Midterms, but (Taylor’s Version) 


Taylor Swift at the 2021 Grammy Awards
Swift’s incredible bops “this is me trying” and “Change (Taylor’s Version)” are on the soundtrack for this midterms season (Taylor’s Version). (Photo courtesy of Creative Commons)

Well, it’s that time of the semester again: midterm season. 

Now, it’s not your fault Rate My Professor lied to you (happens to all of us), and it turns out your easy, blow-off GE does have a problematic midterm. It’s also not your fault that you haven’t gone to class in a couple of weeks — we all do that. 

Unfortunately, you do have to take your exam, and although the next two weeks might seem like your own personal form of hell, there is a way to get through it. What is that secret solution, you might ask?

Taylor Swift. 

Swift has a song for everything, from girlboss music to motivate you on test days to sad songs to cry to after your exam. While her over 200 songs are excellent, it can be intimidating to start listening, especially when you are in a time crunch during exam season. Well, the work has already been done for you, so read, listen and immerse yourself in Swift’s melodic voice. And though unfortunately not all recommendations are owned by Swift, they soon will be. 

For a girl boss walk into your exam: 

“mad woman”

It can be hard to remain confident while walking into a challenging exam. The ultra confident peppy-upbeat bops on your usual playlist can make you want to vomit because who wants to hear fake confidence and happiness exuded in a song when you quite literally want to cry?

That is why the haunting and melodic “mad woman” is a must listen song for your walk into your classroom to ace (or potentially fail) your exam; you are reclaiming your power. It is about being gaslit, stepped on and pushed until you crack and fight back. After all, you have been poked by long boring lectures and unnecessary call-outs in class, and now it is time for the “claws [to] come out.”

For your post-midterm cry: 

“this is me trying”

It is OK to cry before, during and after the exam. Ultimately, you tried your best and it is super disheartening when you feel like that wasn’t enough. 

“this is me trying” is an absolutely devastating depiction of the pain and desperation that arises after trying your best and feeling like your best is still not enough. Exams are challenging, and it is tough to feel like your best will never be enough or that your future is out of control. 

However, “this is me trying” will bring you comfort because when you are devastated, it can be nice to hear that someone else understands your pain and can put into words the complex emotions you are experiencing. It can also be a helpful song to listen to as you’re trying to word an email to your professor pleading for an extension or retake. 

For your post-exam existential crisis: 

“A Place In This World”

Reminder: It is OK to email your advisor in the days following your exam to switch your major. Moreso, it’s OK to have doubts about your future; everyone does. 

Swift articulates feeling terrified about your future beautifully in “A Place In This World.” Swift opens this banger by lamenting “I don’t know what I want, so don’t ask me / ‘Cause I’m still trying to figure it out.” Though Swift may have only been 16 when this album was released, these lyrics really speak to any age, especially that specific age of reckoning with your life goals after bombing one of your most important midterms. 

“A Place Iin This World” will force you to reflect on how little you are prepared for life beyond college, or even life in college. So get ready for a deep, somewhat jaded and introspective dive into your feelings.  

For amping yourself up afterward:

“Change (Taylor’s Version)”

So, you didn’t know anything on that exam, probably because you never went to class nor studied. But grades are just capitalist conditioning to seek to create dehumanized, hyper-efficient laborers, so really, none of this is your fault.

Swift gets this too, and in “Change,” she perfectly illustrates the woes of late stage capitalism and the commodification of education. 

Sure, maybe “Change” was not initially written as an anti-capitalist, collegiate anthem, but in reassuring us that the undesirable parts of our world will change, Swift reminds us that social manifestation is a valid response to school (as opposed to actual school work). 

So, as you’re walking out of that classroom in shame, Swift will help you blame everything in the world and not on yourself.

For when you don’t want to check your score on blackboard:  

“closure” 

The best part about exams is that they end, but easily the worst part is checking your score. However, who says you have to? 

You don’t need closure to move on from your exam, and you are not obligated to read it. Checking your score can bring intense sadness and force you to revert to the dark days when you related to “this is me trying.” 

If seeing the notification pop up that your score has been updated on Blackboard “still spells out pain” for you, don’t check. Simply ignore your Blackboard notification and go about your day.