; the duality of self: who she is vs. who the world thinks she is. This is a question that so many teenage girls face. It is a question that takes a huge role in your life and determines who you become and can affect your mental health in the worst ways possible. Personally, throughout my teenage experience and even now at 18, I still struggle with who I am vs who others believe me to be. In Olivia Rodrigo’s second album GUTS, it was like hearing everything I have ever felt in a single album. A song that strongly resonates with me in her GUTS album is “Scared of My Guitar”. Throughout the song, she explains how she lies to everyone, but when it comes down to a thing with the utmost sentimental value to her she simply breaks down and sees no reason in trying to lie to it. The lyrics that cut deep are: I say that I’m fine, I tell you all the time I’ve never felt so happy and sure but I’m so scared of my guitar ‘cause it cuts right through to the heart yeah, it knows me too well, so I got no excuse I can’t lie to it the same way that I lie to you These lyrics are raw and powerful. It cuts all of the distractions and lies from life and takes time to self-reflect with something that means everything to her. Personally, my guitar has always been a mirror or my journal. No matter how much I try to lie to myself the minute the ink from my pen touches the paper I can no longer lie to myself. I cannot see myself the way others view me. I have been told over and over again of these amazing qualities I possess, yet, when I begin to write or look in the mirror I see myself for who I truly am. At times it is hard to find that girl when so many tell me who I look like, who I should be, and who I truly am when I don't even know who I am at times. I am constantly on a see-saw of who people tell me I am, who I should be, and who I am. It has taken a toll on my mental health trying to figure out who I am. At the end of the day, I cannot lie to myself. I cannot bring myself to lie to myself even in writing. I am on this journey to try to figure out who I want to be and not just because people are telling me who I should be. I struggle every day with trying to figure out who I am and where my future is headed. Olivia Rodrigo within this song finds lyrics to put into words the exact experience of who she is vs. who the world thinks she is. I am on this journey every day and use music to remind myself I am not the only one and that even someone as famous and beautiful as pop star Olivia Rodrigo can feel the same way I feel.

Growing up in the 2000s meant that watching the Disney Channel was part of any little girl's evening routine when returning from elementary school. A very popular show in third grade at the time was Girl Meets World. It became a part of my daily ritual and at times my parents would watch with me as they reminisced on their old show Boy Meets World. Without a doubt, my favorite on the show was Maya Hart (and my parents too). I loved her on the show, and when she came out with music I was arguably her number one fan listening to her songs on repeat. When she finally moved out of the Disney scene and began to expand as an artist I was there. Her album Emails I Can't Send was a life-changing album. Her songs were able to capture so much of my life in her lyrics. She showed to the world that she is not just a pretty blonde who came from Disney and has it all made. She proved quite the opposite, that her life was not all sunshine and rainbows as she was much framed to be while in contract with Disney. With her song titled Opposite, she captures how in relationships she never proves to be enough. She wishes to change her hair, her skin, and her eye color just to mold into someone that someone else will want. This song was a breakthrough for me as well, it always feels as though in life no matter how hard I try, I may always want to be someone else, and sometimes I may feel like I am enough for myself however, I am never enough for others in my life. In another song Emails I Can't Send, her opening song, she discusses how many of her deep-rooted insecurities in her life come from family-related issues. With every lyric in the song, I can truly and deeply relate to her. I also feel as though as an artist it takes a lot of guts to admit something so personal and raw to your fans. Her first album resonates so deeply with me and Sabrina proves with this album that she is someone to be looked at with respect in the music world. In the summer of 2024, she announced her tour that would feature songs from her new album. At the time, I worked at a summer camp and knew if I was working I would do anything and pay anything just to be in the same area and breathe the same air with her and other fans who share the same love for the 5-foot blonde. I did not care that I had no clue what songs she would play for the tour, I knew it would be spectacular. On August 23, 2024, she released her new album called Short N' Sweet. It was the best album I had listened to. It was a mixture of excitement and sorrow. It starts with her bitter intro of Taste, clearly directed after a breakup, but she does not write a sorrowful song to begin with, if anything quite the opposite the song is upbeat and kind of an "in the end I won" moment. However, on the album, she also gets very real about her dating life. As a young adult, I understand what she writes about. She takes responsibility for not choosing the greatest guys and how unfortunately many of them do not realize what they have with her. I have looked up to Sabrina Carpenter since when I was in elementary school.