There is a version of me that only exists in songs. She lives somewhere between late-night car rides, bedroom dances, quiet moments, and everything showers; when everything feels just a little too big to be present in the moment. I don’t remember every detail of my life, but I can tell you what musical era I was encapsulated in. I remember the lyrics to practically every song I have listened to, as if such songs were written for me.Â
Girlhood is difficult to define while you’re in it. It is ever-shifting, feeling uncertain, fleeting, and overwhelming all at once, but there is one thing that remains constant: music. Not just music as background noise, but as an emotional archive. The songs we love do not just accompany our lives, they shape how we understand them. We connect our experiences with the songs, highlighting the relationship between real life and artistic expression.Â
For most, a singular song can unleash an entire string of memories, good and bad, instantly taking you back to a specific moment in your life. Artists such as Taylor Swift capture the peaks of girlhood, but also the emotional contradictions that define it: joy and sadness coexisting. But girlhood is not just one genre or artist, it is the playlists of our lives that we built without realizing it. For me, my playlists become an emotional rollercoaster, from joyful songs such as “Rein Me In” by Olivia Dean, to the gut-wrenching classics by Adele.Â
Yet, girlhood is never something that you realize while experiencing it firsthand. It happens in pieces, but the thing that ties it all together is music. Even years later, many certainly remember the melodies of what used to be their favorite songs, unleashing a flood of memories. Maybe this is why we hold on to songs, not for the actual music, but for the emotional connection.Â