Finals. It kind of feels like walking on fire, but for a whole week. Many of us develop coping mechanisms to alleviate the heavy burden it puts on our shoulders. Maybe it’s your favorite recipe for hot chocolate, or maybe it’s the small doodles in the margins of your study guide. For those who prefer a more auditory source of relief, I’ve compiled a small playlist to study (or cry) to during finals season.

My playlist has a lot of lo-fi. This is no accident, of course. Lo-fi has been proven to help many students to study and focus. Aside from the scientific benefits, lo-fi encompasses the warmth and comfiness of the winter season. It’s almost like a cure-all — with barely any lyrics and a smooth beat, lo-fi songs never fail to make their listener feel comfortable.

Joji, LANY, Oh Wonder, and Conan Gray make a few appearances on my playlist. I discovered these artists a while ago, but I had never listened to their songs aside from their popular hits. While browsing through their albums recently though, I found many hidden gems in their albums. What is so special about these artists is that they don’t need complicated beats and instrumentals to carry their songs — they do it themselves with their beautiful vocals. The specific songs I’ve included in my playlist are mellow in nature in comparison to their more popular and pop-ish songs; however, these are the songs that I feel capture the vibe of study and focus.

Some notable details is that I’ve included two songs titled after months: October by Alessia Cara and January by Verzache. These two songs have a lot of thematic similarities — October talks about the fleeting moments of our youth, while January recalls short-lived 4:00 AM memories and adds meaning to them. These songs remind us to cherish those moments, no matter how bitter or how sweet they are. 

This finals season, take it easy on yourself. Give yourself breaks from studying — stretch, eat some snacks, and take the much needed downtime from staring at a ten page-long study guide. I hope when you listen to my playlist, you remember to cut yourself some slack from the weight of endless studying that finals season brings. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5TrgrP5rPg4YUPszlPf7pn?si=Xepkyga7RdKbqIQ43widXA