My Way of Dealing
by Shawma

Being in self-isolation is very hard for me. I find myself feeling lonely and lost from the world all the time. My playlist has been one of my coping mechanisms for getting through this self-isolation time. There are five songs that I constantly listen to throughout the day to help keep my mind at ease. Those five songs are
Tupac- Keep Ya Head Up
Chris Brown- No Guidance
Biggie- Juicy
Whitney Houston-I wanna dance with somebody
Brent Faiyaz- Clouded

Now, why did I pick these five songs? First, let me just start by saying I am Tupac junkie. Tupac’s “Keep Ya Head Up” is a song that expresses hard times, but through those hard times you have to keep your head up. For me, dealing with social isolation is a hard time because I'm a social butterfly. I use this song to remind myself that I have to keep my head up through this rough time.

The second song that I chose was Chris Brown’s “No Guidance” because right now is summertime and this song gives me summer vibes. It helps me to stay positive that, eventually, I will have a good summer.

The third song that I chose was Biggie’s “Juicy.” Now, this song to me is just about getting through a hard time and overcoming so many challenges. The beat of the song is just so upbeat even when talking about the trials and tribulations discussed in the song. This song for me, right now, at this moment, is a good description of me wanting to overcome COVID-19.

The fourth song that I chose was Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” I chose this song because it's an upbeat song and, at this very moment of me being in self-isolation, I just really wanna dance with somebody, I want to be social with somebody.

There is a reason why I chose to put Brent Faiyaz’s “Clouded” last. This song describes my everyday mood. The lyrics that he says in this song are "I gave it all for a fantasy. Is anybody gon' remember me? If I go tonight, I doubt the world will change. I just pray they don't forget my name." These lyrics describe my everyday mood because I feel so insignificant in the world right now.