I’ve been working on this playlist for almost a year now. In that time I built a good foundation that encapsulates the moments and feelings that sum up my college experience. Filling in the gaps are songs that I found during the last four years that resonate with me, but are more illustrative of a life different from my own.

“Athlete On Bench” by Drug Church, for example, tells the story of…well, an athlete on the bench. Even with all the sports I watch, the sphere of a professional athlete and mine are so fundamentally different. But this song was is the first and only reason I feel like I know what it’s like to be an NHL fourth liner watching his career atrophy in front of him. It’s not about me so much as it is about what I love about music: its ability to help us understand people and worlds we would otherwise call our opposite.

So, to put yourself in my shoes, listen to hardcore. Listen to the best Oasis song of all time while waiting way too long for McDonald’s. Listen to my friend’s favorite song. Listen to the Paramore song that makes me cry every time it comes on. Make your dad drive you 10 hours to Wisconsin, then do the same drive back to Michigan a week later. Call your mom while walking home at 2AM. Wait for a bus, then wait for a train. Sit alone in a dorm room. Find the people that matter most to you too late. Witness a catastrophe. Move on with your life.

If you need me, I’m a great lake away.