now that's what i call middle school

a one-page zine full of prompts to build a nostalgic middle school playlist (cat not included)

Middle school: that universally awful time.

We smelled like B.O. and Bath & Body Works cotton candy. We understood for the first time what the word “childish” meant, and we knew we would do anything not to be that. We felt everything, but we had no words — nor ability — to do anything with those feelings.

When I think about ages 11-13, I feel the cringe, the heat of the blushes that plagued me until my 20's, the sense that what I wanted would remain forever just beyond my grasp.

Our hearts ached for things we could not yet name.

What we did have, though, was music.

Here in this zine are prompts to build your own personal middle school playlist. Throw it up on Spotify, or text it to your friends. Let’s go sweaty-palmed back to the past, grateful tourists now.

Instructions for folding your zine are in the screenshots and attached below.