Songs that feel like Graduation

“You Get What You Give” - New Radicals

I kept thinking about why “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals felt so nostalgic and graduation-coded, and then I remembered why. It’s featured in the graduation episode of “Glee,” which makes perfect sense. They really picked the right song for that moment.

This truly feels like the graduation song. It captures that mix of emotions so well. There is hope, excitement, anxiety and a little bit of sadness all wrapped together. It is the kind of song that makes you want to cry, but in a way that still feels uplifting.

Sonically, it is very 90s in the best way. It is big, anthemic and full of energy without feeling overproduced.

There is something about the way it builds that feels like a release, which mirrors graduation as a turning point. Everything is changing, but there is still this sense that things are going to be okay.

The chorus just brings it all home, “You've got the music in you / Don't let go / You've got the music in you / One dance left / This world is gonna pull through / Don't give up / You've got a reason to live / Can't forget / We only get what we give.” -Madison Rush

Madison Rush is a fourth-year majoring in public relations. To contact her, email mkr5957@psu.edu.

Album Photo Credits: MCA Records

“The Scientist” - Coldplay

Upon listening to an array of sad songs one night, I realized that “The Scientist” by Coldplay is a horrible song to listen to two weeks before graduating from college.

It may be a song about breakups, but leaving Penn State sure feels like one.

The chorus of “The Scientist” is where it really hurts with the lyrics, “Nobody said it was easy / No one ever said it would be this hard / Oh, take me back to the start.”

Every graduate has a part of them that wishes they could reverse time and start over as a freshman, myself included.

Maybe there are things we would change, maybe there are decisions we would rethink or maybe we just want to relive the last four years and do everything the exact same, but all I know is that “No one ever said it would be so hard.”

If graduation is looming, give “The Scientist” by Coldplay a listen, as long as you don’t mind crying.-Sarah Gavlak

Sarah Gavlak is a fourth-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, please email sng5393@psu.edu.