Saturday, January 28
Basketball at D.L. Ligon
Men’s and women’s basketball clash with West Texas A&M at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The men’s team enters the game looking to break a two-game losing streak, while the women’s team also fell in their last match. The women’s game starts at 1 p.m., while the men tip off at 3 p.m.
Thursday, February 2
Wellness Fair at the Wellness Center
Procrastination can be healthy in moderation, as it can allow one to relax from work, Jan. 27.
THE WICHITAN STAFF
Depending on who you ask, it’s either the reason college students can function, or the trait that holds them back the most. Some students love it, some detest it and some have a love-hate relationship with it. But regardless of their feelings about it, almost all students have at least some experience with
EN ESPAÑOL
Dependiendo a quién le preguntes, es la razón por la cual los estudiantes universitarios pueden funcionar, o es el rasgo que más los detiene. Algunos estudiantes lo quieren, algunos lo detestan y algunos tienen una relación de amor-odio con el. Pero aparte de sus sentimientos sobre eso, casi todos los estudiantes tienen al menos alguna experiencia con la
procrastination. Detractors of procrastination are vocal (and normally have “Dr.” before their name), and say it keeps students from being responsible, effective and at their best. But some students say that putting things off to the last minute affords them the pressure they need to dive into projects and perform well. Some even go so far as to say it’s the only way
procrastinación. Los detractores de la procrastinación son vocales (y normalmente tienen un “Dr.” antes de su nombre) y dicen que esto impide que los estudiantes sean responsables, efectivos y en su mejor momento. Pero algunos estudiantes dicen que posponer las cosas hasta el último minuto les da la presión que necesitan para meterse de lleno en proyectos y desempeñarse bien. Algunos incluso van tan lejos
they can get anything done. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle; productivity will go up if you avoid procrastination, but time to relax by yourself may go down. And it can be difficult for students for find the spark of motivation to begin a project; how many times have you sat down to begin a paper only to find that you have nothing
como para decir que es la única manera en que pueden acabar algo.
La verdad probablemente se encuentra en algún lugar en el medio; la productividad aumentará si evita la procrastinación, pero el tiempo para relajarse solo puede disminuir. Y puede ser difícil para los estudiantes encontrar la chispa de motivación para empezar un proyecto: ¿cuántas veces
to write? Times like those make it tempting to feel that you can only work when you have a deadline looming right over your head.
The challenge for students is finding a good balance. It’s okay not to furiously attack every project as soon as you get it; you have to give yourself time to reflect and, especially, time to relax. But the key is to not
te has sentado para empezar un papel sólo para descubrir que no tienes nada que escribir? Tiempos como estos lo hacen tentador sentir que sólo puedes trabajar cuando tienes una fecha inminente sobre tu cabeza.
El reto para los estudiantes es encontrar un buen balance. Está bien no atacar furiosamente cada proyecto tan pronto cuando lo recibes, tienes que darte tiempo para reflejar y es-
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get so relaxed that all your projects suddenly have to be done at the same time. Remind yourself to deliberately relax sometimes - set aside some time for yourself and some time for your work. If you can get the balance right, you won’t eliminate stress from college entirely, but you’ll minimize it.
The Wellness Center will host a number of organizations in order to educate students on important health information. The fair begins at 3 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m.
Monday, February 6
Test Anxiety Workshop in Legacy MPR
This workshop aims to help you get the most out of your testtaking experiences by sharing tips on how not to stress when you test. The workshop runs from 3:30-4:15 p.m.
Tuesday, February 7
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pecialmente tiempo para relajarte. Pero la clave es no estar tan relajado que todos tus proyectos de repente tengan que hacerse al mismo tiempo. Recuérdate a ti mismo deliberadamente a relajarse a veces - reserva algo de tiempo para ti y algo de tiempo para tu trabajo. Si puedes conseguir el balance correcto no eliminarás el estrés de la universidad por completo, pero lo minimizarás.
The Dover Quartet at Akin Auditorium
Beginning at 7:30 p.m., the renowned Dover Quartet comes to Wichita Falls. General admission tickets are $23-25, and are available for purchase online at https://msufineartstickets. universitytickets.com/
First copy free. Additional copies $1.00 each.
The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication.
Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University.
The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief (250 words or fewer) and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include an email address, telephone number and address.
Thanksgiving and the winter holidays are often a time of reflection. During those times, we think about our year so far, either to be grateful for the good times or reflect on the hard times. Regardless of whether the year has been mostly good or bad, our reflection of the past helps us create our personalized vision for the future - which is the very definition of a New Year’s resolutions. Over the years, it has been heavily argued that New Year’s Resolutions create more harm than good and should be socially rejected, but also reasons why New Year’s Resolutions are extremely important for personal growth.
New Year’s resolutions have a lot of advantages. In a study published by the Journal of Clinical Psychology, it was found that people that set New Year’s resolutions are 10 times more likely to have an upbeat attitude and positive be haviors than those who don’t. New Year’s resolutions also foster positive feelings
about oneself, create an environment of success and progress, help to avoid unhealthy intrusions, give you a hyperopic view of life, reinforce the idea of motivation and self-control, create a sense of achievement and boost self-esteem.
Procrastination, culture of defeat and feelings of discouragement are commonly listed as cons to resolutions. Harmful and unnecessary pressure and unrealistic or unattainable goals are frivolous cons because a resolution is personal to you; therefore, you model your resolutions and if you don’t want to share or create a resolution, you do not have to. Lastly, if you think the idea of self-improvement is a con, I need to remind you that as humans we are imperfect and flawed but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to be better.
For those who have made their New Year’s Resolution and are struggling to keep it, I encourage you to keep pushing through it and to remember that your resolution doesn’t have to be big or seem
As the year turns over, we find ourselves in a state of reflection. We see what we could have done better on during the year prior, and come up with new dreams. New Year’s resolutions aim to create these dreams in earnest, but the actual execution has resulted in a culture-wide habit of bullying ourselves. The last thing any of us need is an excuse to put ourselves down for not achieving perfection. Giving ourselves lofty goals that determine our self-worth only serves to aid in toxic co-rumination. Physiology Today describes rumination as replaying or rehashing situations in our minds as a way of processing. It becomes co-rumination when we commiserate with others about our failures and short-comings. Where co-rumination can sometimes feel good, at the end of the day we’re tricking ourselves into thinking we’re getting something done while actually setting ourselves up for later disappointment. Especially in light of COVID, setting standards for ourselves designed for us to fall short of only adds to the anxiety
of the day-to-day. If the goal of resolutions is selfimprovement, they fall short by a long shot.
Psychology Today emphasizes the importance of being compassionate with yourself if you find yourself co-ruminating. For those that still feel the need to focus on goal-setting, the best suggestion is to change their mindset by setting New Year’s affirmations. Foundations Wellness Center urges that reflecting on your successes and what you’re grateful for can be more effective than using your failure as a motivator by way of New Year’s resolutions. When it comes to those inevitable short-comings, being realistic and kind with ourselves can help us set more attainable and progress-friendly goals. Messing up is a part of life, in fact, it’s essential to improvement. The sooner we transform our mindsets from fixing ourselves with New Year’s resolutions into embracing ourselves with New Year’s affirmations, the sooner we can actually feel successful about the progress that we are making.
The pandemic brought many changes to the lives of MSU students, both on and off campus. Among those changes was the shutting down of Maverick’s Corner postCOVID-19. The university closed the popular dining location, fondly referred to as “Mavs” by the student population, a year and a half ago - and now Mav’s faces the possibility of return. According to Stacy Welch, interim director of dining, the university closed the facility because of a lower need for it by the student population.
“So we closed it post-COVID... once we came back(from the pandemic) there was not the high need for it,” Welch said.
Moving into the spring 2023 semester, there is a chance the doors of Mavericks corner will be open to the student population after spring break.
“We’ll be opening after spring break,” Welch said, adding that students will be able to make their orders in advance. “In a sense a third party pickup, so you’ll have the app, you can order online. Once you order online just come in you show me your confirmation that you ordered and we give you the food,” said Welch.
The anticipated return of Maverick’s Corner does not come without changes. The dining facility will no longer be taking counter orders and will be operating on a strictly online system.
“It’s going to be kind of like a gastropub, so we’re going to do some wings and burgers. And we’ll start off something small, so we’ll be doing wings, burgers, loaded fries and nachos...It won’t be a go in and order at the counter system, it’ll be a strictly online ordering system this time around,” Welch said .
The service will be provided through an app that will be announced before opening. Students will download the app and order, then retrieve the confirmation code. The code allows students to verify their purchase and pick up their food. Students will be able to use their meal plan with the app, and Welch said more information will be released soon.
“They’ll do some outside marketing, we’ll do marketing with the students and with the newspaper and housing, and then from an internal standpoint. And so we’ll do marketing within the dining areas and put up signs, so we’ll do a lot of marketing that will probably start the week before spring break just to let everybody know we’re coming and what it is going to be about,” Welch said.
Students can still dine in Maverick’s corner
after picking up their orders.
“We’re not taking away the seating, you just won’t be able to order in. So even if you’re in there and you say “Oh I forgot to get fries with my order,” you still got to go in and order on the app. So it won’t just be any walk-up service in there, but you can order sit-down and enjoy the ambiance and all of that while you’re still in there,” Welch said.
Many students who frequented Maverick’s Corner are close to graduation.
“I used to go to Mav’s when I was a freshman, and in my software year I thought it was a really good experience because it gave us some more options that dining didn’t really have. And we could like sit down, and it was a little bit more like private with your friends because there’s like a booth and stuff... I’m really excited about it but it sucks - I wish they opened up sooner because I’m graduating in May,” finance senior Alisha Joshi said.
Maverick’s Corner served as an alternative to other dining options for students with a meal plan.
“I think it’ll be great if it’s gonna be like the hours like it was back then, where they closed at 11. That would be much better because I remember, I think dining closes like early, and then the food was great. And then it was just a good place to like hang out with friends as well and do homework which is pretty great to be honest. It was like a mini-restaurant you know, but free with the meal plan,” science and criminal justice junior Saide Canté said.
The new system will also attend to the time constraints of students.
“I feel like in a way, it’s gonna help students, especially when they’re on a time crunch be-
cause I know especially when we were waiting on lines, it can be kind of hard. But I mean I guess it’s a good option. Now that we have the app to use I feel like it’s gonna be more conventional to order food,” business junior Victoria Fritas said.
Maverick’s Corner’s return is welcome news for older students, but also for new students because it gives them a chance to experience a new part of the MSU culture.
Amid large scale leadership changes
at the top of the university, individual colleges have not escaped unscathed. Of MSU’s seven colleges, three - the McAda Graduate School, Fain College of Fine Arts and McCoy College of Science, Mathematics and Engineering - have interim deans. They join Keith Lamb, interim president, and Margaret Brown Marsden, interim provost, as temporary officials in high positions at the university.
Tiffany Ziegler, interim dean of the graduate school, oversaw the moving of the school’s office from Hardin to Ferguson Hall as one of her first tasks. Since then, she said the pace hasn’t slowed down.
“It has been one of the most whirlwind experiences of my life,” Ziegler said, adding that the sense of being in the position temporarily “brings some serious challenges.”
“You know, I’m learning a new role, learning a new job, little training. It’s not the fault of the university, it’s just I stepped up to this position and my job’s hard. It comes with a lot to deal with, and on top of all that I have young children, I have a 4 year old and an eight month old, so balancing work and life is difficult,” Ziegler said.
Just down the street in Bolin, at the corner of a hallway lined with rocks and geology displays, former mathematics department chair and now-interim dean Sarah
Cobb works in her new office. Cobb, like Ziegler, is in her first semester as interim dean.
“The pace is much faster than when you’re working in one department, and there’s just a lot more to know,” Cobb said.
In Fain, Leah Gose is in her second semester as interim dean and said she’s had to adjust to the new workflow of managing multiple departments and oversight of an entire college.
“You just hit the ground running and you don’t have a lot of time to think because you’re learning and you’re working with your faculty chairs and making sure that everything gets done. You know, supporting faculty and students and staff,” Gose said.
The presence of interim officials in the offices of both the president and provost means it may take longer to fill the interim dean positions, which increases the impact the deans can have on their respective colleges.
“Things need to get done, and it doesn’t really matter what the title is. My faculty and my chairs, we have goals that we know we want to work on, and we have a strategic plan that we know that we need to work on and so we’re working on that. I’m not waiting around for someone to say “Well, you’re permanent,” or “You’re going back to being the chair,” we don’t have time for that,” Gose said, adding “We’re doing what we’re doing because we have to get it done.”
One common refrain among the interim deans was that their ability to keep things on track was in large part due to the help of their staff and coworkers.
“In the short term, the faculty are really what’s propelling a lot of the things that students experience. And that’s what should be,” Cobb said, adding later, “The faculty are what makes this college what it is, gives it its character to a large extent.”
Cobb also said that while the turnover at the top of the university could make things appear unstable at MSU, the continuing presence of dedicated individuals is helping to mitigate those concerns.
“Clearly with the number of interim people we have in administrative positions on this campus, there is at least that appearance of instability. But I also think the people we have in those positions are people that I trust a lot, people that I know have the best interests of the institution at heart,” Cobb said, later adding, “I think things are more stable than they look.”
Ziegler echoed Cobb’s optimism due to to the personnel currently picking up duties on campus.
“I think any time there’s change or instability or insecurity, that can be scary. But what we’re trying to do to mitigate that is the fact that my staff is here and has been in place. And so they’ve been wonderful in transition,” Ziegler said. “In all reality, everything is still the same. Everything is still moving forward.”
enrollment initiatives for the out how to do both jobs has “It’s been nuts in the sense the sense of, you know I have schedule from student affairs. enrollment from the week the presidential duties. But couple of weeks, sort itself out,” He added that the process help tackle his preexisting ongoing since he has to be
“What the university can’t dent, an interim president on the president’s job,” Lamb thought with, “It’s too critical.” Lamb said the job is a heavier taken before, and one he takes
“I feel a tremendous sense sure, during this period dent is selected, to make continues its positive momentum ent avenues,” Lamb said, ated that his work for the consideration for the position.
“It is gratifying to some work I have done would confidence in me to do bling, but then comes
Chancellor main ceremony
“What the university can’t afford is to have a president, an interim president who is just partly focused on the president’s job,”
KEITH LAMB
the university, said working been a challenge. of - or it’s been hectic in have my already built-out affairs. And then having added before and then layering all that will, over the next out,” Lamb said. of finding other people to preexisting duties is important and able to focus on the presi-
afford is to have a presiwho is just partly focused Lamb said, finishing the critical.”
heavier one than he’s undertakes very seriously. of responsibility to make until a permanent presimake sure that the university momentum in a lot of differsaid, adding that he apprecithe university had led to his position.
some degree to know that the would allow for people to have this. Gratifying and humthat tremendous sense of
responsibility.”
Lamb outlined the main facets of his new job in an open Q&A session held in the Bridwell Activities Center. He said his main priorities right now include representing MSU at the Texas legislative session which is currently underway, increasing university undergraduate enrollment and ensuring MSU’s reaccreditation process goes smoothly.
MSU’s accreditation status is determined by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Lamb said MSU is positioned extremely well for reaccreditation.
Lamb also answered questions at the session, which was open to all students. The Student Government Association hosted the event.
Gabriella Pettijohn, economics senior and Student Government Association president, said she felt it was important that students got a chance to interact with the new interim president.
“More than anything, student government wanted to give students a chance to ask their questions, because we recognize what a weird and odd situation it can look for everyone involved. So we wanted to make sure they had a chance to ask their questions and also for the interim president to answer some misconceptions and really get his voice out there,” Pettijohn said.
She later added that, while Lamb is well-known on campus, the session was held to address any new concerns that students might have.
“We know that Dr. Lamb has been a fixture at MSU for many years, and that many students know him. We just wanted to make sure that, no matter what, we all had an opportunity to ask questions, get answers,” Pettijohn said.
Pettijohn also said she’s confident that Lamb is the right person for the position.
“I think I’m really interested to see if there’s going to be any changes during the spring semester, but I ultimately don’t think that there will be any significant ones for students. I think he’s going to lead the way he typically does, which has been successful at MSU for the past,” Pettijohn said.
Lamb has experience at the university but is new to his current position, a common theme among the university’s leadership right now. MSU has an interim president, interim provost and interim deans leading three of the seven colleges on campus.
Eric Queller, management senior and SGA’s vice president of internal affairs, said he believes the turnover in leadership is indicative of a larger trend in workplaces everywhere.
“As a student myself, I would be concerned seeing just kind of the high turnover. But I think we’re also just seeing it everywhere in the world. Just kind of, you look at other places and seeing that they’re moving around and you have a lot of just vacancies just in general in the world,” Queller said, adding, “But I’m confident in leadership, I’m confident in the people that help us.”
Citing a “tremendous sense of responsibility,” Lamb plans to make the most of that confidence. Lamb said after 22 years at MSU, he hopes to be viewed as someone willing to step up and deal with situations as they arise - the presidency being the biggest situation he’s dealt with so far. He recounted his time at MSU, and his hopes for the future.
“When my wife and I came here in 1999, the plan was never to be here 20-something years later. Knowing that higher education administration is kind of a nomadic lifestyle as I said earlier, we figured we’d be here three to five years and it’d be time to move on. We figured we were entering a life of moving every so often. But we fell in love with the people here, Wichita Falls, Midwestern. And I think you see that a lot here, there’s a lot of stability on this campus. A lot of people have been here for a number of years. So what do I want to be my legacy to be here after all that?” Lamb said.
He answered his own question after a moment’s reflection.
“I don’t know. No, I do. I want to be someone who can be looked at as reliable, but you know, even beyond reliable. Someone who answered the bell every time it was rung. Whether it’s the interim president, whether it was vice president for student affairs, whether it was vice president for enrollment management and student affairs and chief strategy officer, I think I want my legacy to be someone who could rise to the occasion each time,” Lamb said.
sta película tiene todo. Llevé a mis hermanos a ver esta película pensando que no me iba a gustar, pero al final de esta película sabía que me encantaba. Si te gustó la película “Minions” en 2015 o “Despicable me” en 2010, te va a gustar esta película también.
“Minions: the rise of Gru” tiene colores que atraen la atención de la gente. También te hace reír porque los monos amarillos hablan extraño pero eso crea a la película. Esta película no tiene los personajes de las niñas como en las otras películas, pero sí tiene a Gru, él es un personaje importante. También hay muchas personas que son nuevas en esta película. Esta película tiene diferentes escenas. Los minions en esta película están aprendiendo a hacer diferentes cosas y no te quiero decir porque no voy a revelar lo que pasa. Yo digo si te gustan las otras películas te va a gustar esta. Esta película no es
Esolo para niños sino también para los adultos. Mi parte favorita es cuando los minions están entrenando para salvar a Gru y me gusta porque se miran bien los cursos. Todas las voces van con los personajes y eso hace que la película sea mejor. Los minions son muy curiosos y chistosos como ellos.
Al final del día los minions están ahí para Gru y él está ahí para ellos. Ellos enseñan como son los amigos de verdad. Están ahí, el uno para el otro, como debe ser. Van a tener que agarrar palomitas y una Coca Cola porque esta película dura una hora y media. No tomes mucha coca porque vas a perder partes importantes. Si no has visto “Despicable me” o “Minions” necesitas ver esas también para entender quién son los minions y quién es Gru. Si te gustan las películas de niños yo recomiendo que vayas a verlas y también si no te gustan las películas de niños eso no importa, ve a ver “Minions: the rise of Gru” porque es una película que te va a gustar.
ollowing the success of the Oscar-nominated 2011 movie “Puss in Boots,” DreamWorks Animation in collaboration with Universal Pictures released the sequel to the hit movie titled “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.” Directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is a story about the titular character’s journey to find a wishing star that possesses one wish and will grant said wish to the first person to find it. At the same time, Puss in Boots is on the run from a mysterious wolf who plans to take the last of his nine lives. Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado are best known for their work on the “Kung Fu Panda” trilogy.
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is the sixth installment in the “Shrek” franchise. The movie takes place sometime after the 2010 movie “Shrek Forever After,” where the events of a tragic incident leaves Puss in Boots down to the last of his nine lives and on the run from a mysterious hooded wolf. The protagonist embarks on a journey with
Fthe help of Perrito, an orphaned dog and Kitty Softpaws, his former lover, to find the mystical last wish so he can gain his nine lives back. The movie features a lot of thematic choices that are relatable to both kids and adults - like the importance of friendship and family, the value of life, negative themes like anxiety and the fear of dying. Throughout the movie, DreamWorks emphasizes the importance of friendship and family as illustrated through the crime family of Goldilocks and the three bears and through Puss in Boots and Perrito’s relationship as new friends. The movie also emphasizes the value of life as Puss in Boots learns that it is not about the quantity of life but the quality. The movie also addresses the fear of dying and the anxiety it can instill on a person. This is depicted in Puss in Boots’ adventure to find the wishing star which is him going through great lengths to cheat death.
In addition to the thematic choices used in the movie, DreamWorks uses the on-screen character interactions and overall characterization to make the movie relatable to its audience. Puss in Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas, is the movie’s titular protagonist. He is a thrill seeking,
courageous, anthropomorphic cat of Spanish descent. He is also described as the hero of San Ricardo, helping those in need. Kitty Softpaws, voiced by Salma Hayek, is the love interest of our protagonist and is the movie’s deuteragonist. She is an adroit tuxedo cat who is the exfiancée of Puss in Boots. She is a smart, cunning, cool, well-groomed, independent and persuasive cat that ultimately just wants someone she can trust. Perrito, voiced by Harvey Guillén, is the movie’s tritagonist and a friend to our protagonist and deuteragonist. He is an amiable, wide-eyed, ingenuous and optimistic therapy dog. He constantly sees the very best in people and the world and his view of the world is what brings our protagonist’s internal conflict to a resolution. Mysterious Hooded Wolf, voiced by Wagner Moura is the movie’s main antagonist. He is a cunning, sinister and sarcastic individual who tries to take Puss in Boots’ last life. The movie also features other characters that add to the overall plot of the movie like Big Jack Horner, voiced by John Mulaney, Goldilocks, voiced by Florence Pugh, and so on.
Lastly, DreamWorks utilizes a new groundbreaking animation
style to capture the audience and keep them interested in the franchise. Director Joel Crawford, production designer Nate Wragg and the design team utilized hand-drawn techniques, hyper-realistic animation styles and a kaleidoscopic motion picture style to create a fairy tale movie that looked more fairy tale than movie. Although some might argue that the style distracts the viewer from the movie, in reality the style adds to it because the movie incorporates a lot of magic which the animation style makes pop.
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is a movie delivered at a time the world needed it the most. Released Dec. 21, The movie features friend-
ship, family, the value of life, anxiety and fear at a time when people are self-reflecting. The movie is a great watch for both kids and adults and I strongly suggest you go see it in theaters today.
“DreamWorks utilizes a new groundbreaking animation style to capture the audience...”
JOEY ARTHUR
JOEY ARTHUR ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Welcome to the first edition of The Wichitan’s Song of the Week for the spring semester of 2023! This week’s pick is “Nobody Gets Me” by American R&B singer-songwriter SZA. Released Dec. 9 as the 14th track on her sophomore studio album “SOS,” “Nobody Gets Me” is about struggling to let go and reminiscing about the good times of a bad relationship. Long anticipated by her
fans, SZA’s second album has been greatly accepted by the masses and I for one am a huge fan of both the song and the album.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Solána Imani Rowe, better known by her stage name SZA, is a Grammy-winning and Academy Awardnominated singer-songwriter most famously known for her critically acclaimed 2017 freshman album, “Ctrl.” Since her meteoric rise to fame, SZA has become a prominent and successful name in the music industry, working
with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Doja Cat. Although music wasn’t what SZA originally ever saw herself doing as a career choice, she most definitely has the talent for it and that’s evident in her continuous admiration - not just from fans of her music but critics and award committees.
“Nobody Gets Me” is my favorite song from her “SOS” album and from her discography as a whole. In “Nobody Gets Me,” SZA talks about how she misses her ex and wishes she can get back with him despite the fact that she acknowledges that the relationship was not a healthy one. She explains that she can’t let go of the feelings she has for him because she liked who she was with him and loved how he understood her. Now, she hates that no one will ever understand her the way he did. Regardless of SZA’s incessant reminiscing, she acknowledges that the relationship was not without faults but she doesn’t seem to be fazed by it.
Lyricism is a very important aspect of any song and SZA is no stranger to the concept. Over the span of her career, SZA has been highly credited for her talent in lyricism of which she showcased in “Nobody Gets Me.” SZA perfectly captures her feelings through explicit lyrics, carefully curated syntax choices and repetition. My favorite lyric in the entire song is:
JOEY
RATING: 4/5
“How am I supposed to tell ya? I don’t wanna see you with anyone but me. Nobody gets me like you. How am I supposed to let you go? Only like myself when I’m with you. Nobody gets me, you do.”American writer Simone Elkeles once stated that “There is a thin line between Love and Hate,” and “Nobody Gets Me” proves her right. “SOS” is a great listen but “Nobody Gets Me” is a song everyone needs to listen to. I recommend you go listen to it today.
“Letting go of something you that you have fond memories of can be very difficult and SZA explains that in “Nobody Gets Me.”
ARTHURPHOTO COURTESY OF TOP DAWG. SZA’s “Nobody Gets Me” comes from the artist’s sophomore album, “SOS,” 2022. PHOTO COURYESY OF SZA. “Nobody Gets Me” reminisces about good moments in a bad relationship, 2022.
