If you say that you do not like the ’80s, you need to stop lying to yourself. In all my 20 years of life, only one thing has remained constant, and that is the absolute, pure joy that music from the ’80s brings me. Sure, it might have seemed like the world was about to end with the rise of conservatism in politics, President Reagan and the AIDS epidemic, but that is not largely any different than what is going on now, if you think about it.

In the same way that we use memes and jokes to hide our pain and fear today, the good people of the ’80s decade blessed us with great hits to avoid that end-of-it-all feeling. These hits include songs like “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, “Take on Me” by A-ha and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston. I almost got carried away there, and just made a list of every song I could think of, but that would be overkill.

The point is, how can you possibly resist singing along to every upbeat melody that came from this great time? You can’t! Every tune is absolutely infectious. Any time a song by Queen, Madonna, Tears for Fears, Prince, Bowie or Wham! comes on in the car, it is basically a rule that you must sing along. Also, just as a fun little life-tip, “Hungry Like the Wolf” by Duran Duran and “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League are great go-to karaoke songs.

And the culture, style and language that came from these artists was like totally rad. Righteous? Tubular? Yeah, yeah, gag me with a spoon, am I right? Not going to lie, I have been to a handful of ’80s themed parties and thrown a couple myself, just so I could indulge in neon colors, permed and teased hair, and bright lipstick.

Now, I don’t want to tell you how to live your life, but I do have to suggest that you find yourself a good 80s playlist. The “Stranger Things” inspired one on Spotify is pretty good place to start, if you’re a fan. And, I would suggest you invest in some ripped tights, a fishnet t-shirt or maybe some leather pants. Or, if you want to live your best life, all three.

Featured Image: Retrieved from here.