I Think We’re Changing Back

Last October, I created a playlist called, Walking Through a Ghost Town, about returning to a place after a long absence due to quarantine and realizing things will not be the same as long as this pandemic remains. If you listen to it, my sadness was not subtle. The change that occurs after a gap in time is shocking to anyone, but I think the pandemic has altered things in ways we could never imagine. Kenyon looked nothing like how I remembered; it was no longer the school I fell in love with. The idea that this change could be permanent terrified me. 

I Think We’re Changing Back is the sequel, coming from springtime in Gambier where things are starting to resemble themselves again. This playlist starts where its predecessor left off, with an aching sadness inspired by “The Last Man on Earth” by Wolf Alice. With each following song, the tone changes from melancholy to hopeful to borderline happy. Wilco’s “A Shot in the Arm'' was playing on repeat the day I got my first vaccination shot. I never understood “Spring Snow” by Vampire Weekend until it snowed all over the spring flowers last week in Ohio. “How Am I Still Alive?” has been the punk-rock anthem to get me through this endless semester. And a friend reminded me of “Reflecting Light” by Sam Phillips, featured in “Gilmore Girls,” one beautiful night as the sun set. That night, a few weeks ago, was the first time Kenyon felt like Kenyon in a while. 

I really do believe we’re changing back, after this long intermission. This ghost town has been repopulated. 

- Shea Humphries