Who doesn’t love a birthday playlist?
Tomorrow is my birthday & I can’t think of a better way to get in a festive mood than a birthday playlist. This time around instead of focusing on a positivity or party mindset like I have for the past couple of weeks here and here I thought I’d try something different. I know some of you are around my age but I also know quite a few of you are younger so bear with me if my mid twenties rant doesn’t particularly pertain to you. Then again, your twenties will fly by and before you know it you’ll be in my shoes so maybe this does include you in a sort of “this could be you” way after all?
Anyways this week I thought I’d highlight songs in my birthday playlist that meant a lot to me at certain times during the past decade of my life. Since Violet Roots is still new we’re all still getting to know one another and a look at my life pre-blog is a great way to continue along that path. Most of the “get to know me” features have been about my life as I see it now which you can see here, here or here and although I have remained the same in most areas there are certainly noticeable changes as well.
Everyone has a soundtrack to their life and this one is mine. I’ve broken down the songs into age ranges and added a short blurb about my train of thought during each period of my life. Keep in mind that some of the songs featured in this birthday playlist are relatively new, some are old and from varying music styles. This week scroll on down and give your ears a bit of bliss in the form of Green Day, Kanye, Panic! At The Disco and Troye Sivan.
NOTE: Songs are shown to represent a given age range.
16 – 17 || The “why isn’t High School over yet?” years
I spent most of my elementary to high school years wondering why time was moving so slow and counting down the days until I could escape my town. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up in a pleasant suburb that was incredibly progressive, diverse and liberal. Still, when I was 10 a switch went off and I just had enough of it all. I was a very “deep” thinking kid and I was convinced that I was missing out on something more interesting the longer I stayed where I was. Long story short I had FOMO before that acronym was even a thing and at times I still have these feelings. During this time of my life I was a bit angsty and I remember taking summer art classes at F.I.T and listening to Green Day and Sublime. For my birthday playlist I opted for the former since I haven’t listened to Sublime in a while but was recently just on a Green Day kick.
18 – 20 || The “I love college” aka #growthfordays years
This song by Kanye was played at literally every party I EVER went to during my freshman year of college. Whenever I hear it I think of college as a whole and then a whole slew of songs come to mind. This section of my birthday playlist was particularly hard to make. I wrestled with a bunch of other tracks from 2007-2010 but this one also reflects the mountains of personal growth and development that happened during this time of my life. I’ll always have a soft spot for Ithaca, where I studied, and as the saying goes “Ithaca is Gorges” (if you’ve been there you know).
21 – 23 || The “why does the real world suck?” years
I’m gonna be real with you guys. Turning twenty-one was a really good time. My close friends planned a surprise birthday party for me and my last year of college was a lot of fun. After 2011 it all went down hill. The first few years after college were quite the rollercoaster (minus the highs) and I was really tested in more ways than one. I came out of it with a few battle scars and I believed it shaped me for the better in the end. Still I feel like I was very torn and conflicted and at an emotionally heightened state. It was kind of like college was the high and post-college life was the dreaded comedown.
24 – 25 || The “with the good comes the bad” years
I turned a corner sometime during my 24th year. I felt a bit more fulfilled even though there were still a few curveballs thrown my way, but life isn’t perfect and that’s to be expected. I met A during this timeframe which is a big part of the “good” I’m referencing. These years were a lot of fun and far surpassed those dreary days at the beginning of my post grad life. For this section of my birthday playlist I once again had too many songs to choose from. I ended up choosing this gem from Troye Sivan. The song’s actual meaning is a bit more depressing than the way I’m referencing it here. It’s about the positive and negative ways that people seek and try to hold onto happiness. Currently my life is all about maintaining my version of “happy” and I think, with each passing year, I get better at that.
Everyone has a soundtrack to their life and this one is mine. What is yours? Click To Tweet
What do you think of my birthday playlist? What songs make up the soundtrack to your life?