College sucks, but The Cranberries, not so much.

When I first heard "Dreams" by The Cranberries, I was watching a Northern Irish show called Derry Girls on Netflix, which I highly recommend watching. There was something about the beat and the lyrics of the song that moved me. I thought that it was magical. It made me want to go on a road trip with my best friend and do all the crazy things that teens do in independent films, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, being an example. When the fearless Charlie Whose-Last-Name-Isn't-Mentioned-In-the-Movie, stands on top of his friend Patrick's truck with his arms spread out wide, the feeling of invincibility, a rush of excitement and a state of euphoria are a few phrases to describe the way Charlie was feeling that night. Those expressions of feeling are the same emotions I feel every time I listen to this song.

The moment that I knew that "Dreams" was a significant song to me was when I entered a community college last year in 2019 as a freshman on Long Island, New York. Now, I know that community college and a non-community college are not the same, but, generally speaking, it is the same because every college student is either staying up late studying for an exam the night before or writing an essay the day that it's due. Regardless, we're all stressed in some way, and when students are stressed in college, they do a ton of activities and use them as coping mechanisms to help deal with the havoc that they go through on a daily basis. I am a victim of this type of behavior when in distress. As a current college student, my mechanism for destressing is listening to The Cranberries, but more specifically, jamming to "Dreams."

Entering a new college for the first time was transitional for me because I was in a new environment—an environment that I am not familiar with; An environment that is distinct from high school. When I left high school for college, I felt like a monkey getting put into a cage with a group of lions, which sounds horrifying.

A lyric from this song that I want to share with whoever is reading this, sums up my transition from high school to college. "Oh, my life is every day. In every possible way." The reason I love this line is that it speaks nothing but the truth about my life and the way my life had shifted when I graduated high school. The way I saw life was different and I thought it was a spontaneous journey that I wanted to dive into. A pool filled with gigantic opportunities and space to think freely. Not only did my pessimistic mood in high school change into an optimistic one, but I also noticed a change in my grades.

It turned out that my grades were more outstanding in my first year at college than at the former high school that I attended. This achievement made me proud of myself and it made me feel like I am smart. If anything, I'm not Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking, but I'm also not stupid.

I guess it took for me to be surrounded in a college environment to finally decide that I am the only person who is going to get myself the grades that I wanted and I am the only person who cares about my future. What I believe is that the motivation from the song comes from the lyrics. The lyrics inspired me to strive for the best and not give up.

Currently, I am still in my first year at Nassau Community College, but I am in my second semester. I had just been accepted into the honors program and I am taking my first Creative Writing Honors course. If someone would have told me in high school that I would get accepted into an honors program in college, I would laugh like a hyena in their face. But, who knows? A lot can happen in a year. Anything is possible.

If I hadn't stumbled upon Derry Girls on Netflix, I wouldn't have discovered the beautiful song which I call my confidante and my safe haven that lifted me up like tree does with its branches.