Have you ever wished you had a playlist full of songs perfectly curated for an oddly specific feeling or a super niche scenario that feels almost unreal? You might even just want songs similar to a popular one you’ve heard before. Well, you’ve come to the right place!
This week’s playlist is called “The Flowers Are Growing and So Are We,” a collection of songs that remind you of trying to hold onto being a kid while you’re growing up. These tracks feel like staying young forever and going home after spending a long time at school. Having fun and being in the sun is the only thing on your mind, and these songs reflect that.
- “Here’s to Never Growing Up” by Avril Lavigne
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There was no better way to start the playlist than this absolute banger by Avril Lavigne. This song feels like going to a house party after a day at the beach, your hair is still tangled and your cheeks look like you applied way too much Rare Beauty blush. It’s the same feeling you got the summer after senior year of high school when you were just trying to hold onto teenage carelessness and rebellious teenage angst.
- “You’re On Your Own, Kid” by Taylor SwifT
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Even though you’re riding the post-finals high, you still get a little butterfly in the pit of your stomach that reminds you that despite your best efforts, you’re still growing up. This track perfectly captures the realization that you just spent the past year pouring your blood, sweat, and tears into this new life you’ve created in college. Although that comes with growing pains, you still have the summer to make friendship bracelets and live in happy delusion again.
- “Settle Down” by The 1975
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Nothing screams hometown energy like a situationship. Going home for the summer means home-cooked meals, sleeping in your own bed … and your ex! The 1975 always knows how to put the most gut-wrenching scenarios into a song with a preppy beat. Last summer you said it was the last time, but you just can’t resist the thrill of sneaking around and hoping your best friend doesn’t find out.
- “I think I’m growing?” by Fletcher
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It entails so many things. It means healing from the past, giving up control of the future, and coping with the changes in the present. It’s hard and it hurts a lot sometimes, but the waiting is always worth seeing how beautiful maturity is in the end. This short little song talks a bit about that.
- “Homesick” by Noah Kahan
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For some, going back home is heaven. For others, you’d rather be anywhere else in the world. For those in the middle, your hometown is the worst place on Earth, but you couldn’t escape it even if you tried. Especially if you’re a Northerner like me trying to survive in the South, it’s a fine line between being homesick and being sick of home. Noah Kahan’s Stick Season album is a compilation of songs that make you want to drive back home, and then drive past it.
- “Friday I’m In love” by the cure
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This is what music connoisseurs call a classic weekend pregame song. The vibes are light yet happy, and everyone knows life becomes so much easier to bear on Friday. This song feels like the perfect summer day. You just finished a long week at work, school, or just in general, and now you’re in your bedroom picking a going-out top and texting your friends to see who’s ready. When your biggest problem is what top to wear for the night, you know it’s Friday and you’re in love.
- “New Best Friend” by Neon Trees
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This amazing track feels like sticking your head out of a car window on a late-night drive or having water spray out of your nose because you’re laughing so hard with your friends. Summer is fun, upbeat, and wild, kind of like this banger. Per the reviews on my 2021 recap video on Instagram, it’s a really good song.
- “Supercut” by Lorde
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A playlist for the end of the school year that represents growing up would never be complete without a track from Lorde. Although “Ribs” is a classic, “Supercut” is an underrated icon. Looking back on the time that has passed, your brain edits and refines all of the amazing memories into a highlight reel that shows you the people and places that have created the person you are now. “Supercut” is about the regrets and reminiscing of growing older.
- “The middle of starting over” by sabrina Carpenter
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Although Sabrina Carpenter has already mentioned that the first few songs she released are a cringefest (and she’s not wrong), this song was an honorable mention. If you’re a cheesy rom-com lover, you’ll love this cheesy track about hitting the refresh button on life. I’ve been trying to hit the button since school started but that’s beside the point.
- “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” by Hannah MontanA
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What better way to conclude this playlist than a hit from our generation’s biggest pop star? Hannah Montana has given us loads of knowledge throughout the years: “Nobody’s perfect,” “Everybody makes mistakes,” and “Sweet niblets.” However, the most impactful message she’s taught us, is that no matter what, we’ll always find our way back home.
If you need some more songs to mentally prepare yourself to go back to your hometown or to help you cope with the passing of another school year, I got you! Here’s the full playlist to help you wrap up the school year.
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