VOLUME 4

“INDEPENDENT REDHEAD”

Lizzo “Boys”

“Baby, I don’t need you. I just want to freak you, ” is the standout lyric from the song “Boys” by the R&B singer Lizzo. This song reminds me that I am an independent women, who truly doesn’t need a man to define who I am. My independence is something that I appreciate having and I am proud to be on my own. Making the big move from Minnesota to California was a testament to the bravery I had to make a fresh start into an adult atmosphere. My adolescence was just a phase of my life that according to the article, Introducing Identity by David Buckingham “adolescence is a period in which young people negotiate their separation from their family, and develop independent social competence.”

Lizzo “Soulmate”

To quote Lizzo’s song, “Cause I’m my own soulmate, I know how to love me.” This female R&B artist is all about female empowerment and loving yourself in your own skin. Self Love is something that I am always trying to work on and accepting myself for who I am. The song encourages me to be different from others my age, and to try to stand out from the crowd. Related to the book that we read this semester called Social Media Freaks by Dustin Kidd, a resistance identity is a “counter-model of identity subscribed to by oppressed or marginalized groups.” In High School, I always felt like an outsider since I was never in the so-called “popular group.” But this song has shown me that it is okay to not be within those certain standards, you need to learn how to love yourself first.

Priscilla Ahn “Dream”

“I was a little girl, alone in my little world.” This song was such a beautiful ballad that I could relate to as a young girl, since it represented how I was as a child. When I was younger, I was very imaginative and often caught myself daydreaming constantly. The house that I grew up in has a roof that I could climb out onto from my bedroom and some nights, I would go out there and stargaze. This is something that I enjoyed as a child and pride myself on. The ability to imagine and be creative with my thoughts as a kid, made me into the creative women I am today. Within the new era of social media, I am now able to identify myself as an artist and take on a “personality-based identity.” Which according to Dustin Kidd’s novel is ” an identity that centers on the person and includes the thoughts, aspirations, and opinions of an individual.” My Instagram would also be described as personality-based since I identify myself as a musical artist.

Imagine Dragons “Amsterdam”

I have always enjoyed having tattoos, and I chose this song by Imagine Dragons, since I have the lyrics “your time will come if you wait for it” tattooed on my back. I apply this quote in my personal life, work life, as well as my social life. Often times, I catch myself overthinking things and getting too much in my head, so this lyrics reminds me to take a step back and be patient with what I want out of my future. I can’t be too eager to force things into happening. Society has numerously made women to seem too over emotional and unstable, though that may be true, I take advantage of my emotions and pride myself of them. I’d rather have an immense amount of emotions spiraling through than have none at all.

Halsey “Alone”

“Alone” written by Halsey was a song inspired by the classic “Romeo and Juliet.” Many of her songs are about strained relationships and within this one, a man claims to know her, but it’s untrue “they’ve just only met.” My kind of personality, loves to meet new people, especially when it’s a Friday night out on the town. I weirdly love the experience of meeting a complete stranger and having a conversation about who they are. This is probably why I love being a cocktail server so much. To be able to hear a complete stranger’s story and try to relate to them, is something that makes me love having new life encounters. I never was very social as a child, so being able to get outside of my comfort zone and socialize helps me feel more of a live human being. When a person can break down my barrier, they will find that I am a passionate women.