With less than a week left of my first year of college, I can't help but feel both ready for the summer and sad to be leaving school behind.

Ah, the ups and downs of mixed emotions. So, being the plan-ahead person I am about a week ago (in the midnight hours of a deep and dark procrastination) I made a playlist for the plane ride back home. Now, I know what you are already thinking: "but that is still so far away!" and the answer is, yes it is far away. But, there is a deep importance manifested in a well-curated emo playlist.

First of all, it is always essential to have an emo playlist ready and waiting. No matter how great your life is going, there is always room and availability for an emo playlist. Just in case. More important than just a single, generic "I'm sad" emo playlist, is to have specific and tailored emo playlists to fit certain moods of sadness.

For example, as mentioned above the most recent emo playlist I made was specifically for the leaving of school and returning home I have been in for the past two weeks and will continue to be in for the next two weeks. This specific and tailored emo playlist allows me to really get in touch with those specific circumstances and emotions that arise from them. Just a quick apology to the person sitting next to me on the plane if I start tearing up, I promise I really am okay.

I do not know if I am a certain breed of weird or just a glutton for punishment, but I love listening to a good emo playlist even if I am having the best day of my life. Literally, I could be walking on sunshine, just got an A on a test I think I failed, but next in my queue is The Smiths. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"? Yes, please. Thank you, Mr. Morrissey.

An emo playlist is important because at the end of the day there is just something more poetic and gut-wrenching about a playlist of sad songs than there ever could be for a playlist of upbeat, happy pop songs. So, the next time you are on Spotify or Apple Music or any music streaming service I highly encourage you to sit down and make that one emo playlist to get you through the highest of the high days and the lowest of the low days.