This final blog of the school year doesn't really have a formal structure. It's kind of just random thoughts and musings in a list format. So here goes! With a bonus Spotify playlist with songs that remind me of my second semester! Whoo!
- I spent a lot of my time this year feeling like the living embodiment of Britney Spears' classic song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman." Which, coincidentally, was recorded when Britney was MY AGE (19)! This kind of freaks me out, to think that Britney was younger than me when she became a huge star. Like I can barely handle reminding myself to do laundry and when she was my age, she was selling out world tours.
- Speaking of Britney, I would just like to thank her for her highly inspirational song "Work Bitch" for motivating me through my hardships since September 2013 (and by hardships, I mean finals week and the rare occasion I make it to the gym).
- Also, thanks to Britney for being in my life since I was basically a baby. When I was younger, there was no one else I idolized more. I remember looking through the CD booklet of her second album and seeing her with her crop tops and blonde hair and thinking that was the definition of beauty and success. Now, I don't have the blonde hair, but I do wear hella crop tops, so I'd like to think that baby me would find young adult me "successful."
- My last Britney-related "observation": Brit Brit, why would you make a song with Iggy Azalea? Why would you do this to me? I've been a loyal fan for so long and this is my reward?
- Another song that took a new meaning for me was the from the classic Spongebob Squarepants episode "Texas." Anyone born in the 90s needs no further explanation, but for those of y'all who weren't, I'll give ya some background. Sandy, a squirrel scientist who lives in the ocean community of Bikini Bottom (stay with me, folks) is missing her home state of, you guessed it, Texas. So she sings a sad song about it. She decides to pack up and go back home, but ends up staying after Spongebob and Patrick throw her a surprise Texas-themed party. Which, I gotta admit, I'm a little disappointed that no one thought to recreate for me during my most homesick moments.
- I also felt like the Broad City episode where Fred Armisen claims to be a baby. I am a legal adult, but when faced with the prospect of being more mature and taking on responsibility, I really do feel like an infant. I know this was played for laughs on the show, but the grain of truth in it is very real.
- Speaking of Fred Armisen (so many segues today!) I think about the classic Portlandia song "The Dream of the 90s" at least once a day as I walk across campus because, truly, the dream of the 90s is alive at Oberlin. So much flannel and chokers and Doc Martens and liberal activism.
- Oberlin is a weird and wonderful place. When I saw my mom a few weeks ago, I was telling her how although I love Oberlin, I was definitely ready to leave for the summer, as I found the politically charged atmosphere both invigorating and exhausting. I love how everyone at Oberlin is super engaged all the time, but sometimes you need to take a break from it and recharge your activist batteries.
- All in all, I'd sum up my feelings toward college with lyrics from one of my favorite songs by Paul Simon, the classic "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard":
"I'm on my way / I don't know where I'm going / I'm on my way / I'm taking my time but I don't know where."
College feels kind of like being on a journey to an unknown destination (as much as I hate using the word 'journey' because it makes me feel like a contestant from The Bachelor). I don't really know what my future will hold after graduation day, but I'm excited to find out. That's pretty much where the similarities between my life and the song end, as I don't know any Julio's, and I certainly haven't been committing any petty crimes with him at the schoolyard. Oh well. Goodbye to Rosie, the queen of Corona, whatever that means.
