Melodrama

Currently, my top five most-listened to songs of this year are:

1. “No. 1 Party Anthem” by Arctic Monkeys
2. “Arabella” by Arctic Monkeys
3. “gold rush” by Taylor Swift
4. “Hello?” by Clairo (feat. Rejjie Snow)
5. “Breathe Deeper” by Tame Impala

Why is this important? It’s not. Ultimately, this is completely useless information that will have no measurable impact on the universe. But it’s important to me, and not only because it’s solid proof that I have impeccable music taste. It’s important because it’s one small way that I like to romanticize my life—recently, I’ve been obsessively listening to music that I somehow relate to. It makes me feel like I’m the main character in a coming-of-age movie, and this is the soundtrack.

Romanticizing your life is a trend which I’ve noticed has recently skyrocketed in popularity. On the Internet, romanticizing your life means living a Pinterest board kind of life. The idea is to find the beauty in yourself and in your life and essentially act as if you are the main character. There are thousands of guides on how to romanticize your life 

I love this trend because it teaches you to appreciate the “mundane” things in life, making every day worth living. It’s a way to learn yourself and find out what little things make you happy. 

The romanticization of my life is part of the reason I chose this blog’s topic to be teenagers. Teenagers love to romanticize their lives, which is why I love artists like Lorde, whose music romanticizes a fairly average teenager’s life. It’s akin to exaggerating all of your emotions and the events in your life, except it’s done in a way which helps you to admire those things rather than merely amplifying them.

For me, a way that I romanticize my life is by listening to music that makes me feel like the main character. In case you were wondering, I’ll continue the list of my top songs of 2021 to 10.

1. “Hayloft” by Mother Mother
2. “400 Lux” by Lorde
3. “Dont Know How” by Ricky Montgomery
4. “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night” by Finneas
5. “Born to Die” by Lana Del Rey 

…no, I’m not okay.

What up? I’m Aurelia, I’m 18, and I’ll always love Vine more than TikTok. 

If you read that sentence as a remix of this iconic Vine, you’re my kind of person, and will probably agree with my absolutely correct opinion in this blog post. 

Vine was an American social networking platform in which users shared 6.5 second long looping videos. It was created in 2013, with over 200 million active users in 2015. Tragically, in 2016, Vine was discontinued.

Vine’s memory has lived on, though. Since its death over four years ago, thousands of Vine compilations have been uploaded to YouTube that have garnered millions of views. Certain Vines have gained such popularity that any old Vine user is likely to recognize if you quote one. 

On the other hand, TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service that launched in 2016, with its original purpose being to share 15 second to 1 minute long dance videos. It has recently gained immense popularity, and is now used to share videos of basically any type.

In a way, TikTok replaced Vine—they’re both short video-sharing networks, and one rose after the other fell. But Vine was better, and it will always be better, despite what anyone else tries to tell you.

Here’s my proof. 

1. Vine is sentimental and nostalgic

Vines have the ability to be nostalgic because they’re no longer around. They’re like an old movie that your parents are oddly attached to, despite the fact that it’s not actually all that. It’s because that movie is a classic. And so is Vine. Who doesn’t love feeling sentimental? Do you know how many “RIP Vine” compilations there are on YouTube? 

1. The quotes are iconic

Vine is unparalleled when it comes to providing iconic quotes. From my observations, a large part of this is because they’re so short—it’s much easier to remember one funny sentence, such as “I wanna be a cowboy, baby!” than it is to remember the contents of a one minute video. Also, it’s because the funniest Vines are way funnier than the funniest TikToks. I could quote a few TikTok audios if I really tried, but do you really think that anyone will laugh if you attempt to quote a TikTok in seven years? No. They’ll stare at you like you’re insane, because you are. But if I say “Two bros chillin’ in a hot tub,” a decade from now, I know that someone will reply, “five feet apart cuz they’re not gay!” 

1. TikTok is all over the place

Whenever I bring up TikTok’s cringe factor, someone points out that Vine also had its fair share of cringey videos, which is absolutely true. Any social network is bound to have some very un-funny stuff that somehow blows up. 

However, Vine has left behind a legacy of timelessly hilarious videos. They all share a similar very odd and niche type of humor that involves fairly senseless and so-dumb-they’re-funny situations. I don’t know how to explain it, but if you watch a few Vine compilations, you’ll probably understand. I’ve seen TikToks attempt (and occasionally succeed!) to recreate this type of humor, but those TikToks are far more rare. The most popular TikToks tend to be dance challenges, random celebrity videos, and other long videos that usually aren’t funny. It’s incohesive. It’s not suitable for compilations that will long outlive the app itself. 

In conclusion: Vine is the best. Here are a few of my favorite compilations in case you need a good laugh:

• “Vines that make me feel less dead inside”
• “Mostly rare vines that regulate my blood pressure”
• “vines that make me feel better.”
• “Ultra Rare Chaotic Evil Vines not fit for Human Consumption”
• “vines for when you wanna die and you feel like it’s monday”
• “Vines that cured my depression” 

These years are important. And they’re slipping by. I should live in the moment, experience this part of my life to its fullest. Society tells us that our teenage years have the potential to be the best years of our lives. These are the years for exploration, young love, reckless decisions, parties, drama, and adventure.

There’s a lot of ageism rooted in the way we view the progression of our lives, that I personally think is stupid. Some people act as if your ability to have fun dies when you turn thirty, or that your life’s biggest accomplishments aren’t as valid if they occur later on in your life. Personally, I’m looking forward to adulthood—I’m not worried about my life somehow becoming dull and unexciting when I’m middle-aged. But that’s not the point. The point is, there’s a lot of pressure put on teenagers to…have a perfect life.

Although I don’t think that my teenage years are important because the rest of my life will be worse (which is what society seems to tell us, sometimes—maybe it’s because you guys have to pay taxes now, which is valid), I do think that they are important. And rare. A person’s teenage years are extremely formative, despite how relatively short they are. This is because people often encounter their first important life experiences in their teenage years, which is also while the brain is still developing. To put it simply, there are a lot of memories being made which could define you as a person.

Or…maybe there’s a lack of those sensational memories being made. Maybe that’s the problem. 

I’ve spent a lot of my life feeling like I’m missing out. Missing out on having more friends, or a significant other, when I was younger. Missing out on being involved in more activities, like school sports, when I was in high school. Missing out on that party I wasn’t invited to, or couldn’t go to because I was busy. Missing out on the excitement of football games because I couldn’t bring myself to care, or because of COVID-19. These are just minuscule examples. What I really mean is that I’ve just had this overwhelming, terrifying feeling that I am letting what could be the best years of my life slip through my fingers. Like I’m missing out on extraordinary experiences that I won’t be able to have as an adult, because it’s simply not the same when you’re older and less hormonal and have a sense of stability. 

Sometimes, this is just a mild case of FOMO, but sometimes, it’s such a heavy and frightening feeling that it’s crippling. That sounds dramatic, but that’s the point of this blog, and I also don’t care. 

There’s actually a song that I feel summarizes this specific emotion perfectly, which is “Teen Idle” by Marina and the Diamonds. Listening to this song and its lyrics closely gave me a sense of validation that I never knew I needed. I honestly think that, if it’s something that you can relate to, listening to the lyrics and interpreting them yourself is a magically depressing experience that I won’t spoil by explaining the lyrics here (also because I’m lazy). But I highly recommend looking into it if you have free time and like music!

It’s scary to feel as if I’m constantly missing out on opportunities, adventures, experiences, memories. I want to do everything, but then again, I want to do nothing. I’ve struggled with depression, which makes it difficult to find the motivation to do anything, despite how much I may want to. And on the other hand, it’s hard to balance. Really hard. That’s my current biggest problem that’s causing this emotion (whatever it may be; I don’t have a word for it). I love it at Penn State. I love the people I’ve met, and I want to be with them. I want to have fun nights and walk around downtown and drive up the mountains blasting music and do things that’ll make me feel very alive, and very much like a teenager. But I have a lot of schoolwork. A lot! And as I’m trying to live in the moment, and enjoy the exciting four years I have here, I find my grades slipping dramatically, because I have to sacrifice one in order to have the other. In high school, I sacrificed my social life, my health, and my general happiness for grades, and I’m not willing to do that again. But I also know that my education is extremely important and is going to determine my future. So…that’s not stressful or anything.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk!

Are teenagers gayer than ever?

I say no. Many others would say yes. Both answers are correct in their own ways.

Over the years, I’ve been reading headlines that are all variations of “America is gayer than ever before!” usually accompanied by some percentage of people that identified as LGBT+ in a survey. I’ve been in groups of people, around 4-10, and heard “Did you know that one out of every [insert random small number] people are gay now? That means [insert another random small number] of us are gay!”

All of these things are a bit humorous to me, because I feel like the heterosexual world is just catching up to reality. When I hear someone say that around five percent—or eleven percent, or one out of eight, or whatever random number with little data behind it they saw online—of people are gay, I find it slightly amusing. Especially when this information is presented in a way that implies this number is larger than ever before historically. Because I just don’t believe it.

There are several problems with these statements. One is purely scientific. How do we measure how many people are LGBT+? We have to ask. So we conduct surveys. But surveys are hard to do. To be accurate, they have to have a very large sample size. So, for the United States, a truly accurate survey would include millions of people, from throughout the country. That’s difficult to do. Additionally, the people responding to this question specifically have to: (1) be aware of their sexuality enough to label it as something other than heterosexual, and (2) be comfortable enough to share that information. Both of these things are difficult to do in a heteronormative and homophobic society. So I view these surveys as a way of observing at many of the people that were asked are out of the closet—not solid proof of how many LGBT+ people there are in the world.

Another issue, tied into this one, is that people seem to believe that this is new. The younger generations are becoming increasingly gay. And in a way, they’re right. A recent Gallup poll showed that the generational group with the most people identifying as LGBT+ was those born between 1997 and 2002, with about 16%. Looking further back, 9% of those born between 1981 and 1996 identified as LGBT+, then 4% for those born between 1965 and 1980, and 2% of those born between 1946 and 1964.

So, yeah, today’s teenagers are gayer. But combining this with the knowledge that the number of people identifying as LGBT+ has been increasing over time, it seems obvious to me that this is simply proof that, in light of a world that is becoming more welcoming, more people are discovering and embracing their sexualities.

LGBT+ people didn’t just pop up in America during the Stonewall Riots. Despite what older conservatives will say, there’s no brain-washing in the media or chemicals in the water turning our youth gay. LGBT+ people have existed as long as human beings. Well, in my opinion. I suppose I can’t present that as a definitive fact—I’m not a historian. But that’s the final problem. Historians can’t prove it either. Well-recorded LGBT+ history is extremely limited, and if you’re using approximately 1.5 brain cells, you might think that’s because LGBT+ people hardly existed before the last few decades.

But using two or more brain cells, it becomes apparent that this is because history is full of homophobia. If there are people now who are not responding to anonymous surveys identifying as LGBT+ because of the heteronormativity and homophobia in our society, imagine how it was two hundred years ago. Additionally, a lot of this history exists but is erased, because those who have the means (money, education, social standing) to somehow record history were not out LGBT+ people, and/or were homophobic themselves. In specific cultures where this was not taboo, there’s likely not a lot of solid evidence that it happened; and a lot of these cultures’ histories were either whitewashed or ruined by colonization.

So…are teenagers gayer now? Thankfully, we’re more out. But I think we were always gay.

Any student, from elementary school to college, is well acquainted with rules. Endless rules, governing what is allowed and what is to be done. Do your homework before the deadline, don’t chew gum in class, be seated before the bell rings, study at least four hours per week for the quizzes. It makes sense—schools need to be orderly, especially to have any hope of educating their students, that are often unmotivated. In college, there are less stupid rules (okay, maybe I shouldn’t call them stupid, but I just personally think there was no reason for my high school to ban me from wearing a hat or going to the bathroom during class), but there are plenty to follow nonetheless. 

The Code of Conduct at Penn State, which is a fairly standard rulebook for a university, is quite fitting for a student population of older teenagers. For example, there is a detailed section “All About Alcohol” that explains the strict rules regarding alcohol consumption by students of Penn State, on and off campus. Consequences for violating these rules include parental notification, suspension, expulsion, and more. It makes sense, considering that college students are notorious for drinking excessively. But really, how iron-fisted are these rules?

Considering that Penn State is known for being a huge party school, I would say that the Code of Conduct is all words. Well, not completely—of course, plenty of students have been punished for violating the rules. But if all of, or even a simple majority of, Penn State students followed the Code of Conduct line-for-line, college life would look a lot different. It’s no secret that students are still drinking underage, on campus, and in excessive amounts that are dangerous to their health. And it makes sense that, as a business, it’s not in Penn State’s best interest to crack down on these rule-breakers—that would take a lot of effort and money to enforce, and would likely deter students from attending Penn State (unless the vast majority of universities did the same, which they wouldn’t). 

Personally, I don’t feel strongly for rules, just that the health and safety of the students should be prioritized. So yes, alcohol abuse on college campuses is a huge issue, but I’ve never felt the need to write Penn State a strongly-worded letter about their laziness in enforcing the Code of Conduct.

Wait, no, nevermind. Yes I have! Because there is a section of the Code of Conduct that I feel is almost never enforced, despite its importance. Enter: COVID-19. In light of the pandemic, Penn State added a section to the Code of Conduct about COVID-19 restrictions. I could summarize them here, but that’s very boring, and you can read, so I’m not going to. To get straight to the point, Penn State has done a dismal job at enforcing this section of the Code of Conduct. I honestly can’t think of a student here who has followed all of the masking and social distancing guidelines. And Penn State isn’t doing anything about it. The number of large gatherings I’ve seen on campus (in my dorm hall, in the dining halls, in buildings like the HUB, outside etc.), with three or more people, unmasked and close together, is insane. I’ve grown accustomed to seeing students pull off their masks whenever they feel like it, even when they are within close proximity with other students indoors. It’s scary. The number of parties I’ve seen on social media makes it clear that there isn’t much being done to prevent this kind of behavior.

I’m not saying that Penn State doesn’t ever enforce the COVID-19 policies—I’ve experienced it first hand. When I was sitting outside. At least ten feet away from any other person. Eating food. I was told to put my mask on. It really made me wonder what the university is telling faculty to say to students. Because when I go to the dining hall, I guarantee that some random boy will have his mask below his nose, and will stand maybe two feet away from me, despite the giant, bold stickers on the ground indicating where to stand when waiting in line so that it’s socially distanced. And I guarantee that nobody will say anything to him. 

What’s my point? This is slightly a rant, yes, because the extent to which students can ignore that there’s a pandemic without facing any consequences makes me angry. But more importantly, I’m asking if anything can be done about it. Is it possible to get students to follow COVID-19 guidelines? I mean, if students are easily getting away with breaking the Code of Conduct, and have been probably since Penn State was founded, what are the chances that anything can be done to actually enforce the COVID-19 restrictions put in place to protect the community? 

I don’t have an answer to this, but I will say, I think that it’s honestly more dependent on the students to love and respect the community they live in.   I unfortunately don’t see any scenario in which the collective mindset of Penn State’s students and faculty could change so that we begin actually being safe in the midst of a global pandemic. Don’t get me wrong, I love Penn State. I love many of the people I’ve met here. But also, some of you are complete idiots, and I’m paying way too much money to not complain about the university’s failures. In conclusion: please do the bare minimum to prevent more people from getting sick. At the least, it’s an inconvenience, and at the most, it can take a life. 

Here is all of the context you need for the title.

Blasting music in the car with friends. Spending way too much money on concert tickets. Listening to your favorite song to escape from the world around you. Becoming obsessed with a certain artist, and listening to their entire discography on repeat. How many of these things have you done? It’s likely that you did one or most of them during your teenage years—it’s well known that teenagers love music. This passion blog is even named after an album. But why?

Why do teenagers love music so much? Of course, people of all ages can enjoy music, but it’s common for people to develop their music taste during their youth, and to be captivated by it. And there are actual reasons for this!

Davida Price, a music therapist, points out that “Research shows that music affects every part of the brain, including our emotions and the brain chemicals transmitting information throughout the body,” which is the reason why music can be such a fundamental part of a teenager’s identity. Music can help a teenager discover, process, and feel their emotions; it can help define their personality and interests. 

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense that teenagers are known for listening to particularly depressing or “emo” music. A person’s teenage years consist of them discovering the world around them, and it’s an extremely emotional experience. The transition from childhood to adulthood; the first loves and first heartbreaks; the melodrama. These are all very complex and moving experiences for a teenager—they are new, frightening, and confusing, especially when combined with the hormones that are usually running high in a teenager’s body. It’s logical that a teenager would turn toward music to cope with these things. On one hand, it’s a way of reassuring yourself that other people have felt these emotions, and that you’re not alone. On the other hand, it’s a way for teenagers to truly connect with some of their most intense feelings, ones that may be deemed silly, bizarre, or nonsensical by others. This could go for listening to an intense hard-rock song to let yourself feel that anger in a safe way, or listening to a love song that validates your oddly intense crush. 

It’s common sense, in a way, but it’s also science. Experts have even compared teenagers listening to loud music to addiction. Listening to music is a distraction, a coping mechanism, a connection to emotions, an identity, a comfort, and a must for many teenagers. Studies have shown that listening to your favorite song releases some of the same neurotransmitters that cocaine does. 

Overall, there’s some fun science behind why people in general love music, and why it affects teenagers so significantly, dealing a lot with brain development. Looking at it from a more social perspective, music can be a huge part of someone’s identity, and for an emotional and confused teenager discovering who they are, music can become a huge part of them.