“1 AM Study Session” by Peppermint Rose 1. “You Are Invited” by The Pretenders I felt pressured to join a bunch of clubs and make friends with everyone I met when I started at my new school. It all sounded scary and exhausting but the thought of coasting through college without any friends terrified me. Little did I know how welcoming the community would be and how many close friends I would make. “You Are Invited” utilizes an unsettling percussion section throughout the song to represent the singer’s social anxiety but develops into a comforting message of acceptance in the end. The theme of opening yourself up to new people cv and experiences is something that took me a while to internalize. 2. “Flamingo” by Kero Kero Bonito. Fun fact: I played this half-English, half-Japanese song for the first friend I made at school while she was giving me a ride home. She told me she was thinking about learning Japanese for her language requirement and without hesitation I told her to go for it. After that, I decided to start taking my own advice and even played the song again for a different group of friends. When they surprised me by singing along, we bonded over our love of the song. Now when I hear it, it reminds me of the time we sang it on our way to go ice skating. 3. “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers I’ve never worked harder than I have since arriving at my new school. In fact, knowing what I know now, the process of creating a portfolio and applying seems like a breeze. This song has been a favorite of mine since I was sixteen, but now the upbeat melody and the determination behind the lyrics inspire me to keep pushing myself academically, artistically, and emotionally. I have so many big dreams to fulfill, and my school and this song remind me of that every day. 4. “Changes” by David Bowie Before I moved into my apartment hours away from my hometown, my dad made a five hour playlist for me. “Changes” was on there about three hours in. He and I both loved David Bowie growing up, so much so that I associate riding in the car on the way to elementary school with my dad’s personalized CDs. I’d be hard pressed to find a song that touches on becoming an adult away from home in such a nostalgic way. 5. “Everything Stays” by Rebecca Sugar You might be surprised to see a song from the animated series “Adventure Time” on here. Well, that’s how big of an impact it had on me. Having watched the show when it first aired in 2010, I had the rare opportunity to grow up with it. As a nine year old, I doodled with crayons on the living room floor while the show played in the background. As an almost eighteen year old, I listened to the murmur of the TV from the other room as I scribbled out Venn diagrams, desperately trying to figure out how to apply to colleges. When I listen to “Everything Stays”, the voice of my favorite character since the age of nine, Marceline, tells me that “everything stays, but it still changes.” I can’t really fathom how lucky I am to have a childhood friend give me that reassurance during what will likely be the most confusing and formative years of my life. 6. “I Couldn’t Know Someone Less” by Paul Gordon About a month into the school year, I took the train home one weekend to attend my uncle’s wedding. I was excited for him and my new aunt, but after being immersed in a bustling city and living without parents for the first time, coming back was underwhelming to say the least. I listened to “Daddy Long Legs”, the musical that this song is from, while doing my homework on the train ride home. The entire time, the line “Why would you set me free, only to imprison me?”played on loop in my head. Now, enough time has passed that I actually enjoy visiting home for spring break, but the initial shock I felt after switching environments is something I will never forget. 7. “A Smile and a Ribbon” by Patience and Prudence “The louder I say I’m happy, the more I believe it’s so.” That line sounds a bit emo on paper, but the two little girls singing deliver it with undeniable confidence. This is another excerpt from the going-away playlist my dad made me. It’s a very obscure song from the 1950s that probably carried no hidden deeper meaning, but as a twenty-one year old, the idea of wearing a smile and a ribbon in your hair to make yourself happy is so bittersweet. Under the stress of classes and homework, I began to realize how often I relied on the same tactics. Now when I hear the song I feel a bit sad, but I celebrate it because it shows me that I’m getting better at not holding my emotions in.