Ah finals season…a beautiful time of the year, where everyone looks like they are actually dead, Evans is packed, and Northgate is empty. Although this week is the most serious week of each semester, it is also a time where you’re done with the semester and ready for summer. So that really sucks, but nonetheless, motivation to do well is important.
Here are some songs to listen to this week to motivate you, boost you up, and help you study. Whether you’re the late night crammer, the prepared kween, or just winging it, this playlist is for you!
1) Spirits by The Strumbellas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9kXstb9FF4
This upbeat and carefree song is the perfect way to start this playlist. Personally, it gave me a slight glimmer of hope that I would pass my finals and summer would be here.
“I been looking at the stars tonight
And I think oh, how I miss that bright sun”
2) Young Dumb & Broke by Khalid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPfJnp1guPc
Ok so we’re not in high school anymore so that doesn’t apply, but this song is #relatable because the vast majority of us are just struggling to the highest extent. Enjoy your ramen, peanut butter, and other cheap foods you may be snacking on this week, and know that I am also poisoning my body with cheap food.
“Young dumb broke high school [college] kids”
3) Float On by Modest Mouse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTAud5O7Qqk
Modest Mouse does a really great job of conveying their message here. Despite what happens during finals week, everything will be fine and we’ll all float on.
“Bad news comes, don’t you worry even when it lands
Good news will work it way to all them plans
We both got fired on, exactly, the same day
Well, we’ll float on, good news is on the way”
4) Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmpRLQZkTb8
As someone who has done her fair share of Q dropping and failing exams, I have learned that it’s important that you don’t look back in anger. It happened. There was nothing you could do about it, so don’t put unnecessary stress on yourself. Remember it happened and use it to fail yourself forward.
“My soul slides away
But don’t look back in anger
Don’t look back in anger
I heard you say
At least not today”
5) Have it All by Jason Mraz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFkTu8Y1KLs
Looking for 4 minutes of compliments and affirmations? Here is is. This song is so sweet and as corny as it is, it’s really inspiring and makes you feel warm & fuzzy inside.
“May you get a gold star on your next test
May your educated guesses always be correct
And may you win prizes shining like diamonds
May you really own it each moment to the next
And may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow”
6) Revelation by Luna Luna
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkFgboTXYVg
Luna Luna is always super calming to listen to, so it is a must have on any studying playlist I make. The smooth and rhythmic beat is almost trance-like, so it makes it really easy to focus on what you’re doing.
“Be my revelation, I’m crazy when I talk
My baby’s never dancing in the sun”
7) Hot Shit by Towkio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A9CQraUvz8
Motivation time! YOU are hot shit! You’re going to crush these exams and feel like a bad bitch at the same time. We love a multitalented kween.
“I said hot shit
They just want that hot shit
Music they could geek to
Feel it through your body”
8) Vienna by Billy Joel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZdiXvDU4P0
This song has amazing lyrics that ground you, but also give you hope for the future. Personally, I find a lot of comfort in this song because it is like a mentor, parental figure, or just someone with more life experience conveying this message to you.
“Slow down, you’re doing fine
You can’t be everything you want to be
Before your time”
9) Follow Your Arrow by Kacey Musgraves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ8xqyoZXCc
This is a song that just makes you feel good about yourself. Kacey Musgraves’ message in this is so powerful, yet so simple: You’re never going to make everybody happy, so just do what makes you happy.
“Say what you feel
Love who you love
‘Cause you just get
So many trips ’round the sun
Yeah, you only
Only live once”
10) Hard Times by Paramore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEB6ibtdPZc
The tropical and beachy vibes that this song gives off makes me so excited for summer. More importantly, it stresses the idea that hard times happen, but everything passes with time.
“Hard times
Gonna make you wonder why you even try
Hard times
Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry
These lives
And I still don’t know how I even survive
Hard times
Hard times”
11) Way It Goes by Hippo Campus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3TQKEUne5Q
This is another song that challenges the common thought that most college students have: Is college EVER going to end? The song is light and simple, but still is successful at telling you that it truly do be that way sometimes.
12) Carry On by fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7yCLn-O-Y0
To me, this song is what the playlist needed at the end. All throughout this week you’ll face obstacles like campus-wide scantron shortages, sleepless nights, and potentially unhealthy amounts of caffeine, but in the end you have to remember one thing: Carry on.
“If you’re lost and alone
Or you’re sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground
Carry on”
BTHO FINALS!!!
https://open.spotify.com/user/sydnastiest/playlist/3pLUXycagzujocLRNXS28r?si=hcZ1yyg_TaCRmvCXVvA1fw