!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on suicidal ideation, depression, death, and discussions of mental health struggles. Since it’s my boyfriend’s birthday week, let’s do this! He loves Metallica, so naturally, I had to sit down and talk about something from them. “Fade to Black” turned hopelessness, numbness, and suicidal ideation into a seven-minute spiral that feels both deeply personal and.. universal. Even the song’s emotional core came from loss itsel

!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on depression, dissociation, self-destructive behavior, ED-related themes, toxic relationships, and mental health. “TV” feels like scrolling through your own emotional timeline and realizing you’ve been dissociating to stay alive. Billie Eilish turns numbness and quiet heartbreak into something almost conversational. It’s the kind of song that sits with you in the silence and somehow makes that silence feel way too loud.

!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on anxiety, panic attacks, ED-related themes, grief/pet loss, heartbreak, and mental health struggles. “Me & My Dog” feels like the moment after a breakup where your body finally catches up to the grief your mind has been trying to outrun. The song moves through love, loss, and panic so intimately that it almost feels claustrophobic, like being trapped inside your own spiraling thoughts with nowhere to put them. And then

!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on toxic relationships, emotional manipulation, verbal abuse, heartbreak, and mental health struggles. “July” feels like being stuck in a relationship that keeps ending without ever really ending. Noah Cyrus captures that exhausting cycle of wanting to leave, ending up staying, hoping, and getting hurt again, that it almost feels embarrassing to relate to. It’s the kind of song that understands how love can turn into repe

!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on depression, suicidal ideation, dissociation, death, and mental health struggles. There’s something deeply unsettling about a song that understands you a little too well, and “Funeral” feels exactly like that. Phoebe Bridgers captures the strange loneliness of being alive–and the guilt that can come with feeling that way–so precisely that listening to it almost feels intrusive, like someone quietly reading thoughts you

!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on toxic relationships, emotional abuse, depression, heartbreak, and death/funeral metaphors. “doomsday” feels like emotionally packing your bags for a breakup that hasn’t happened yet–but you already know it’s coming. Lizzy McAlpine captures that strange in-between space of staying in something toxic while mentally preparing for the ending, like you’re both inside the relationship and already grieving it at the same time

!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on grief, death, and bereavement. “Smile” is a song that quietly walks into your thoughts, and suddenly you’re feeling things you didn’t plan on unpacking today. It’s Michael Jackson, but stripped down to something softer, almost fragile, like he’s reminding you that even the most iconic voices still carry sadness underneath all the spectacle. And somehow, a song literally called Smile doesn’t feel happy in the obvious wa

“Burnin’ Up” by the Jonas Brothers is basically my official gateway drug into boy bands. This was the era where I learned that three brothers in tight outfits could permanently alter your brain chemistry (respectfully), and suddenly I was no longer just listening to music; I was fully invested in their chaos and whatever hold Joe Jonas had on me. A Little Bit Longer Album Art I Copyright: Hollywood Records Burnin’ Up Artist: Jonas Brothers Album: A Little Bit Longer Year:

Some songs become hits, and then some songs become actual cultural events. “Baby” wasn’t just my introduction to Justin Bieber–it was basically the world’s introduction to him too! One day, this random kid with a side-swept haircut was just singing on YouTube, and now the entire planet is collectively losing its mind over him. Love it or hate it, this song practically raised a generation and launched one of the biggest pop stars of all time. My World 2.0 Album Art I Copyrig

!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on body image and emotional themes. My Mother & I is a part of Lucy Dacus’ holiday singles series–an ambitious project she announced on January 31, 2019, where each song would be tied to a different holiday–this particular track was written in honor of Mother’s Day. And somehow, in just a few minutes, it captures one of the strangest parts of growing up: realizing you're becoming more like your mother while simultaneously

For a song about a boy and his pet rat, for the 1972 film of the same name, it sure did make an impact on 5-year-old me. There’s something strangely devastating about “Ben” because, on paper, it’s a song about a rat! But emotionally, it feels like one of the loneliest songs ever written. Ben Album Art I Copyright: Motown Ben Artist: Michael Jackson Album: Ben Year: 1972 Beneath the softness of Michael Jackson’s voice is this deep longing to be understood and chosen despi

!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on grief, emotional distress, mental health struggles, and medical/therapy-related experiences. “ghostin” is the kind of song that sits in that uncomfortable space between loving someone fully while still grieving someone else and somehow makes that emotional contradiction feel painfully human instead of messy. Your pain hurts them, their love makes you feel guilty, and you're caught between wanting to move forward and be

I used to think “Lover” was just a cute love song. Then I got older, fell in love for real, started discussing the future, and arguing, and suddenly this song became terrifyingly realistic. Beneath all the romance and glitter is something much softer: the choice to keep choosing the same person over and over again. Which is very sweet, very beautiful, and frankly a little embarrassing for someone who spent years pretending they were emotionally detached, until I met someone w

It’s the emotional anthem of girls like me at that age–the ones who genuinely believed they were one haircut and one personality shift away from being finally chosen. Taylor Swift turns “You Belong With Me” into a full-blown internal monologue of teenage longing, where you’re convinced love is just a case of being seen correctly if you stand in the right outfit, at the right locker, at the right moment. You Belong With Me Fearless Album Art I Copyright: Big Machine Records

There’s a reason "Love Story" permanently altered the brain chemistry of an entire generation of girls like me. It took the intensity of first love, mixed it with this fairytale dream ending, and showed us that underneath all the princess imagery and grand declarations, it’s really about believing in a love that even though it doesn’t feel easy or convenient, it still feels real enough to hold onto anyway. And that was exactly Taylor Swift’s intention too! she once explained