Arts

Playlist of the Week: Farewell, Class of 2023

With just two weeks remaining in the school year, Seniors are celebrating their final days at Andover through time with friends and reflections on their Andover experience. This week, Seniors shared a song that best represents their Andover journey, from songs that kept them going through hardships to songs that serve as a reminder of a special memory. Tune into the playlist to hear what message the Class of 2023 wants to leave.

Cris Ramnath ’23: “Do It For Love” by THAMA ft. george
For my own Andover experience, I found myself constantly contemplating what it is that I’m doing for love, whether that be for others, like family, and a lot of times at Andover, our friends. How much we love our friends and what we’re willing to do for them. And for myself, how much I am willing to do for love for myself at times, which I think is a constant battle I think we all kind of have had at Andover. It’s the people that make Andover what it is, although it’s cliché. I think more than that, it’s the love that we give and receive is something that we constantly reevaluate and redefine.

Ashley Song ’23: “5AM Empanada with You” by Bubble Tea and Cigarettes
Sitting in a car, I unexpectedly started crying to the song “5AM Empanada with You” by Bubble Tea and Cigarettes last summer. It was the first time a song had made me cry and it was the first time I had experienced a longing so deeply, tied to someone I’ve met here. I listen to a lot of sad music and I’m not sure if I’m drawn to it because it expresses a melancholiness I can’t express in real life. And people and things always become attached to this music, in my memory. I’ve experienced many firsts here, so I’ll always remember Andover whenever this love and longing resurfaces, always with some fondness, but also sadness.

Jaeyong Shim ’23: “00:00” by BTS
Even if you have had a bad day, at 00:00 (midnight), it’s a new day and you can make it better. I think this applies to my Andover experience a lot because whenever I have a “bad” day, I like to think about how tomorrow will be a better day. I usually listen to it at night right before I go to bed to be excited for the next day. I listened to it a lot during Winter Term because it was a tough term, mentally and physically, and the song allowed me to stay positive through the whole term. 그래도 이 하루가 끝나잖아 is my favorite line because it is comforting the listener by saying, “It’s okay, the day is over, tomorrow will be better.”

Elyse Goncalves ’23 : “All My Life” by The Lathums
However you came into Andover, however you experienced Andover, you leave not knowing what’s next, but kind of knowing who you’ve become throughout this process. It’s a song that I found on a car ride with a friend from Andover… this song came on one of our random playlists, and we both really liked it. So it both has an emotional memory, but is also just a song that is representative of my experience… There’s a certain sense of curiosity about this song that’s reminiscent of the amount of work and time you put into Andover… I’m sad to go but I think that I’ve learned so much from this school that leaving, I know it will still be a piece of me.

Pema Sherpa ’23: “Seasons” by Wave to Earth
The song’s refrain, “But I’ll pray for you all the time/ If I could be by your side/ I’ll give you all my life, my seasons,” represents how I feel about my closest friends. We’ve experienced a lot together. Singing during car rides, trips during long weekends, crying and laughing at the same time, trying to find each other at All-School Meeting, and everything in between… when we have all gone our separate ways after graduating, I will hold those memories and relationships dear to my heart it and I would give my friends “all my life, my seasons.”

Dakota Chang ’23: “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John
Every time I found myself on the brink of giving up, I would play this song. It has accompanied me through some of my toughest moments, whether it was spending eight hours debugging a computer science project or crying over physics. This song reminds me that despite the challenges I faced, I managed to persevere and excel. As I approach the end of my time at Andover, it fills me with hope for what lies ahead. Here are lyrics that stood out to me: “Don’t you know that I’m still standin’ better than I ever did? Lookin’ like a true survivor, feelin’ like a little kid.”

Daniel Son ’23: “Don’t Ask Me Why” by Billy Joel
Coming into Andover, I always struggled, and admittedly still do at times, with perfectionism. I had an unhealthy obsession with wanting everything to fall into place picture perfect, but my way of going about this was… to do nothing, and instead stress myself out by overthinking… as important as developing a routine for oneself is the ability and confidence to deviate from it. Sometimes, the best decisions are those taken through heart, not head. Perfection should we ever even set as a goal, certainly is not accomplished through complacency. So to anyone reading this, “Don’t wait for answers. Just take your chances. Don’t ask me why.”