Spring semester, much like 2019, can give almost any desired outcome as long as it is accompanied by hard work. Hard work is exactly like it sounds: hard. However, there are ways to make it easier.
For me, there are only a few ways to make my hard work seem simpler than it is. To loosen myself up—and let’s be honest, to procrastinate—before it really gets difficult, I clean my room, put on a good playlist, make some tea and dance around.
I then crack my knuckles and pretend I’m cracking my neck — I really just can never get that satisfactory snap — before I settle down, put on another playlist, slide on some noise-canceling headphones and dig in to whatever it is I feel deserves the bulk of my attention that day.
Music helps with everything. From rising in the morning and getting to the gym to falling asleep at night after working on hours of homework, everything comes with a soundtrack.
For my last semester as an undergraduate student at IU, I wanted to make a playlist full of songs that made me emotional, but I also wanted it to have tracks full of beats and lyrics to make me dance as well. Sure, I want to be able to wallow in the sadness of my last semester, but I don’t want to spend too much time doing it.
Slow, emotional songs such as “Buttercup” by Hippo Campus and “Into The Great Wide Open” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers remind me that while taking my first steps out into the world alone as a graduate can be scary, it will be a magical and healthy experience rather than just a terrifying one.
In between inspirational tracks like those, I have added songs such as “Make Me Feel” by Janelle Monáe and “borderline” by Ariana Grande featuring Missy Elliot to keep me on my toes, and to serve as a gentle reminder to smile and dance through the sadness.
Clicking shuffle on this playlist I’ve created for the semester, “spring ’19,” will take the listener from “SICKO MODE” by Travis Scott to go along with pre-gaming for a night out at Kilroy's Sports Bar to a somber walk home from class accompanied by “In My Life” by The Beatles.
I even added a few Queen songs, such as “Radio Ga Ga” which gained more popularity after the “Bohemian Rhapsody” film. Also included is one of my personal favorites, a lesser known but still incredible song: “The Miracle."
For those who are not entering their last semester, this playlist can be used to walk to class or do homework, and maybe even help get out one of those healthy cries to Fleetwood Mac.
