First year of college? A rollercoaster.
You think it’ll be all leaf-strewn paths and late-night heart-to-hearts (and sometimes it is)… but it’s also crying at 2 a.m., romanticizing study sessions with lofi beats, and overthinking your entire existence in the walk from one class to the next. Music became my journal. My safety net. My therapist when I couldn’t make it to therapy. Here’s the playlist that helped me survive and sometimes even thrive.
“Matilda” – Harry Styles
Some nights, I just needed someone to say it was okay to feel distant. Harry did that. I listened to this while staring at the ceiling, trying to make peace with the parts of me I was still figuring out.
“Little Things” – One Direction
After Liam’s passing, this song hit so differently. I’d forgotten how much One Direction meant to me growing up, and now it feels like a piece of my childhood is frozen in time. I played this when I missed home, missed simplicity, missed safety.
“Bags” – Clairo
This one hit me when I started to feel everything at once—wanting connection, fearing vulnerability, learning how to let people in. It’s soft but so loud in its own quiet way.
“emails i can’t send” – Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina really said “therapy in a song.” I played this when I felt messy, overwhelmed, or like I couldn’t say what I needed to. She said it for me.
“The Only Exception” – Paramore
There’s something so cathartic about yelling this in your dorm room at 1 a.m. after a long day of pretending you’re fine. 10/10 would recommend.
Lofi Radio on Spotify
My go-to for studying. These chill beats helped me write so many papers, especially when my brain felt like it was buffering. The café-core, rainy window aesthetic? Yes, always.
“Good Days” – SZA
This song carried me through mental fog and seasonal depression. On rare mornings where sunlight actually touched my skin and I remembered I was alive and capable? This was playing.
“Tummy Hurts” – Reneé Rapp
For when I felt 100 emotions but couldn’t name a single one. Reneé captured the chaos perfectly. Played during my hallway breakdown era.
“Mess it Up” – Gracie Abrams
This is the song that made me text people “sorry if I’ve been weird lately.” Overthinking anthem. Made me cry while pretending I was just adjusting my AirPods.
“orange show speedway” – Lizzy McAlpine
Nostalgia in song form. Played during golden-hour walks that felt too beautiful to be real and made me homesick for people I’d never see again.
“boy is mine” – Ariana Grande
Not even gonna lie—this was my delulu strut song. Walking to class like I was the protagonist of an unhinged rom-com? This was the soundtrack.
“Moonlight” – Kali Uchis
Late-night glamor. Campus walks in the dark. Feeling like I’m in a perfume commercial but also deeply questioning my life choices.
“sharpest tool” – Sabrina Carpenter
A song for when I was underestimated. For when I started reclaiming space, even if I did it a little too quietly. Sabrina gets it.
“WILDFLOWER” – Billie Eilish
This one shattered me in the most delicate way. It reminded me of how soft love can be—even the love you give to people who didn’t stay. Played during those long walks when I didn’t want to talk to anyone, just feel everything.
These songs didn’t just play in the background. They carried me.They held my hand through change, joy, confusion, identity shifts, and growth.So to anyone about to start college: make a playlist.One day it’ll remind you of who you were, who you became, and everything it took to get there.
Still listening,
Litzy