Kiley Wellendorf | News Co-Editor

01. Everlong – The Color Morale

We were tangled up on blankets, stuffing our faces with Oreos and making comments about how dreamy the actor was. I was always amazed at the way being blood-relatives automatically tied you to someone so closely. It’s one of those moments where it’s normal to share uncomfortable silence or to only mention recent accomplishments with work and school. With you, though, it was different. We knew nothing but somehow managed to soak in every detail of our lives together in a few days. Somehow being together brought out a sense of security but also ignited a spark inside that pushed me to want to be more than what I was. I tried new things, considered getting a tattoo, and even pushed myself to be more social than I gave myself credit for. We were wild together, and even though it only lasted for a few days – it was the most fun I had let myself have in months. So as we gazed off into the television screen, mouth full of crumbs, I found myself melting the moment, “Everlong” by Foo Fighters played in the background of the movie we were watching. (If that wasn’t enough proof that this was the exact place I was meant to be than I’m not sure what else is).

02. Wild Horses – The Sundays

Sitting by the lake, ice cream melting in our hands, and belting out Britney Spears’ new album was where we spent a majority of our nights. Our pre-planned vacation of sunbathing by the pool and riding rollercoasters quickly shriveled due to an abundance of cloudy days and bipolar rainfall. In fact, it rained the entire time we stayed at our temporary getaway. The trip turned out to be so much better than we all had anticipated, and in fact, the rain made it more creative. We attended movies, drove around for hours, and talked for hours in nicotine-stained cars trying to figure out what college would be like someday. (The amount of Dairy Queen we ate is almost embarrassing but not nearly as bad as the stuff we looked up on our phones while waiting for our food at restaurants.) But that’s the thing – we were just three girls waiting to become upperclassmen without any care in the world. I spent an entire summer glued to two girls who didn’t care if I ate an entire box of Velveeta macaroni and cheese in one sitting or didn’t mind dropping me off at places I wasn’t supposed to be at. We were reckless and immature, but we were all together — and that was all we ever needed.

03. Free Fallin’ – Live at the Nokia Theatre – John Mayer

I remember waiting outside the movie theatre for hours; we spoke about staying outside in the frigid cold all week, and even though half the time we had tests the next day we didn’t have a care in the world. We sped to the movie theatre the moment school let us out and brought an abundance of blankets and plans for the night. Would we order from the Mexican restaurant down the street? “How funny would it be if Pizza Hut came to the movie theatre?” Somehow every year we would bring more snacks with us, and even when we’d stuff our faces outside in the cold, we usually were the first ones to run in line for snacks the moment we were inside. I looked forward to November all throughout my years at home because it meant fall weather, sad music, and the Twilight series midnight premiers. I’m not sure if it’s brag-worthy, but we were first in line for every movie. There isn’t a better feeling than spending hours in the cold snuggled up against your best friends waiting for midnight.

04. The Man Who Sold The World – Nirvana

In the middle of screaming whenever our boat hit a bump or yelling at Ben because I didn’t want to go tubing with him – I always heard this song in the background. Actually, I’m pretty sure Nirvana’s “Unplugged in New York” CD was the only form of music we ever had on the boat. We would spend hours on the lake and as I grew older, I gained a deeper appreciation for the times my family would just aimlessly float around all day. Ben and I were always seated at the front of the boat, but even though I never felt like being productive, Ben usually found a way to drag me on the tube or make me swim with him in the mucky-green water. Lake View was my safe haven and became a place where my family would spend weekends at or drive to whenever we were free. Some of my warmest memories will always be tied to our mini-vacations at the lake.