So, it’s almost a month into 2018 and if you’re like every other college student, you’ve already broken some of your resolutions. Now, it’s 7:55 a.m. You’re running all the way across campus for your 8 a.m. class. You’re in sweatpants, you’ve checked three times to see if you remembered to put on shoes, and you’re not sure how you will make it without coffee.
It’s no secret that music is an essential to life. People listen to music for a lot of different reasons: to forget things, to remember things, for pure enjoyment, or to show people that they’re not in the mood to talk. Songs can set the mood to your day no matter the time.
If music is important for your enjoyment, why not listen to songs that can help you remember that you’re an independent woman who doesn’t care what people think about you? Because trust us, messy bun, dark circles and all, you’re still that independent woman. So, here are five songs that will make you want to walk around in thigh high, six inch heeled boots and crush your enemies.
1.“I Did Something Bad” – Taylor Swift (reputation, 2017)
With “I Did Something Bad,” Swift tells a powerful narrative of a character who does “something bad” in the public’s eye, however, this character couldn’t care any less because it “just felt so good.” Here, you are served your daily dose of being reminded that “if a man talks sh** then [you] owe him nothing.” With this song in your ears, it’s like your beat up Birkenstocks are stiletto heels, your chapstick is really red lipstick and strutting like you’re about to kill your worst enemy with a glare is just a reflex.
2. “100 Letters” – Halsey (Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, 2017)
This song is the epitome of realizing your self worth. Halsey paints the picture of a girl who’s just so fed up with someone who won’t stop using her. With the soft beat, hidden electric guitar that’s weaved into the chorus flawlessly, and lines like, “He said ‘please don’t go away,’ I said ‘It’s too late’” and “I’m not something to butter up and taste when you get bored” (seriously, I want that last one tattooed on my forehead for all to see), jamming out to this song is a must and is a subtle, relaxed reminder of independency and straight up bada**ary.
3. “I Don’t Think About You” – Kelly Clarkson (Meaning of Life, 2017)
Okay, we get it: this song is going to be the outlier in this list. As much as we would love to create a list of songs that confirm the idea that you are already a powerful woman, there are times and situations where we do not feel like it, and that needs to be taken into account. When we stumbled onto this song, I saw the title and expected an upbeat jam full of sass and snark, a formula Clarkson has used many times. However, we were surprised with instrumentation that did not explore more than a piano and some strings. It quickly became one of my favorites songs, maybe ever. With the first verse being about someone who has severely hurt the speaker, and then the second verse being about “loving the woman [you] became” and feeling “freedom where [you] stand, now,” and the parallel between “I lost my sanity” in the first two choruses and “I found my sanity” in the last one, it’s a slow, and painful reminder that no one is worth thinking about when they’re just bringing you down
4. “S.L.U.T.” – Bea Miller (chapter 3: yellow, 2017)
And we’re back with the upbeat stuff. Cleverly named to be an abbreviation for “Sweet Little Unforgettable Thing,” this motown-feel song will have you messing up your winged eyeliner just for the fact that it’s impossible NOT to dance to. It’s an anthem about not caring what anyone thinks about you. In fact, Miller croons “I don’t care if you’re scared…” and with lyrics that burst with body positivity and straight up happiness, it’s impossible for this song not to make your day and really make you feel like owning your narrative, ‘cause let me tell you: you do.
5. “Bad Reputation” – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (Bad Reputation, 1981)
If you thought this list was not going to include this classic song, where have you been? In the early 80s, Joan Jett made a statement about owning who you are in the best way and not caring about what other people think of you. That’s the hallmark of every bad** woman.
The second other people don’t determine how you feel about yourself is the second your life straight up changes. Wear those jeans, dye your hair, buy that crop-top and break up with that boy who doesn’t treat you right. Make the move. You’re the only person you have to spend the rest of your life with, so own that. Do what you want to do (in caution, of course. Don’t like start setting fires or something) and make 2018 the year where you don’t give a damn about your reputation.