When college feels overwhelming, The Lumineers help me breathe
When I think about college so far, it feels like a mix of excitement and stress. Some days are filled with classes, practices and exams, and other days I’m just trying to figure out how to juggle everything. Through it all, music has been one of the few things that makes me feel steady.
For me, the Lumineers are that band. Their songs aren’t just fun to listen to. They make people feel something. When I hear “Ophelia,” I hear the struggle of trying to manage a million things when life pulls you in a hundred directions.
That’s something most of us can relate to as students. We’re constantly juggling responsibilities, and sometimes it feels like we’re losing track of who we are in the process. The Lumineers put that messiness of our busy campus lives into words that feel understanding.
What makes them so important isn’t just the music itself but what it does for me. Their lyrics are a reminder that it’s normal to feel lost, to question our path and to be vulnerable. College has a way of making you think you have to have your future figured out. Whether that is your career path, your identity and your place in the world are all aspects that we ponder as we trek through college.
But the Lumineers’ songs drown out the noise, especially the song “Sleep on the Floor.” This song talks about adventure and living a spontaneous life. It symbolizes how uncertainty can be freeing because it gives us the chance to explore and enjoy what is around us. When I listen to this song, it’s a reminder to not take everything so seriously. What seems big to me is small compared to the world.
The message in “Stubborn Love” is similar to this idea. For example, the line “It’s better to feel pain than nothing at all” resonates because it reminds me that even failure or disappointment still mean we’re alive, still moving, still learning.
In a world where it’s easy to shut down or numb ourselves with distractions, that song pushes us to feel, even when it’s hard. That’s a lesson that matters deeply during these years when every decision and mistake feels heavy.
Their music also is comforting when things feel overwhelming. On days when the stress of exams, relationships, or just life itself weighs heavy on our shoulders, their songs feel like a reminder to breathe. The sound of their music creates a kind of calm that quiets my day. It’s not loud or demanding; it’s a voice that is grounding.
And then there’s the storytelling. In songs like “Cleopatra,” they sing about the ache of regret, of looking back on choices you didn’t make or opportunities that you missed. For students, it can hit close to home. We’re all constantly being told that the choices we make now will shape the rest of our lives. The Lumineers remind us that regret is part of being human, but it doesn’t have to define us.
The Lumineers find beauty in struggles. That matters because so many of us have a million things to balance. That’s why I think they’re so influential to our campus. Their music is a mirror we can see ourselves in. It reflects our questioning, searching, hopes and it tells us that all of that is normal; that even in the middle of pressure and uncertainty, there’s still meaning to be found. They give us honesty when we’re consumed by pressure, calm when we’re overwhelmed and hope when things feel heavy.
Their music doesn’t just fill the silence. It fills the deeper parts of people. It finds us right where we are, meeting us in the middle. That’s why the Lumineers aren’t just influential here. They’re purposeful.
