1. Stephen- Kesha
2. Same Love-  Mackelmore
3. New Slang- Shins
4. Jersey Shore theme song
5. Kung Fu Fight- Carl Douglas
6. We are the Champions- Queen
7. Sorry, Sorry- Super Junior
8. You’re a Plunger- no idea
9. I Saw the Sign- Pitch Perfect version
10. I love College- Asher Roth

A glimpse of my life through 10 songs.

So I went to high school with Kesha, she tried to come onto me a bunch of times, and I never called her….thus the song Stephen was born.   My friends think it’s hilarious and serenade me with it on the daily. Little did Kesha know, Mackelmore’s Same Love was a little more fitting to my life. We’re friends now and the whole thing is fine. I feel like I’m on the ranks of Delilah who will forever be immortalized in music history thanks to the Plain White T’s.

I’m going on my 6^thyear of living in New York but my Jersey roots are well engrained in me. My appreciation for the state came after watching Garden State, which has become my favorite movie. The angst, the indie, the randomness speaks to me on some level. The Garden State soundtrack is pretty sweet and I would listen to it on repeat on the way to high school so it’s no wonder the Shins make this list. I have an unhealthy obsession with things about New Jersey, specifically when it’s referenced in pop culture. Any show about New Jersey, mentions New Jersey, or is shot in the greatest state in the world, you can assume I watch it. I not so secretly wish that Jersey Shore was still on TV so I could be cast member. I have a few friends who auditioned for the show, but Deena ultimately took the open spot after Angelina left. Besides Jerzday being my favorite day of the week, the massive poster of Jersey Shore that hangs over my bed, and the 100 pictures I have with the duck phone when I toured the Jersey Shore house, my craze for the show prompted me to enter a Jersey Shore look-a-like contest. Did I win? Of course. Dyed black hair in a blowout, my eyebrow was pierced at the time, tossed on a tight black tshirt, chains, and shutter shades.

One of the biggest influences in my life in shaping who I am and how I see the world is martial arts.  I’ve studied for sixteen years and am a third degree black belt. Testing for my black belt was by far the hardest thing I’ve done in my entire life. Literally, blood and sweat, but no tears, there’s no crying. I’ve taught karate camps, competed, performed in exhibitions and a bunch of stuff. When performing my two go-to things to wow the crowd are Chinese weapons and cinder block breaking. Weapons are cool and people like to see things spin fast and cinder block breaking is just something I do. I started off with stacks of wood, then blocks of ice, and then one day I did a stack of concrete and it sort of became my thing. At the end of each tournament or show I would blast We Are the Champions on the ride home. Why? Because I obviously won and it’s just a good ego boost. Just kidding. Except maybe not… This sort of leads into the next song of my life where people think I’m a total bitch and super pretentious. I’m not actually. So what if people are jealous, get on my level, right? I’ve been described as strict, overbearing, high maintenance, and a primadonna. It’s always nice to be complimented. Sorry not Sorry…or maybe just Sorry, Sorry by Super Junior? Yes, much better. I do listen to Kpop, usually while doing homework.

After I graduate in May, I’m likely going to teach elementary school and potentially continue teaching FroSem at Baruch. After teaching countless karate classes, tutoring, and endless super camps listening to You’re a Plunger being screamed by 6 year olds, I Saw the Sign and realized that education is my place. (Note: The link is to the Pitch Perfect version and yes I do know the dance….who doesn’t).

And we’re done. But that’s only 9 songs?! Yup, there is one more… About half of what I wrote is a lie and it’s up to you to decide what the truth is. You’re in college, you’re in control of your identity, make the most of it.

-Stephen