My first, real relationship didn’t enter my life until I was 27 years old. I would watch other people cycle through boyfriend after boyfriend, girlfriend after girlfriend, without ever personally getting past the third date with any of the tool-bags I was seeing.
I didn’t understand because I felt like I had a lot to offer. After all, I knew commitment. I had been committed to a variety of things for YEARS to make up for my lack of relationship experience: Justin Timberlake, peanut butter and, above all, my music playlists.
When I put a new playlist together, I am as serious about it as a long-term relationship. I ask other friends for recommendations, hit up music apps and try out new albums to find the perfect fit. Once I’ve pieced the songs together in just-the-right order, I am obsessed with that playlist. Well, some may call it an obsession. I just call it love.
But, as Whitney Houston said, how will you know? How will you know that you really love your playlist? Here are seven signs you’re in a committed relationship with your playlist:
You know other playlists are out there, but you only want YOUR playlist.
Once you start spending more and more time with your playlist, you become more and more attached to it. You take it with you everywhere you go – the gym, the train, the shower. You’ll shut out the chance to talk to strangers just to listen to it.
When you’re in a store and their signature mix is playing too loudly, or when a friend tries to share an entire artist’s album, you become annoyed. You can’t help it – all you want is YOUR playlist.
You introduce your friends to your playlist ONLY when you’re ready.
Sharing your new playlist is a nerve-wracking experience. What if people don’t sing along at the appropriate times? What if people don’t ask you who that fresh artist is? What if they don’t understand the rollercoaster of crescendos and decrescendos and ask for something “peppier?” What if they just hate it?
Your mix is, in many ways, a reflection of your personality. It feels like an extension of you. Before showcasing it at your next squad hangout, you need to feel confident in its appeal and know that you’re ready for your friends to judge it.
You’re constantly talking about your playlist to anyone who will listen.
Once your friends sign off on your playlist, it’s time to start the next phase of your commitment: not shutting up about your music. Suddenly, it becomes your job to educate people on the amazing songs that are out there, just waiting to be heard. The people you sit by in the office, the barista controlling the coffee shop radio, anyone with access to a Bluetooth speaker: they’re all fodder for your music recommendations.
You start making plans for the future for you and your playlist.
Every occasion is now an opportunity to play DJ and show off your new mix. You start thinking about future events you can musically hijack. You make sure your phone is fully charged for every road trip and group hang.
You’re not necessarily fishing for compliments in these scenarios, but you won’t turn them down either. I’ve personally gotten to the point that a compliment on my music choices is the highest form of compliment I receive.
Even though you love your playlist, you still want to change some things.
At first, your completed playlist seems perfect. You wouldn’t change a thing. But after a month or two, you start noticing a few flaws here and there. It needs a couple new tunes to spice things up. You put the recent hits toward the top to make it a little sexier. You do just enough to jazz it up, but not enough to change its DNA.
Sometimes you’re just not in the mood to hear your playlist.
There comes a time in your relationship with your mix that, occasionally, you’ll find you just aren’t in the mood to listen. The initial obsession has worn off, and you need a little break. Maybe you want to listen to Carly Rae Jepsen’s latest album at work instead of your playlist. It doesn’t mean you’ve lost the love; you just need a moment away.
When your time with your playlist has run its course, it’s hard to let go.
Your relationship with your mix, just like the majority of the romances in your life, has a shelf life. The time span varies, but the ending is always the same. You’ve heard these songs way too much. If one of them comes on while you’re out and about, you will leave the store because you can’t stand to hear it again.
You start to hear new songs that remind you of how it used to be – the nostalgia of starting an entirely new playlist. You want to recapture that excitement. It’s hard to admit when it’s time to move on. You put so much time and effort into that last playlist, after all. But there’s a whole new mix out there that’s ready for your commitment.
And unlike romantic relationships, you can always rekindle the flame with your old playlists with no judgment or repercussions.
Ready to commit yourself to a new mix of songs? Now you can stream unlimited music on your phone without burning out your data plan thanks to T-Mobile’s Music Freedom program.
