I started listening to Megan Thee Stallion when I was in a particularly low place in my life.
The guy I was in a situationship with had asked me to be his girlfriend the day after he slept with someone else. I was broke and had been job searching (unsuccessfully) for months. I was completely isolated from my group of friends, and I felt more alone than I had in years.
I know it sounds bad, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, part of me was relieved because it meant I could go back to my mom’s house and get away from everything.
I’m in a way better place now, thankfully, but I’m sure we all know what it’s like to be so horrendously down bad that you just need something to lift you up.
For me, it was Megan Thee Stallion’s music.
Savage and Captain Hook went viral on TikTok and they were so hot and catchy and, most of all, had such bad b*tch energy.
At the time, I didn’t know anything about bad b*tch energy and to be honest, I saw myself as being so far removed from that. I felt like I didn’t have much to be confident about. I didn’t feel pretty, cool or like I had my sh*t together in any way, shape or form.
I also always felt like I had to make myself small. I didn’t want to beseen, and I definitely didn’t want to acknowledge that I had a body.
But I sang along anyways because duh, it’s Megan Thee Stallion so I’m gonna be humming at least a word or two.
I started listening to more and more of her songs and learning more and more of her lyrics, and the more I learned, the better I felt about myself.
Now that I look back on it, I think it kind of had the effect of reciting affirmations. I spoke the words out loud and I started to believe that I really was that b*tch, that I was hot and could be loudly confident and accept no less than I deserved.
As time has passed and Megan Thee Stallion’s career has skyrocketed, I’ve heard many women talk about having similar experiences. My best friend, my sister and I have had long conversations about the all-time-low-to-bad-b*tch-era pipeline that seems to come with listening to her music.
It’s just so lovely to see women have someone who gives us confidence and opens up that space for us to admire ourselves, even when others try to dim our light.
I also realized that I don’t need to put so much pressure on myself to be pretty and be the coolest person ever, and have it all together. I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on women to be perfect, to be everything all at once but do it quietly.
Let other people give you compliments but don’t agree with them too openly and don’t compliment yourself too much, either. Expect just the right amount (of compensation, respect, reciprocity, etc.) in return for what you bring to the table– too little is okay, but definitely not too much.
I’m sure we all heard America Ferrera’s monologue in the Barbie movie, basically just that.
Megan Thee Stallion and her music were big parts of me letting go of that during times in my life when I felt really imperfect and really ashamed of that fact.
Of course she’s, like, the *epitome* of having it together in the sense that she’s super successful in her career and she always looks really put together and all that but she doesn’t put on a facade like it just happens.
Half the time when I open Instagram I see a video of Megan Thee Stallion working out. She shows that she puts a lot of effort into taking care of herself in many ways.
She is also really outspoken about mental health and has shared some of her own hardships, letting people know that it’s okay to struggle and that it doesn’t take away from who you are.
Having this kind of transparency is super important during a time when a lot of social media consists of people pretending everything about them and their life is perfect and pretty all the time.
Whenever I’m going through a hard time, I can listen to a few of my favorite Megan Thee Stallion songs and think about the example she sets.
It just has this way of lighting a fire under me and reminding me of who I am.
Genuinely, I can be hella depressed and then put on a song like “What’s New” and all of a sudden I’m like ‘Wait a minute… I’m literally that b*tch, I can definitely do this.’
Listening to her music reminds me that sometimes I just need to stand up and align my actions with the person I know I am, and the person I want to be in the future.
To anyone out there who feels small and unsure of themselves like I did, I hope you can get something from Megan Thee Stallion’s music too <3
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