Entertainment

24 Ways Britney Spears Got You Through Your Awkward Middle School Years

by Katie Corvino

Please close your eyes and transport back with me to the year 1999.

You're in middle school, sitting in class, waiting for the day to end.

You hear the clock tick. A foot tap. The bell ring.

You run out of the classroom and make your way to seventh period. A bright light appears.

You see an angel standing before you, looking at you, as perfect as could be.

Open your eyes. Who do you see?

Yes, that is our lord and savior Britney Spears, here to save us all and guide us to heaven's gate.

It probably feels like yesterday you were curled up in bed belting out the lyrics to this iconic album. I remember the exact moment I first held ...Baby One More Time in my hands and my palms turned to gold.

It was a monumental experience for both of us -- me and Britney.

Well, it's the year 2015 and nothing has changed. This album is, still to this day, the greatest work of art that has ever graced our planet.

Oh, it's also the queen of pop's birthday today. God bless you, Britney.

In honor of this special day, let's look back at 24 times Britney Spears' music got you through middle school. You know you wouldn't have survived that sh*t without her.

1. "...Baby One More Time" taught you how to work your prepubescent bod and walk down those middle school halls like the baddest bitch who ever lived.

2. Even Britney's pink pom-poms gave you enough power to take on anything.

3. This move literally gave you life. Gym class was never the same again.

4. And this moment defined your existence. Don't even try to count how many times you made this face in the locker room mirror.

5. Britney gave you enough dance moves to crush any arms-length-apart dance. That's right boys, no touchy.

6. And she gave you enough confidence to feel like the coolest kid in school, even if you got stuffed into a locker once or twice.

7. She was super deep and taught you how to be ~romantic~ and stuff.

8. And she definitely helped you come up with some dope-ass AIM screen names and away messages.

9. She helped you get through heartbreak because relationships in middle school got INTENSE.

Dating for two weeks and three days was long, OK?

10. Then in 2000, just when you thought Britney blessed us with all that she could give, the queen released her second album Oops! I Did It Again and wings emerged from her freaking back.

11. She taught you how to be stronger than yesterday by climbing around on chairs and doing other stuff you didn't want your mom to see.

12.  Even though you def would copy her moves and imitate her while dancing in the shower. No shame, we all did.

13. She gave you the perfect Halloween costume ideas to wear for the rest of your life.

14. And she taught you how to flirt like a bo$$. Take notes, ladies.

15. She gave you hair and makeup goals, even though you probably came nowhere close to achieving them.

Dream big.

16. She was there to cry with you when life got hard.

17. No really, this girl was down to bawl her eyes out with you. Boys, braces, drama, you name it, she had your back.

18. We gotta keep going. The year was 2001 when Britney released her self-titled album, Britney. I'm sure you printed the cover out and taped it to your ceiling. It was a daily reminder of how far you both had come.

19. This album did it. It was the one. It sexually awakened the sh*t out of you.

20. She was sweaty, and you were too (puberty, man). She made it clear she wasn't a little girl anymore, and you were growing up right there with her. It was almost time for high school. Yeah, she knows.

21. But she also understood you were still so young. You're caught in the middle, OK? "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" was your freaking jam. This girl knew you better than you knew yourself.

22. She showed you how to let loose and just relax. You know, stop thinking about what other people think.

23. She was just so relatable. "That's so me," you probably thought.

24. But the greatest thing Britney did for you was getting you through the toughest, most awkward years of your life. Without her and her music, you'd probably still be stuck there.

Thank you Brit, for saving our lives. Happy Birthday, bitch. Work it.