When I think about music, or a specific favorite album of mine, hidden memories spark like fireworks.
Memories that I wouldn’t remember unless that certain song is playing. There are certain albums that take me way back when and certain songs that remind me of a season. For example, New Found Glory’s “Sticks and Stones” instantly makes me feel like it’s summer and Motion City Soundtrack’s “Commit This To Memory” make me feel like it’s the middle of winter. There are songs on that album that make me think, ‘Maybe I should wear a jacket today,’ when it’s 97 degrees out.
But what’s stronger are the memories I can remember and feel every time I listen to my seventh grade love Angels and Airwaves’ “We Don’t Need To Whisper.” Every single song sparks memories of my junior high school life. I can remember what it was like going through a divorce, making permanent friends and feeling like I could face the world on my own, and only my own.
For some reason, every single time I hear Beyonce’s, “Irreplaceable” I am instantly reminded of sitting on the bus with my best friend Ryan going to school. I think it’s because it played each morning on that bus for the entire school year. It gives me the funny memory of sprinting to the bus stop motioning our arms right as it’s about to leave as the other passengers laugh because Ryan always overslept.
Every time I hear Gwen Stefani’s, “Hollaback Girl” I am reminded of how my friend’s older brother would crank his volume up as loud as possible in his car and all of us screaming at the top of our lungs “B-A-N-A-N-A-S” on the way to our Cross Country practice in eighth grade.
And who doesn’t think of the movie “Mean Girls” each time they hear Kelis’ “Milkshake” on the radio or on a mix and can’t help but smile to yourself.
These songs might not be my favorite genre, but they’re what keep me from losing my youth. I can honestly say that if it weren’t for some of the albums and songs that had an impact in some way during my life, I would forget all of the great times I had with my best friends. I would forget how it felt going through a divorce as a child in order to reflect and grow from it. I would forget how to be myself.
