I turned 22 on the 18th. And while I spent most of my birthday weekend in bed with a fever, I had time to come up with 18 things that are salient to me right now. And by 18 things, I mean two thesis sentences and 16 supporting points in song lyrics.

1. On (/for) my birthday, I got a museum job. Not an internship. A real museum job. In a contemporary art museum. Halle-fuckin-lujah.

2. A discussion with my 8th grade teacher this weekend confirms: Today, I am essentially a taller, smarter, better-looking version of myself at 13.

3. “All you need is positivity. Colors of the world-Spice up your life! Every boy and every girl-Spice up your life! People of the world-Spice up your life! Aaaaaaah”—Spice Girls
4. “I’m bringing sexy back”—Justin Timberlake
5. “This is fucked up. Fucked up.” —artist unknown
6. “Hey hey you you! I could be your girlfriend!…Hell yeah! I’m the mother fuckin princess!” —Avril Lavigne
7. “No one on the corner have a swagga like us.” —M.I.A
8. “Wish you’d bring back the man I knew, who was good to me…I can’t eat, I can’t sleep anymore. Waiting for love to walk through the door. I wish I didn’t miss you anymore.” —Angie Stone
9. “Get a tan? I’m already black. Rich, I’m already that.” —50 Cent
10. It’s ME bitches!” —Swizz Beatz
11. “All my girls stand in a circle and clap your hands, this is for you. Ups and downs, highs and lows, and no matter what you see me through…LOLOLOLOLOVE LOLOLO”—Ashlee Simpson
12. “If God is a DJ, life is the dance floor, love is the rhythm, you are the music” —P!nk
13. “I got a headache and its not a tumor.” —Ludacris
14. “We take one step at a time. There’s no need to rush. It’s like learning to fly, or falling in love. It’s gonna happen, when it’s meant to happen—and we find the reasons why, one step at a time.” —Jordin Sparks
15. “See how the booty shakes? Like an earthquake. There is no escape when I shake in your face.” —Missy Elliott
16. “Let’s go dance tonight! Fuck guys. Let’s just stand in a circle around our shoes and pocket books and let’s just dancsse.” —Dane Cook
17. “I said, in these shoes? I don’t think so.” —Kirsty MacColl
18. “It don’t matter if you’re black or white”—Michael Jackson