I mean, I'm just so busy.

Wow UT, you really know how to pile the work on the week before spring break, don't you? Perhaps it's my fault for taking 18 hours this semester...but I really didn't have a choice, you see.

Not if I wanted to enjoy my summer that is.

3 more days, I can do it.

But I need a kick ass playlist to help relieve my stress.

Whenever I get this stressed out I can always rely on these tunes to motivate me, whether it be for the lyrical content or simply for the powerful, uplifting instrumentals or beats.

1. Bob Dylan- Like A Rolling Stone

Kind of a cliche Dylan song to choose I know, but if I am EVER feeling below par the minute Dylan comes on I suddenly can't help but to catch myself belting- and this, cliche or not, is undoubtedly his best belting song to date. Or sometimes if I've just accomplished a really hard homework assignment, Positively 4th Street is fun to sing. I like to pretend the unknown subject he is singing about (whether it is government, a girl, etc.) is my homework...and I just conquered that shit!

2. The Beatles- Getting Better

Well you knew that this would be on here. And as a head's up, you could probably expect a Dylan and Beatles song on every playlist that I make. I'm sorry, but if their songs weren't so damn applicable to almost every aspect in life then maybe it would be different. I mean, come on- listen to this song if you're stressed out and tell me it doesn't bring a refreshing sense of positivity. At times like these, the first line is all I really need.

"I used to get mad at my school, the teachers that taught me weren't cool. You're holding me down, turning me round, filling me up with your rules."

But you know what, I have to admit it gets better (all the time). There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and if you are strong enough, you can always reach it.

(Unfortunately the site I download my Playlists do not have this song uploaded, so go buy Sgt. Peppers for yourself!)

3. Jimmy Eat World- Sweetness

Whether or not this song has timeless merit, it certainly deserves a solid fist pump when played. And fist pumps, boys and girls, will bring a smile to anyone's face.

4. Animal Collective- My Girls

This song is absolutely fantastic simply for the fact that when I am worried and stressed about minute, insignificant things (which I assure you, it happens way too often), I can listen to this song and remember that the simple things in life are what is important.

"There isn't much that I feel I need, A solid soul and the blood I bleed. But with a little girl and by my spouse, I only want a proper house.

I don't care for fancy things or to take part in the freshest wave, But to provide for mine who ask, I will with heart on my father's grave."

5. Arcade Fire- Wake Up

Every time I hear this song I think to myself, "When I get a real job and earn enough money to invest in a personal trainer (hence, if and when I ever hit the gym again), I would LOVE to run to this on my iPod. Such an inspiring build up right from the get go.

Oh, and that is saying something because...I hate running. Loathe it, rather.

6. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers- Learning to Fly

This song reminds me of my mommy!

Ok, sorry- that was irrelevant. Or was it? My mom, after all, is quite an inspirational woman. After all of the emotional ups and downs in her life she is still able to attain a positive attitude 95% of the time. Perhaps I subconsciously think of this every time I hear the song and therefore become more motivated in whichever endeavor I am embarking on at the time.

Although, I also really like the overall message. It correlates nicely with my slogan that I have adopted- Emmy, In Progress. Petty's lyrics for this particular song have a "Life, In Progress" tone to it, don't you think? We're just figuring it out as we go. We can't get caught up with silly things like homework (ahem, UT!)

7. Something Corporate- Punk Rock Princess (Sorry Eliot!)

Haha, I just can't help it. Andrew Mcmahon's poppy upbeat Something Corporate days were the best! I'll always be put in a good mood if this is playing. It reminds me of a simpler time...you know, high school- the most emotionally traumatic years of a teenage girl's life.

What a fairytale this song is- and so fitting to the times of my young, teenage angst.

8. Relient K- College Kids

And if I'm going to include Something Corporate, it seems a must that I add Relient K to the list. This song, after all, is perhaps the most relevant to my current situation. Sometimes you just want to throw in the towel on this conventional, 4 year college thing. It's nice to know that there are others out there that feel the same way. If only I were so lucky as to have the musical talent as a back up like these guys do.

"Arts and Crafts is all I need!"

9. Modest Mouse- Missed the Boat

I know it isn't exactly "cool" to have a favorite song of an artist if it's on their last CD that they have put out. The common response I think is (and remember to insert your rebel, 15-year-old-think-you-know-everything-about-music-voice), "Yeah, they're first album was good," or "Man, they're such sell outs," or how about, "They're old stuff is like...so much better!"

But, whatever.

This song literally brings a tear to my eye every time the chorus approaches. I don't know what it is, but Isaac Brock's lyrics are so captivating. And so fitting if you need a bit of a lift- or rather, if you simply need peace of mind knowing that everyone gets confused and overwhelmed at times.

"Everyone's unhappy, everyone's ashamed; Well we all just got caught looking at somebody else's page;
Well nothing ever went quite exactly as we planned, Our ideas held no water but we used them like a dam"

10. Radiohead- Jigsaw Falling into Place

Again, this song is on "In Rainbows" (their last album release). I don't know why this keeps happening, but this song has to be included. Just look at the title! It's inspiring to me because I can pick out several moments in my life where I was overwhelmed and didn't see how I would ever make it through the situation. Whether a test was moved to a different day for some unknown reason or an unexpected person upon happenstance invited me to lunch on a day that would have initially not been available, things always seem to work out. Like a puzzle piece falling into place.