Asher Roth once said, “I love college.”
I am still undecided about whether or not I agree with him on that; nevertheless, here I am in my second semester of my senior year still just chugging along. If you are like me and graduate in less than two months, wrapping up school can seem like an eternal struggle toward the finish line.
Even if you are coming back next semester, the promise of summer’s arrival might be starting to have its effects on you. Spring break is over, all of the spring holidays like St. Patrick’s Day and Easter are over, and now your body is changing into summer mode. Suddenly going to class seems pointless, you would rather do just about anything else than your homework and pretty much everything related to academia is starting to make your skin crawl.
So here is a playlist of seven songs that will commiserate with your struggle, and also help you push through toward the bitter end.
“School” by Frankie Cosmos
This song is a quick indie pop tune that describes how school can make you crazy. Frontwoman Greta Kline sings, “Art school makes you wild, real school makes you wanna get high.” While I can’t condone that behavior, I also can’t say I haven’t been there myself. The song explains the pain of being shy and having friends who exhibit extreme behavior, something that is all too prevalent in college. In the end, Kline repeats “I won’t go” as the song fades out, something I think I have said many times when getting out of bed for class in the morning.
“I Don’t Want To Go To School” by The Naked Brothers Band
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Although this song harkens back to Nickelodeon days, when both the band and its fans were probably all in middle school, the same philosophy applies to college.
“Can’t Tell Me Nothing” by Kanye West
It would be a crime to write about school-related songs without including something from Kanye’s three college-themed albums from the 2000s. This particular song isn’t about school, but it is from Kanye’s relevantly-named 2007 album Graduation. This song represents your relationship with your professors after the semester ends, in which they, as the song says, can’t tell you nothing anymore.
“Campus” by Vampire Weekend
It’s hard to find a song that captures the everyday minutiae of college like this one. Written about the band’s experience at Columbia University, this song is a reminder that college isn’t always an academically induced frenzy. Front man Ezra Koenig sings about dragging himself out of bed, sleeping in between classes and walking across the landscape of a campus. When you are at your lowest point of collegiate exhaustion, this song serves to paint a pretty picture of what college could be without all the stress.
“I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor
Will we actually survive the rest of this semester? Only time will tell. However, this classic just might give you the fortitude to push forward when your mind is anywhere but the classroom.
“The Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga
You are so close. Summer is within your reach. Yet, you aren’t quite there. Much like Gaga, you find yourself on the precipice of something great, but there is still some work ahead of you. This song serves to pump you up as you finish out this next month and a half. Pop this on when you are walking around campus and as the swelling saxophone solo comes on, imagine yourself running free from your last final into summer’s loving arms.
“Graduate” by Third Eye Blind
“Can I graduate?” This song wastes no time in getting to the point. If you are one of my fellow 2016 grads, the idea of finally being done with schoolwork (for the time being, at least) is probably one of the only things on your mind. Every day I seem to wake up and ask myself the very same question: can I just graduate already? I’m not trying to rush through the end of my college experience, but I really just don’t have it in me to be in school anymore. However, I suppose if I keep waking up each day and keep asking myself the same question, then one day it will finally be time, and I will wonder if I’m really ready to say goodbye. And the answer will be yes, because if I have to write one more paper, I’m going to explode.
Featured Photo Credit: Courtesy of Kanye West’s “Chucky” | Produced by – David Counce. Screen captured taken from YouTube.
Julie Kearney is a senior English major and can be reached at juliekearney01@gmail.com.