Sing, sing a song. Sing out loud. Sing out strong.

I think I’ve officially reached the point in back to school week when your momentum begins to slow down. I didn’t get out of bed with the same enthusiasm I did way back on Monday morning. My throat felt sore and I began to daydream about Saturday morning and no alarm clocks.

It’s just all such an adjustment. I’ve filled out forms and surveys and signed various documents and helped Caroline with science homework that caused me to have to recall the steps to prove a hypothesis. I’ve packed lunches and cooked dinner and driven to soccer practice. And you know what I haven’t done one time this week? Sat by the pool.

Re-entry is a tough old bird.

And I’m assuming most you don’t care to hear the riveting tale of how I put my fall wreath on the front door and hung my Aggie flag yesterday in celebration of game week. Which is fortunate because I just told you the whole story in my previous sentence. And P didn’t even look up when I said I had nothing to write about tonight. It’s like he’s been hearing that every night for seven years or something.

But then I thought about something Sophie and I briefly talked about in the podcast yesterday. Well, technically, we didn’t talk about it, but we talked about J. Lo singing with T. Swift (I know. T. Swift. Like I’m so down with the kids. But it fits with J. Lo.) and if you watched the video then you might remember that Taylor is the one that actually brought up this specific subject.

What song did you like to lip synch to in your bedroom when you were anywhere between the ages of 12 to 17? Or, you know, yesterday? There’s no judgment here.

But I’m thinking specifically about those angst-y, dramatic teen years when you really knew what Bonnie Tyler meant when she sang, “I don’t know what to do and I’m always in the dark. We’re living in a powder keg and giving off sparks.” because (hypothetically speaking) your boyfriend Danny broke up with you right as you were leaving the junior high dance at the YMCA and you still had to see him when everyone met up at Mr. Gatti’s ten minutes later.

Here’s my own personal list. Please remember that we are not here to judge other’s choices. The heart and the hairbrush mic wants what it wants. Also, this is by no means a comprehensive list. No one possibly has that much time. These are just the first ten that came to mind.

1. Hard to Say I’m Sorry – Chicago

This is still one of my favorites. In fact, if you told me I could only listen to one group for the rest of eternity, Chicago might be my pick. I have no explanation for this other than Peter Cetera and David Foster.

2. Keep On Lovin’ You – Reo Speedwagon

This was the line I really liked to belt out, “When I said that I love you, I meant that I love you forever.” Or until you wore those dorky looking jeans to the eighth grade pep rally. Whatever.

3. Crazy for You – Madonna

I never saw Vision Quest because I wasn’t allowed to see rated R movies when it came out. And then by the time I was old enough, I no longer cared to watch a love story involving a high school wrestler. Is that what the movie is about? That’s just what I gleaned.

Anyway, it gave the world this song and for that I am grateful. Or at least I was back in 1985.

4. Let’s Hear it for the Boy – Deniece Williams

Because love isn’t always a downer. Some days when my potent cocktail of teenage hormones was just right, I felt optimistic about life. This usually coincided with being invited to some sort of dance by a cute boy who really needed to shave the six hairs on his face, but hadn’t started shaving yet because, well, he only had six hairs on his face.

5. Hard Habit to Break – Chicago

How would you feel if I told you I had to buy the Chicago 17 cassette three different times because I kept overplaying it and the tape would get all mangled in my sweet York stereo system with dual cassette players?

6. Forever – Kenny Loggins

This is a big one for me. I even learned how to play it on the piano. And you know what’s more dramatic than a fourteen-year-old girl playing a love song on the piano?

Nothing.

7. Faithfully – Journey

Journey is another strong contender for group I’d choose if I could only listen to one group for the rest of my life. And honestly I almost went with Open Arms here. It’s a toss up.

8. What Have You Done for Me Lately? – Janet Jackson

Those of you who didn’t actually own the Control album may not be aware of the best part of this song. At the very beginning there are girls just talking and one of them says, “I know he USED to do nice things for you, but what has he done for you LATELY?” And you have to say LATELY with strong emphasis on both syllables, like it’s two separate words.

9. Fortress Around Your Heart – Sting

Clearly as I got older I had to move away from the senseless pop music of my early years and exchange it for a sophisticated, intellectual sound. This was about the time I discovered The Dream of the Blue Turtles and it fit the bill. I mean, blue turtles? That’s deep.

10. Lookin’ for A New Love – Jody Watley

If I weren’t so tired, I’d find the picture of me from junior/senior prom where I essentially made my hair look like Jody Watley’s thanks to a phenomenal spiral perm and a tiny curling iron. It was one of my finest hair moments of the entire decade.

Sadly, my date dumped me the following week for the girl who was part of the couple we double-dated with to the prom. Which is for the best since he obviously had no appreciation for a girl who could use a whole bottle of Aussie Sprunch Spray in one evening.

Please join me in this humbling walk down memory lane. What were your songs? Did you sing them into a hairbrush? A curling iron? Don’t be afraid to share. This is a safe place.