So, summer is officially here, and in Mississippi that means sweltering, face-melting heat. Also, for me personally, it has meant a melancholy, Charlie Brown-esque cloud over my head. We all have those periods that we go through that we feel like are just the absolute worst until we pull ourselves up and fight the evil pessimism inside of us. Right? Right.

Anyway, I hate listening to sad music when I'm sad. Okay, hate is a strong word, and our mothers always taught us not to use it unless we meant it. Let me rephrase. Sad music, during an already side time in my life, doesn't usually help me cope.

Instead, I turn to reality TV shows that give me perspective on how rough life actually could be if I were to trade lives with the actors and put myself in their shoes. I read a lot of nonfiction about how others like me have survived their own woes like Mindy Kaling, Abraham Lincoln and Julie Klausner. Or, in this case, I find music that helps me escape. Basically, I fake it until I make it. I feel like I should make a disclaimer that I'm not an emotionally fit person, but this works for me. You, on the other hand, may need some 80's love ballads or a good Nicholas Sparks novel.

My taste in music is already eclectic to say the least. On any given day, I could reach for Taylor Swift or opt for James Taylor. There's really no telling. I'm not saying this to seem like I'm special or that my music taste is so unordinary that I must be some kind of musical genius who is completely different from every other twentysomething. That's not the case. I started my musical journey with Avril Lavigne like most 11-year-old girls that I knew if middle school. Instead, I remember how my mom and I used to listen to artists like James Taylor together, and I lament on how simpler life seemed then. James Taylor then sends me back to that time. I'm not a mathematician, to say the least, but I want to say that it's kind of like a mathematical equation. A=B, so B should be used to achieve A as often as possible.

Okay, guys. If I haven't lost you with that awful logic, then here we have arrived on the topic of this article. My summer 2016 playlist. I'm not going to try and categorize the music that I chose for this playlist. It's basically a bunch of songs that I get stuck in my head or find myself reaching for most of the time. It's made up of songs that make me happy. The collection isn't so much summer themed as it is a representation of my summer and the vibes that I've been using to get through it. To me, most of the songs feel like summer, but that may not be the case with some.

In the playlist, I've got artists like Grouplove, Sam & Dave, Cold War Kids, Tame Impala, and Judah & the Lion. I'll most likely keep adding to this playlist until I declare myself done with summer which will most likely be long before fall is officially here. Feel free to follow the playlist if you like the selection or if you want to see any updates that may come. And, if you've made it through this rambling mess, God bless you.

Depression and anxiety aren't calculated illnesses. They're serious and unpredictable at most times. Music is one of the best treatments that I've found in the past 14 years. I'm not a fan of airing problems that nobody can fix, but if my words somehow help one of you reading, even if it's just to see that you're not alone, then it's worth sharing my ups and downs. So, happy listening!