Aladdin. (1992). A Whole New World. On Aladdin [Movie]. 1
Annie. (1982). You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile. On Annie [Movie].2
Armiger, Katie. (2013). Safe. On Fall Into Me [CD]. 3
Ashanti. (2002). Happy. On Ashanti [CD]. 4
Boyz, 504. (2000). I Can Tell. On Goodfellas [CD]. 5
Brothers, Miser. (1974). Heat and Snow Miser. On A Year Without Santa Claus [Movie]. 6
C, Vitamin. (1999). Graduation. On Vitamin C [CD].7
Chenoweth, Kristin. (2003). Popular. On Wicked [CD]. 8
Chicago. (2001). Cell Block Tango. On Chicago [Movie].9
Cole, Natalie. (1977). I’m Catchin’ Hell. On Unpredictable [CD].10
Creed. (2001). One Last Breath. On Weathered [CD].11
Crespo, Elvis. (1998). Suavemente. On Suavemente [CD].12
Daley. (2014). Alone Together. On Day + Nights [CD].13
Dayne, Taylor. (1988). Tell It To My Heart. On Tell It To My Heart [CD].14
Grease. (1978). Summer Nights. On Grease OTS [CD].15
Groban, Josh. (2003). You Raise Me Up. On Closer [CD].16
Holiday, Billie. (1939). Strange Fruit. 17
J, Jessie. (2011). Who You Are. On Who You Are [CD]. 18
James, Etta. (1961). At Last. On At Last! [CD].19
Khan, Chaka. (1973). Sweet Thing. On Rufus [CD]. 20
Labelle, Patti. (1998). New Attitude. On Live! One Night Only [CD].21
Lambert, Mary. (2014). She Keeps Me Warm. On Heart On My Sleeve [CD].22
Lopez, Jennifer. (2001). I’m Real. On J.Lo [CD].23
Maroon 5. (2002). She Will Be Loved. On Songs About Jane [CD].24
Moss, Shad. (2006). Outta My System. On The Price of Fame [CD].25
Quintanilla, Selena. (1992). Como La Flor. On Entre a Mi Mundo [CD].26
Rent. (2005). Tango Maureen. On Rent [Movie].27
Reyna. (2013). If I Could Go.28
Ru, Lil. (2009). Nasty Song. On 21 & Up [CD]. 29
Shai. (1992). If I Ever Fall In Love. On …If I Ever Fall In Love [CD]. 30
Simone, Nina. (1965). Feeling Good. On I Put a Spell on You [CD]. 31
Sinatra, Frank. (1979). New York, New York. On Trilogy: Past Present Future [CD].32
Williams, Lenny. (1993). Cause I Love You. On Spark of Love [CD]. 33
Valli, Frankie. (1967). Can’t Take My Eyes Off You. On Solo [CD].34
Valli, Frankie. (1963). Walk Like A Man. On Big Girls Don’t Cry And Twelve Others [CD]. 35
White Christmas. (1954). Snow. On White Christmas [Movie]. 36
Wright, Betty. (1974). Tonight Is the Night. On Danger High Voltage [CD].37
1 As we plotted and twirled in the room, we bonded more than I think either of us
really knew. She was my hero, then.
2 My daily routine consisted of watching this movie everyday when I got home
from school. Wearing my navy blue jumper, white ruffled socks, and my hair in pigtails,
I would sit in front of the tv and sing to my heart’s content. The last time I did that was
when my mom recorded me and put it in the “My mom loves embarrassing me” files.
3 Last September, my girlfriend took me to her hometown, Nashville, TN. We went
to the Grand Ole Opry and heard a variety of artists, both new and old. I was not planning
on falling in love, “and it’s crazy now to think about how we almost lived without each
other.” I’m delighted to say she’s now my fiancee.
4 We were a walking uh-oh oreo, my friends and I. They were twins, but Tiommi
was very light and Amani was our chocolate. Amani always was on the inside snugged in
between her sister and I. We were “happy” then, times change when you part.
5 Eighth grade was a year of inclusion for me. My environment became more and
more mature with talk of sex, drugs, and violence, spewing left and right. I was only 13.
Where the hell was time going?
6 The best part of the holidays is ABC Family’s countdown to Christmas with all
the movies of my childhood wrapped into twelve hours of the day. Highlighted every
year, on my printed schedule, is A Year Without A Santa Claus. Growing up with a
sibling, I understood the pain of having to compromise or get in trouble with our mom. I
felt the Miser Brother’s irritation.
7 My yellow dress draped to the floor. As I looked over to my left, there was my
friend Amani and on my right, was her twin Tiommi. As I looked around at the circle of
faces, tears filled my eyes. I would be leaving the people who have seen me grow from
an adolescent to an adult. The people who have supported me, opened my mind, taught
me, followed me, and made my life more memorable. Class of 2012, I will love you
forever.
8 After school, when I went home on the yellow route 9 bus, my childhood friend
Ally would invite me to her house. It was conveniently one block north from my house,
in between two red buildings. On Wednesdays, we sang Wicked ballads.
9 As the movie played in the background, I saw myself in it . Not murdering
someone, but rather , in a sense, killing myself.
10 We’re limited to emotional responses in my house: anger, happiness, and content.
When I was seven, the familiarity of this song became my mom’s voice. Though she
never showed it, my mother was crying for help. There was a need for love and
forgiveness. My father became a statistic that year, while my mother accepted sadness
into her heart.
11 When I was 5, I realized he was only the beginning to this hell we call life and a
minor part to what I would be traumatized by. Suicide never felt so close. After all, six
feet isn’t so far down.
12 Sunday mornings in the tiny house amongst the giant buildings down 21st street,
echoes of meringue music and the smell of carnitas as we woke up to start the day.
“Follow my directions, mija, you’ll get it soon enough.” I was eager to be the best dancer
in the world. My dreams as a child were limitless. Eight years later, after those Sunday
morning lessons, I won my first competition while the lyrics quietly echoed in my head.
13 I played his album for an entire week. No judgement.
14 Chicago house music is what our city thrives on. There are “house heads” which
refers to those who listen to house music more than they probably read their bible. This
group represents the old generation of what our city was and the way we came together
for a night or two and just got lost in the music with no worries.
15 My Tia Rosa used to babysit a family with two children, Julia and Danny. During
our dress-up hour, before getting in the pool, Danny and I would constantly sing duets
together, including anything from Grease. Danny thought we were meant to be and
proposed to me during our rendition of “Summer Nights”. I pushed him into the pool.
16 Only weeks away from taking a new and different path towards our futures, the
class of 2008 at Galileo Academy stood together for one last time. We embraced one
another as we swayed back and forth, reminiscing about the past ten years during which
we were all by each other’s sides. I was leaving my childhood, as well as many people
who helped shape me into the woman I am today. I’ll never forget them.
17 Black History, a moment of realization and pride. I embodied Billie Holiday.
Singing out to the crowd, I channeled her vision. I saw nothing but motionless corpses,
bodies of my people, becoming nothing more than lifeless limbs of a tree.
18 After my first emotional/mental breakdown at boarding school, my roommate
cuddled with me and played this song on repeat until I fell asleep . I never thanked her for
that out loud. She made me feel loved, something I had not felt in a long time. She let me
know it was okay to not be okay.
19 Sirens were going off behind us. I saw the red and blue lights on the narrow street
of Carpenter and hoped it was a mistake as they shined through the windows of people’s
homes. At the age of 56, my grandmother received her first speeding ticket. All I heard
her saying was, “They got me at last.” Etta James played as we drove off.
20 At the age of 12, I was convinced that this was my wedding song. My husband
was going to be a basketball player, play me for my heart, and love me even if he thought
he was going to marry another woman. It was a golden plan.
21 I’ve come to a point in my life where I’m living my life for me. It has been
difficult for me, and I’ve hit a lot of walls along the way, but I have a new attitude about
things: Fuck ‘em.
22 “She said I smell like safety and home. I’ve named both of her eyes forever and
please don’t go.” Wind blowing in your hair, your eyes shining brighter than before, all
you do is love me and all that I am. Your hands fitting perfectly into mine, your tender
touch melts me. Embracing my flaws, you love me harder than before. I want to thank
you for your love.
23 This song was every girl’s anthem. I remember people walking around in these
little sweat suit outfits. I wanted to be cool too, but my mom said no. She usually shut
down my ideas; that’s fine.
24 When I hear this song, I only see my cousin Miguel with his thick black hair,
glowing brown skin, pierced left ear, and glasses. Whenever he picked me up from my
after-school program, we would use the car dashboard as our drum set. He would sing as
I did the beats. This was the only song we ever played during the five minute ride back
to my house across the bridge.
25 I hated him. I allowed him to be part of something beautiful, and he destroyed it.
There is nothing more devastating than a girl’s first heartbreak. Fuck him, I thought. He
doesn’t deserve what I have to offer.
26 Her death was a tragic one. So young and beautiful. I wept. Was this what our
futures were to be? Like the flower, I wanted to blossom. Like her, eventually I’ll die.
27 I did not want to watch this damn movie. She was in love with this musical and
told me to give it a chance. All I really recall was Aiya trying to make a move on me; I
was not completely against it, but I do remember telling her hell to the no. Lesbihonest, I
wasn’t against it at all.
28 1:58 am. “If I can go home alone, I wouldn’t go at all” were the only coherent
words from that entire night. I might have thought I was auditioning for American Idol.
My roommate still regrets bringing this song into my life.
29 My first party as a college student consisted of the smell of sweaty men and
women, whose breath reeked of alcohol. A man of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
shoulder strolled, a Kappa’s signature move, to my side of the line and asked my friend
and I who the freak was out of us two. That was one of the few speechless moments I
have had as an adult.
30 My dorm mom Ms. Helman was our favorite person to tease. On certain nights,
my friends and I would just randomly sing oldies to her; these were her favorite. By my
sophomore year, she was fired, and we could only sing to ourselves.
31 My love for old music and powerful voices, whether men or women, led me to
Miss Simone. Her ability to deliver this song with such emotion just made me love her.
No backstory to it, just hers.
32 “Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today.” I thought if I was him, people
would shut up. He knew how to command a stage.
33 I remember being six years-old in the parking lot of Jewels with my grandfather
in Cicero, right on Cermak. Mack daddy gramps sat tall as he stared out into the open lot.
Flipping through his CDs, he looked over at me in the passenger seat, smiled a smile of
content and played a song. In that very moment, I knew that song was meant to be ours. I
learned it in six minutes, wasting no time to engrave it into my memory forever. It’s my
favorite song till this day.
34 Perfect marriage proposal. I’d like to see someone top that. Original.
35 My dad is no longer in my life. If it wasn’t bad enough growing up without a
father figure, I now have a baby brother who is in the same cycle of abandonment.
36 This is my Christmas.
37 My grandma still wonders who the hell I was singing about. She just suspiciously
looked at me and peered over her glasses reminding me, “I’ll still beat ya little ass talkin’
‘bout tonight’s the night. Yeah it is the night, for me to go to jail.” My memories with her
are irreplaceable and simply…perfect.
Monique Novoa is a senior from Chicago who thanks God that her four-year imprisonment is about to end.
