Beyond the Lyrics by reginasancheese

BEYOND THE LYRICS A COLLECTION OF INTERVIEWS EXPLORING THE MEANING BEHIND PEOPLE'S FAVORITE SONGS. 2019

"Behind every favorite song, there is an untold story."

these are the stories behind the favorite song's of 50 people. Friends, Classmates, Staff, and Strangers, 1

Lane McNamara

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "I’ve narrowed my favorites down to two songs that come across the same way to me. Those being Coming Clean by Green Day and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen." 2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "I don’t think I can pin it down to a specific feeling...maybe pride... maybe a sense of not being alone (like... togetherness). These songs are about LGBT experiences and thoughts, (Coming Clean has been specifically stated to be about Billie Joe’s bisexuality but Bohemian Rhapsody’s meaning is up to interpretation. I just interpret it that way because Freddie was gay and he puts my thoughts into words.), that I have personally had and that hit very close to home. Coming Clean speaks on Billie finally realizing what he is, but still having that secret hidden. Bohemian Rhapsody speaks on the feelings Freddie has about being gay (again, just my interpretation). The way these two describe their feelings hits so close to home and it makes me feel like I’m not alone in these feelings. They repeated some of the exact words and thoughts I’ve had myself." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "I’m transgender and my relationship with my parents over that hasn’t been all that glamorous. I was never thrown out of my house or abused for it, but they didn’t believe me and refused to listen to me about it for the first year or so that I was out of the closet. The years preceding my coming out were weird and I don’t have the usual trans experience you’d see in documentaries or youtube videos.I was never truly uncomfortable with myself up until puberty. All throughout my childhood I just did what I did and I thought nothing of it. I was into princesses and Disney movies and boy bands. I wasn’t the kid that came out of the womb knowing I was trans. My parents didn’t understand that and would hold every feminine trait of mine against me due to that care free childhood. Coming Clean really just resonates with the few months before I came out and the year or so after I did tell my parents.I had experimented with what i was comfortable with (with friends), researched everything, and talked to people who had experience with it all. I was confident that I’d be able to come out and sing Kumbaya with my family because they had always talked of acceptance. A week before I came out, my sister told us that she thought she was gay and my parents were totally cool with it. That just boosted my confidence more so I went ahead and told them. They just didn’t believe me. They said it didn’t make sense considering my personality and my interests. I was so feminine that I couldn’t be trans. There were fights and arguments and crying. I sort of separated myself from my family as much as I could. It just seriously hurt to be 2

around them. They didn’t listen to my requests to use a different name or pronouns and every time I’d bring it up, it would result in an argument over how I was wrong and they were right. Most of the time I’d just stay quiet about it and keep my distance. That situation fits the whole “skeletons in my closet” scene Billie Joe sang about. The whole song is quite short but it really gives me a boiled down, simplified version of how I was feeling that entire time. It’s simple but it gets the job done!

Seventeen and strung out on confusion Where Bohemian Rhapsody comes in, is when all of that tension was relieved one morning. My mom just stood up Trapped inside a roll of and told everyone that I was to be called Lane and that we disillusion should all use he and him when we can. She was crying and apologizing and I just... sat there. Freddie talks about killing I found out what it takes his former self and that morning was when I did the same.This song gives a much more in-depth look into my to be a man feelings to the point of reciting exact phrases I would say or Now mom and dad will think to myself. Many of the lyrics to bohemian rhapsody are more of an abstract representation of my feelings and never understand thoughts, not quite as literal as Coming Clean. These songs Secrets collecting dust are really special to me; especially now, being surrounded by this polarized climate that we’re all in that seems to turn but never forget people’s personal lives and natural states into a discussion Skeletons come to life in or an opinion. That sense of togetherness with fellow LGBT folk who I’ve never met but can relate to with simple songs my closet is like therapy to me." I found out what it takes to be a man Now mom and dad will never understand What's happening to me”

Layla Nossier

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My favorite song is Sign of the Times by Harry Styles" 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "What that song makes me feel...this song came out almost two whole years ago, and to this very day it still gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. It’s an unreal feeling everyone would wish to have and once you find that song for you feel proud." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/ significance that you hold behind this song? "To me, Sign of the Times means that it isn’t the first time we’ve ever had a hard time, and it definitely isn’t going to be the last. Harry even once said that and it’s just exactly how i feel about it. Going on to the lyric “have the time of your life,” (that’s at the time point 1:55 yes, i memorized it.),That lyric is basically what keeps me going everyday especially because this song came out during one of the hardest times of my life. I thank Harry everyday for giving me the time of my life."

Gabby Gamboa

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "The name of the song is NASA by Ariana Grande." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. “This song makes me feel hype and energized and want to dance. Even empowered in a way.” 3.Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? “This song makes me feel empowered because of the lyrics. She makes me feel like you don’t need no man and women can be independent without one, even though I am the complete opposite of that. The lyrics are about needing space, It’s like I can have a man, but remember I’m special and don't let your individuality get lost in a relationship because your individuality is your beauty.”

“Give you the whole world, imma need space.” & “I’m the universe and you’ll be NASA.”

Zaira Vaquero

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? “My favorite song is called You Know Who You Are by Jackson Talbott." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. “When I ﬁrst heard this song I was overwhelmed with a lot

of happy emotions. It made me feel happy and it made me feel wanted and like I could be myself around this person. Now a year and a half after the song was written, it still makes me happy, but it makes me very sad at the same time. I think that this song means so much to me just because I was always the one to write about people. Everyone else was always my muse. I wrote about people I saw struggling, or that were completely happy or completely ﬁne. I guess listening to how someone else views you was just a really cool experience and it just made me feel like I was someone's muse. I had never been in that position. Now I understand how other people feel when I write about them, not necessarily in a song but just in writing. I'm so grateful for my friends that made it possible for me to still have this song even though there were multiple attempts for it to just not be heard again. I'm very grateful that its still a thing. I'm happy I have it, I don't listen to it everyday. When the song ﬁrst came out, I did listen to it everyday, I listened to it probably like 40 times a day. Now I’ll probably listen to it once or twice every three months. Some days it makes me cry, some days it makes me feel like I can do everything." 3. How do you think your life would be without this song? “I think I would have a lot more questions regarding how much I meant to him. I think I would not be so in tune with myself. I know that boys aren’t supposed to be the thing that makes you feel better, that makes you feel good about yourself, you’re supposed to be that for yourself, but knowing that the way the song was written was in a way that made it seem like I was being good enough for him and if the song wasn't in my life now, I guess I would always be afraid that I wasn't enough. And I would always question that. I would question if how he felt towards me was fake, because a lot of people after he passed made it seem like it was. A lot of people tried to diminish connections between him and people that they didn't know just because it wasn't relatable to them. with this song I know how much he meant to me and I know how much I meant to him."

Debbie Portillo 1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My favorite song is River Flows in You by Yiruma." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song always manages to make me feel calm and happy no matter what the situation is. If I need to clear my head I always have to play this song, if I’m going through a rough time I play this song, if I want to sleep I play it. It makes me think of happy things but at the same thing makes me think of nothing at all. I could play it and just lay there listening and nothing would be running through my mind except just listening to the song. 3.Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song?

"This song is significant to me for a couple reasons, mainly being this was the song playing for my entrance at my quince and that was one of my best/favorite days ever, which makes the song signify happy thoughts to me. But also when I went through a rough time that same year of getting really sick I would always play that song on repeat or the 3 hour long version and just try to get my mind off of what was going on when things were getting worse. It helped me look at things differently and I TRIED to stay as positive as possible when all that was going on as well, this song has just always been a mind clearing happy song for me that I can always play in whatever mood I’m in no matter the situation."

Katia Larios

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My favorite song is Banana Clip by Miguel." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can.

"This song makes me feel nostalgic and the beat wakes me up it makes me feel like I'm going 100 on the freeway, it's just a good song. It mainly makes me feel nostalgic over something that hasn't happened, I feel like I'll eventually ﬁnd my lover who will make me feel like the lyrics."

3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song?

"It makes me feel happy and awake because I've seen it live and it was beautiful. The ﬁrst time I heard this song I was with my boyfriend so every time I hear it I remember it like that ﬁrst time."

Patrick McConell

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "This Land by Gary Clark Jr." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Anger, especially societal anger, is something I connect to on a strong level. I think there’s a lot wrong with modern day society, especially in America."

3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "I find that I connect most with songs that channel that emotion. Feeling like everyone wants to cast you out, make you feel less patriotic then them because you want to fix something that is wrong in America is an important concept of this song. “Fuck you, I’m America’s son.” That feeling of being an outsider in your own home. It’s a difficult emotion to convey well and he does it well."

Ava Francis-Hall

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My favorite song is Slush Puppy by King Krule." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me have an out of body experience. It's just so atmospheric and just the environment it creates, I have never heard a song like that before. It just transports me to a diﬀerent place."'

3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "Honestly it's not even the lyrics that hit me hard, it's just the way his voice is so raw and it pairs with the instrumentals. It meshes together to form this beautiful yet haunting sound that has a calming eﬀect."

Jocelyn Jimenez 1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "American Boy by Estelle (featuring Kayne West)." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Its a song that I can never get over, like the moment it comes on like I cant help but sing along to it. I kinda just get in like a hype mood and it makes me want to dance and rap along with it, literally all the time." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "This song is signiﬁcant to me because it’s a song that my mom said I always used to sing along to as best as I could as a 7/8 year old, but it just stuck to me throughout my life." 9

Gus Ferreira

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My Favorite song is called Imagine by the one and only John Lennon." 2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It makes me feel happy and sad at the same time because of the message it has." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "This song talks about how the world can be such a wonderful place but there is so much that divides us as humans. It could all be so simple, but it will never change the world, it is what it is and all we can do is imagine and have hope for a better tomorrow."

Graziella Gomez 1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My fave song at the moment is Last Dance by Donna Summer" 2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "I would say the emotions I feel from hearing that song would be both happy and sad, it does depend on the mood Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in. Happy would be what I feel because the song is kinda upbeat. It does have me feeling sad on days where Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m missing my family a lot and when that song pops up on my playlist it reminds me of them." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "Because it reminds me of when I was growing up back home and I would listen to this with my mom because she loved the 70s and Motown music so Donna was always on on the weekends." 10

Bella Lopez

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Shutgun by George Ezra" 2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It makes me feel really free, like I'm just living and going and just kinda happy." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "I associate it with being in a car full of kids that I really love being with on a long drive. The windows were all down and we shoved so many kids in that no one had seat belts or formal seats and we were all singing really loud. I wasn't really worried about anything and it was warm and true song just ďŹ t the moment so well."

Jonathan Gao 1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Do You Remember by Jarryd James." 2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel nostalgic for high school." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "This song makes me feel that way because I pulled my ďŹ rst all-nighter doing a pre-calculus project listening to this song on repeat."

Miguel Sanchez

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "The name of my favorite song is Nowhere Man by the Beatles." 2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song really makes me think about myself as

a person sometimes. Just gets me thinking about who I am and what I’m doing and what I want my future to be." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "In my opinion this is a song that anyone could

listen to at some point in their life. It is very relatable. Everyone will eventually feel like a “nowhere man” who does not know where he/ she is going or what she/he is doing."

Emma Clark

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Probably 4 Non Blondes What's Up?" 2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It's a pump up song, so easy to get excited with it playing in the car." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "I have a memory of driving to the beach and it was so pretty and blasting the windows down."

Bella Sandoval

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "The song I chose was Alone by Russ."

2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel happy but also very content with myself. It’s a song that makes me feel conﬁdent in what I’m doing and it reassures me that dealing with things alone is the best way, because you only have yourself in the end. " 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "Since the song is about being alone, I would always listen to this song when I was going through it junior year. It’s always a song I can listen to when I’m feeling down, just to know that I’m not the only one who feels this way. The song also touches on feeling distant from your family, and I think a lot of people can connect to that in high school because in the midst of everything you tend to drift away from people who love you the most. I guess the back story to this song in my life is this song is sort of my best friend when no one else is there. "

Jen DeLeon DeLeon

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Te Quiero by Flex"

2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel chills and happiness." 3.Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "This song makes me feel this way because it was the ﬁrst rap song I ever heard and it is signiﬁcant because my aunt showed it to me and I would have never gotten into rap if it wasn’t for the song." 13

Karolina Spinelli

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My favorite song is You by Keaton Henson." 2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel more aware of how I feel. The lyrics capture my outlook on life in a way no other song does, and I relate to the artist very much. Keaton Henson is a guy who is a super loner and hardly leaves his house, writing some of my most influential songs from his bedroom. He describes how he doesn't mind being alone and how he uses it to his benefit because he doesn't want to upset people." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "It makes me feel more aware and at ease because I understand the reasoning he has in the lyrics. When he says "If you must mourn my love, Mourn with the moon and stars up above, If you must mourn, don't do it alone, If you must leave, Leave as though fire burns under your feet." He instructs his loved ones to not spend time worrying over him because he understands peoples motives after years of just bystanding. This sits deep with me since I have a tendency to make most of my decisions based on how people will be affected; as I don't want to hurt people."

Emma

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Breathin' by Ariana Grande." 2.What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "That everything will be okay in the end because life has it’s ups and downs and to get through it you need to be patient with life and yourself." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "Because it’s by my favorite artist, she’s been my inspiration while growing up. I am so thankful for her." 14

Emma Metcalfe

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by?

"That's Just the Way We Roll by Jonas Brothers." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can.

"This song just generally puts me in a really good mood and makes me just want to scream it in my car." 3.Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song?

"I feel that this has been my favorite song for 9 years due to the chorus, “We get a li le crazy because I’ve always And I know been a very loud and crazy kid and I do notice We get a li le loud when people get weirded And I know out by the things I do We're never gonna fake and say but I know I’m it more than what they We are wild think of me and I’ve learned just to ignore it. We are free

We are more than you think So call us freaks”

As well as the Jonas Brothers recent comeback, this was the ﬁrst song I heard them do live in 6 years and it brought instant goosebumps when I heard the guitar intro and it brought me to tears because I just got a huge part of my childhood back."

Preston

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Artpop by Lady Gaga."

2.What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Extreme happiness." 3.Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "The beat & the message behind it. It's a song I can put on legitimately whenever and be able to bop to it."

Reilly Agmon

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Painkillers by Rainbow Kitten Surprise."

2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can.

"This song makes me feel like I can singlehandedly take on the world eventhough realisticly I know I can't." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is

the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "It's a very upbeat, yet soothing song. It hypes me up, yet keeps me grounded at the same time. I remember the ﬁrst I listened to this song, I was driving through the back roads with my friends on the way to a waterfall. Since then, I relate this song to happy moments in my life."

Allison Kong

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Wildﬂowers by Tom Petty." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Nostalgia. It’s like how you feel when you’re thinking about old happy memories that you want to experience again for the ﬁrst time."

3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "This song was in an episode of Parks and Recreation when Leslie, the main character, and her best friend, Ann, are saying goodbye to each other because Ann is moving across the country. My best friend and I often call ourselves Leslie and Ann and that episode reminds us of our friendship a lot because we’ll have to go through that kind of moment too when she moves to a diﬀerent state for college."

Bianca Wong

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by?

"My favorite song is Meet Me in Amsterdam by Rini."

2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can.

"It's a love song, and of course it's gonna make me feel all of these types of soft and love emotions, especially with the lyrics!" 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "It makes me feel this way because someone I hold deep in my heart as well shares the same love for the song, so everytime I listen to it a bunch of old memories and feelings tied into the memories all come rushing back to me."

Sara Martinez

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Temperature by Sean Paul" 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel happy, it takes me back to my early childhood when life was so easy and didn't have to worry about anything." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "This story of this song is that back in 2009 we had a PS2 and my older brother brought home a game called "Dance Dance Revolution." The game came with two dancing mats that connected to the PS2 and the song that we would always dance to was Temperature. I believe every time we played, we would dance the song about 8 times, I wish I could go back to those days." 17

Cailan Ferguson 1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "DoLL by Terra." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Somewhat nostalgic, as I first found it in elementary school, but it is truly timeless in the matter that I can still listen and it maintains the same degree of power. It’s able to withhold the same distinct feeling of mystical excitement it has held for such a long period of time, a feat rare for songs released in the internet era. In a short 4 minutes, I’m able to feel the same way I would as I watch a feature-length fantasy film." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "Aside from it being an overall magnificent song, it holds a special place in my heart as it’s one of the first foreign pieces of media I ever consumed. It was part of the Japanese video game Dance Dance Revolution Supernova, and playing it as a child exposed me to art from different cultures, a concept I had never previously experienced. Not to mention I was damn good at it. But, when I listen, I don’t exactly reminisce on the days where I was 7 years old, playing the game in the sweltering July heat. Instead, I feel appreciative that we live in a time period where we are able to spread this art to overseas audiences effortlessly."

Pauline Navarro

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Deja Vu by J. Cole." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It makes me feel joy, happiness.” 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "Because it's just a really good song to jam out to in the car.”

Luke Shroyer

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Stir Fry by Migos." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It makes me hungry, makes me wanna eat." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "It makes me feel that way because he's talking about stir fry."

Nevin Diaz 1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Sanguine Paradise by Lil Uzi Vert" 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It makes me feel hyped." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "Because of the beat and the lyrics."

Cortney Obermeier

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Party Favor by Billie Eilish." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It makes me feel both happy and sad at the same time." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "This so is important to me because it is a song that my boyfriend introduced me too and I cried when I heard but it makes me happy that we shared that moment."

Irene Soriano

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Titanium by Sia." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "I like the song because that’s when I first started singing and it makes me feel confident because it talks about being titanium." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "The significance that I have behind this song is that it was the song that I would always have a hard time singing, but then I finally got it and it makes me feel proud."

Karen Chavez

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My favorite song is Love Sorrow by Fritz Kreisler" 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It’s makes me feel free and warm even though the title doesn’t feel warm but it makes me feel relief."

3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "It makes me feel that way because it’s soothing and it’s not like people describe it, saying it’s elevator music, in order to understand classical you have to have a connection with it in order to be satisﬁed with it."

Sheyla Cifuentes

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Bands by Shoreline Maﬁa."

2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It’s makes me feel energized and puts me in a good mood and the beat makes me feel happy and conﬁdent." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "It makes me feel this way because I cares more about the beat which gives me good vibes. I like what the song brings out to me."

Paris Lennox

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My favorite song is Riptide by Vance Joy" 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "The song gives me feelings of happiness and ecstasy. Whenever I hear it, it seems to take me out of mind no matter the emotional state I’m in. When it plays all my stress falls away. I just feel like dancing and singing along whether I’m in an aisle at the supermarket or just in my room with my headphones blasting." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "I think the song makes me feel this way because of its upbeat nature and the care-free feeling its lyrics give. I’ve loved the song ever since it ﬁrst become popular and I vividly remember singing it one night in Hawaii after hearing it in the restaurant my family and I ate in. My mom tried to join in but she was singing the lyrics all wrong and I remember teasing her for it. I found it ironic considering the song mentions singing the words to a song wrong. That was one of my favorite trips I’ve had and I ﬁnd that I tend to associate the song with it. There’s just something about the melody and lyrics that make Riptide feel like all of my dreams put into three and a half minutes."

Ashleigh Lopez

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "All sorts of emotions because it's a 7 minute song." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? “My mom used to wake me up to that song for a year to torture me. My grandpa didn't know the words to the song, and its kind of emotional for me because he passed away.”

Cassie Martinez

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My favorite song is the theme song from UP." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Very sentimental."

3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "Because my niece was named after the movie and a part of the song makes me sentimental."

Kaia Lee

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Cinderblock Garden by All Time Low." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "It basically makes me feel hopeful." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song?

"There’s a couple lines in the song that really resonate with me. It’s a song I can listen to if I’m sad or mad and it calms me down and makes me feel better. The line “You can breathe now and forget ” really gets me at times because when I’m caught up in my emotions I forget to just stop and breathe, and sometimes that’s all I need to do to get out of my head. There are so many lines in that song that make me think of the good things that come with the bad, and remind me that no matter what happens I can make it through." 23

My Pham

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Vroom Vroom by Charli XCX." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel empowered and energetic! I also feel happy and joyful as well as a sense of superiority." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "This song ignited these emotions in me as the lyrics describe how I feel and I can very much relate to it , except for the Lamborghini part of course. This song makes me feel conﬁdence as it encourages the listener to be happy and content with themselves because they are just fantastic the way they are!"

Baylee Baysinger

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Westworld by EVAN GIIA" 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel happiness. Whenever I’m in a bad mood I put on this song and it just puts me in a good mood and makes me want to dance." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "The upbeat tune of the song just ﬁlls me with joy which is one of the reasons why it’s my favorite song at the moment. There isn’t a speciﬁc story behind it, it just always makes me happy and energizes me and it helps motivate me to go and get things done when I hear it."

Vanessa Viera 1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "I honestly have a lot of favorite songs and it is so hard to choose but a song that stands out to me is For The Love Of A Daughter by Demi Lovato." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Honestly this song makes me feel all sorts of things. It makes me feel happiness but it also makes me feel sadness and anger. I would say those are the main emotions that the song makes me feel." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "The song is about Demi dealing with her estranged birth father and his addictions. Which I can relate to a lot. Oddly enough though it makes me feel really sad but also in a weird way kind of happy. Like Demi, I grew up with an alcoholic father, I never noticed how bad things were until I got older and to be perfect honest things progessively got worse as I grew up. The song will forever hold a special place in my heart because of how much I relate to it. The lyrics from this song that speak out to me the most are, Every time I listen to this song I cry due to being able to relate to the song so much and because of knowing the meaning behind it."

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh, father, please, father. Put the bo le down. For the love of a daughter. Ohâ&#x20AC;?.

Jael Nelson

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "My favorite song is Who You Are by Jessie J." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "The vocals are so raw and the lyrics are so relatable and even when I’m upset the song assured me that we all have a rough time, it makes me feel self worth and it makes me feel like I can have bad days, I’m not perfect and I can’t change what I can’t control and I’m okay with that." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "For me the song just reminds me of my younger years in middle school and even now, struggling with body image issues, the crush that didn’t like me back or dumb arguments with my parents, that song had helped me cry out a lot of emotion I needed to release and it was always have a special place within me."

Doug Addis

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? “This Must Be the Place by Talking Heads.” 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. “Happy, it reminds me of being young.” 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? “I saw a midnight movie called Stop Making Sense with my high school friends in Downtown Chicago, people danced in the movie theatre like it was a big dance party.I had never experienced anything like that. It was a movie that played for like over a year. Just to be with my friends and have something that was ours.” 26

Martha Magana

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Promises by Jhene Aiko."

2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel like no matter the challenge or struggle I go through I will always have the support of my parents."

Christina Moore

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "93 Million Miles by Jason Mraz." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Makes me think about my dad." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "Makes me sad because my dad is gone."

Christina Corsetti

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "For Once in My Life by Stevie Wonder." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. “Happy, in love.” 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/ story/significance that you hold behind this song? “This was the ﬁrst song I danced with my husband.”

Michelle Guin

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Make It Last Forever by Keith Sweat." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Love." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "It was my ďŹ rst dance at my wedding."

Nonie Reyes

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? "Just Like Music by Eric Sermon ft. Marvin Gaye." 2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "Happy." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "I like the beat and I like the message because I love music. So for me it just like speaks to me, the lyrics. Like that one phrase he says, "I want music to adopt me."

Johnathan Morales 1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by?

"The name of my favorite song is Survivor by NBA Youngboy."

2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel diďŹ&#x20AC;erent and helps me get through hard times when you are struggling in life." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "This song makes me feel a certain way because of the words the artist is saying. The meaning that I hold behind this song is that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve dealt with a lot problems and I can relate to the message thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s given in the song."

Priscilla Cardenas

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by?

"Worth It from Fifth Harmony."

2. What does this song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. "This song makes me feel super happy and

pumped because of the memories it brings and because the beat of the song makes me want to get up and dance to the whole thing." 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? "It makes me feel this way because this song

was one of the songs that I danced for my surprise dance in my sweet 16th. It takes me back to that day and It reminds me of all the fun I had during that time and how awesome my 16th turned out."

Regina Sanchez

1. What is the name of your favorite song and who is it by? My favorite song would have to be Dear John by Taylor Swift. 2. What does the song make you feel? Describe the emotion as best as you can. I don't think I can neccessarily narrow it down to one single emotion. When I'm listening to this song, my emotions mirror those that I can only imagine Taylor felt while writing it: hurt, sadness, but also a little bit of power and self-worth towards the end of the song. 3. Why does it make you feel that way? What is the meaning/story/significance that you hold behind this song? The lyrics to this song are extremely powerful and hold a lot of truth to various situations I've found myself in. I think that everyone has a "John" in their life and it doesn't have to be in the romantic sense, it could be a friend or a family member as well. To me, this song relates to a silly crush I had on a boy and some friendships that didn't last. I feel like in certain times of my life, there have been many parallels between the lyrics in this song and those situations. Friends saying that a boy wasn't worth my time translating into "And I'll look back and regret how I ignored when they said "run as fast as you can." This song is so powerful and Taylor does a really good job at capturing the emotions of feeling like your heart has been ripped out of your chest and realizing that maybe you were putting more into something than what you were receiving.

Dear John, I see it all, now it was wrong Don't you think nineteen is too young To be played by your dark twisted games, when I loved you so? I should've known