5 Songs to Help You Through Your Transition to College

This article was written by a student author from the Her Campus department at PSU.

Do you experience anxiety or nostalgia at the thought of leaving home and going to university?

These five songs will help you through this time.

“never grow up” by Taylor Swift

I knew right away that this song would be perfect as the number one pick for this list. Featured on Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now” album, “Never Grow Up” is an absolute tearjerker. Swift evokes emotion by having each verse go through a different phase of a girl’s life until she finds herself on her own.

Many people can relate to this song at this point in their lives as we are going through such a big transition. This song reminds us to always hold our childhood memories close to our hearts.

“Forever Young” by Alphaville

“Forever Young” is the oldest song on this list. As many people have heard it on TikTok recently, this nostalgic sound helps us hold on to our youth.

Whether it’s the old school sound or the authentic lyrics in this song, it has a sentimental feel to it. Wherever we go in life and wherever college takes us, we’ll always be that little girl dancing around in our hearts.

“Good Old Days” by Macklemore

This song written by Macklemore and featuring Kesha communicates a message that is a bit different than the other songs mentioned here. While the concept of being a guide through our transitions to college is a common thread in all of these songs, this song focuses specifically on the past, primarily high school.

Macklemore reminds us to never stop living in the moment. The best years of your life and the memories you look back on when you are older are your teenage years. As we get older, it becomes harder to hold on to the joy of life and we should not take this time for granted.

“Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia

While many would consider this song a party or pop song, when you delve deeper into the lyrics, they are truly heartbreaking. This song, “Don’t You Worry Child,” is used to guide us through the new chapters of our lives that we are entering. It is perfectly normal to feel anxious and down at this point in time.

However, this song successfully illustrates that we don’t have to worry or be anxious, because everything will fall into place. This will make you cry in the club!

“Good Riddance” by Green Day

Last but not least, one of my personal favorite songs absolutely had to be on this list. While it’s not that long and the lyrics aren’t that different from the other songs above, it delivers the perfect message for people going through their college transition.

Not everyone has the same experiences at university and goes through the same problems as the other, but we should still help each other out and go through this experience together with them.

Even though we may encounter obstacles along the way, we should always cherish the memories we have made over the years and be open to creating many more memories, with new and even old faces.

I really hope you take some time out of your day to put in your AirPods and listen to these songs. As you do that and think about the beginning of your brand new journey, keep this in mind: music is powerful, which means it can speak to us.

These songs remind us that everything will be okay and that we will go far and thrive in college, as well as the rest of our lives.