I am a very nostalgic person. Two of my favorite things, my people and my music, tend to go together. I like to think of moments with important people in my life as songs. I connect almost everyone and every moment in my life, good or bad, with a song. Whenever I hear certain songs in public or in my car, I will always think of people in my life and moments with them that I hold dear to my heart. Sometimes I remember bad moments with people who are not in my life currently, but still learned a lesson at the moment so it’s important to me. But this is a list of songs that I connect to people who I care about a lot.
- “Crusin’ For A Brusin’” by Teen Beach Movie Cast
I connect this song with my childhood best friend, Madison. I met her on the very first day of first grade when I moved to a new elementary school. She was my first best friend. I remember when Teen Beach Movie first came out. We both would sing around our houses “Crusin’ For A Brusin’.” It was the song that we would have our moms play in the car all the time. We had matching Lela backpacks in the second grade that we were so excited about. Around three years ago, my mom and I went to visit her and on the way to drop her off at her house, we decided to play the song and jam out. I have the video on my phone so I enjoy going back and watching the video of us singing it. The song in general helps me reflect on it as well.
- “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen
The next song is connected to my dad. Meeting him, you would not think that his daughter connects a pop song about giving your number to a guy to him… but I do. My dad is what someone would call a major girl dad; he happily listens to Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams with me. I connect this song to him because when it was popular in 2012, we played it in the car and my dad started singing and dancing to it while he was driving. The song reminds me of a moment when I started dying of laughter because of how much enthusiasm he put into his performance. Even now he will still dance and sing to this song if it is playing in the car. It makes me think of his goofy side and not just his parental figure side.
- “Fallin’ For Ya” by Grace Phillips
The only artist to repeat in this list is the Teen Beach Movie cast–it’s funny because the person the song reminds me of is also named Madison. I met her on the first day of sixth grade when I moved five hours to Lancaster. I believe a reason why we are as close as we are is because of this song and the impact it had on the two of us. The first time we ever went somewhere together this song started playing. We were both two sixth graders who had the same crush… so when it says, “Falling for ya, falling for ya,” we both pointed behind us like the boy we liked was behind us. Now when one of us drives, somehow that song is always played no matter what. I adore this song and the movie for the connection to two of my favorite people
- “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift
I connect this song to one of my best friends, Alyssa. I have two strong memories of us dancing and singing to this song. In ninth grade, we went on this hill in my yard and my brother played this song while Alyssa and I goofed around on the hill singing and dancing. Another one of my memories is when we were headed back home from an away football game in high school. At 9:30 pm, we blasted this song in my driveway and danced to it. There were a lot of giggles and smiles in both of those memories. Alyssa helps me think of the happiness in life and inspires me to look for the good in everything.Â
- “Goodbye Earl” by The Chicks
In the summer of 2022, my mom and I attended a concert by The Chicks in Charlotte. It was the best concert that I have ever been to. We had planned to go to North Carolina to tour a college and visit one of our favorite places, Wilmington. On a whim, we left a week earlier and went down to Charlotte to go to the concert and visit an old friend of my mom’s. The entire concert was amazing, but my favorite song by The Chicks is “Goodbye Earl”, so just being able to sing it with my mom who is my best friend and a bunch of people in the venue was amazing. Anytime I hear this song, I imagine the concert with my mom and the collective feminine rage singing from the biggest crowd. I look back to this concert a lot while listening to any Chicks song, but mostly “Goodbye Earl”.Â
- “HOT TO GO” by Chappell Roan
The last song is a song that I connect to my brother and my best friend, Alyssa. Since the summer of 2024, Alyssa, my brother, and I have taken car drives to Taco Bell and/or Sheetz. Now whenever Alyssa sleeps over, my brother asks at least once if we can go. Alyssa and I sit in the back of my brother’s car as he controls the music (with suggestions by us two). Hearing this song makes me think of the late-night car drives and all the funny moments in the car. For example, when Alyssa pretended to throw my brother’s hat out the window, causing my uncle to turn around multiple times.
I have many more songs for these important people in my life that I can not express in one article. For my entire life, I have songs that have represented many people and moments that made me who I am. I feel like this is a common thing to do. While I talked to my roommates about this, one of them asked me what music I think of her as, and when I told her, another roommate agreed with me. I ask you to go and look at your music and think of songs that you connect others with. Think of those important memories and hold them to your heart. Remember you’ll always have music to think of someone.