Music has a way of helping us remember the times. We all have songs that take us right back to a certain event, period of time, or maybe even to a piercing feeling or a strong smell. I hear songs that take me immediately back to my senior year of high school, my first Vegas trip in 2008, the 2009 Griz football season, a failed relationship, Fourth of July 2012, lazy days at the pool in the summer of 2013, and so on. Music defines memorable experiences for us.

Moving to Myrtle Beach has definitely resulted in a significant and memorable moment in my life. In the almost four weeks I have called this beautiful place my home I have started a new job, experienced a different way of life, met new people, and gotten a feel for what it is like to live almost 3,000 miles from everything you once knew. A few songs will forever remind me of this major transition period for me.

Since moving to South Carolina I have listened to a lot of country music. Five out of the six stations on my car FM dial are country stations. Four out of the five days of the week at the gym country is playing. Whenever I walk in stores or visit a restaurant I bet you can guess what type of music greets my ears. Not that I mind this at all. I am a huge country music fan and if I had a soundtrack to my life I would choose this genre. But I wanted to explain this so you know why the five songs that will always bring me back to my first several weeks in Myrtle Beach are all country songs. Here is my list:

“Play it Again” – Luke Bryan

This song, along with the song I mention underneath this one, are the two that I have heard the most in my time here. I will hear it twice on my drive to the gym in the morning (switching between stations), once at the gym, two more times on my drive home, and then again if I go anywhere else that night. For Pete’s sake on Sunday night Luke Bryan even performed it at the Billboard Music Awards. By this time the words “Play it again, play it again, play it again” are cemented inside my head.

“Cop Car” – Keith Urban

As I mentioned I have heard this song A LOT. Just like with Luke’s song I hear it multiple times a day. But it is all well and good because it is a nice narrative song with some clever lines. The imagery is great too. Adding on another similarity with the song above it also talks about young romance with the guy sharing a unique experience with the girl. When I hear this song twenty years from now I will think about entering the HTC gym doors at 6 a.m. as it has greeted me more than once the minute I have walked into the facility.

“Slow Me Down” – Sarah Evans

Just hearing the intro to this song will transport me to the start of my adventure in South Carolina. Also the way Evans’ elongates the word “down” (think doooooooooooooooooooown) will always stick in my mind. The lyrics themselves also kind of hold some meaning to me in my specific situation. Although Evans is singing about a relationship I connect to them in a different way. With so many changes happening so quickly for me with the move sometimes it felt like I could have called out “Slow Me Down” a time or two.

“19 You + Me” – Dan + Shay

Do the lyrics “It was our first week at Myrtle Beach, where it all began” say enough?

“Rewind” – Rascal Flatts

Although I don’t particularly care for this song that much and even though it isn’t even that new I have seemed to hear it a crazy amount of times down here. As with the Sarah Evans song the lyrics also seem to address my situation. Even though I don’t necessarily want to rewind anything (I am very much a forward thinking person) it does make me realize that if I did go back just a month or two I would be rewinding to a much different time in my life with a totally different job in a totally different state with totally different friends.

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So I will put these songs on a playlist and title it “The Myrtle Beach Beginning.” Or maybe I won’t. By this time I am so sick and tired of these songs that I don’t know if I want to hear them again. But I do know that down the road when one of these songs sneaks up on me it will take me straight back to a very big time in my life. Don’t Blink.