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Remember that quote by John Lennon that was all over Xanga seven or eight years ago?

“When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

While I’m not entirely convinced that conversation happened, as it’s entirely too adorable and quotable, I love the idea behind it—especially as a second semester senior. I attended Hiatt’s Communications Forum this week and was reminded that I have only the faintest idea what I want to be doing after graduation and with the rest of my life.

All I know is that I want to become someone I can be proud of.

That’s why this week I’m writing about the young woman who has become my newest role model.

I can’t get enough of Ke$ha.

I should use this column to formally and publicly apologize to the editorial board of The Hoot, who had to listen to “Die Young” on repeat at one point last semester, but I’m just not sorry. You are the lucky few—some of my friends have been conditioned to turn my car’s radio volume up when it comes on so I don’t have to distract myself.

It’s just so catchy and encapsulates everything I want out of my senior year at Brandeis:

“Livin’ hard just like we should. Don’t care who’s watching when we tearin’ it up. That magic that we got, nobody can touch.”

Isn’t she magnificent?

I wouldn’t say I’m “looking for some trouble tonight,” but between 4 a.m. drives into Boston and 3 a.m. basement raves, I’ve become much more spontaneous, because when else am I going to get a chance to do whatever I want?

Let’s examine a few more examples of why Ke$ha’s music is going to help me get the most out the rest of my senior year.

Your love is my drug: “I don’t care what people say, the rush is worth the price I pay.”

YOLO, man, YOLO. While working at camp last summer, I was putting a group of 15-year-olds to bed, and one of them asked me what I wish I’d known when I was their age. My answer was relatively simple: You only live once. They laughed, but then I explained that I was serious—you’re going to have some regrets in life, but it’s always better and more productive to take the bad and turn it into something good. Don’t be afraid to take risks and, to some extent, don’t be too afraid of consequences.

Kiss n Tell: “I never thought that you would be the one, acting [promiscuously] while I was gone. Maybe you shouldn’t kiss ’n tell.”

People are going to hurt you, and sometimes you’re going to find out about it secondhand. Nothing is worse than that, but it’s a fact of life. The only way to protect yourself from getting hurt is by closing yourself off to the people around you, and I truly believe that the relationships we create and the bonds we forge are the meaning of life, the only things that make it worth living. When someone hurts you, try to find it within yourself to forgive and forget, but if you can’t do that, let go. Let go of the person, let go of what they did, let go of the way they made you feel.

C’mon: “C’mon ’cause I know what I like, and you’re looking just like my type.”

This song is about prowling for dudes at the bar, but it has a very valuable message, probably one of the most important ones that I can glean from a Ke$ha song (or any other song for that matter). Know what you want. Know what you want, and don’t be afraid to do whatever it takes to get yourself there. Don’t be a pushover, don’t let people walk all over you, don’t acquiesce when you want to fight. Don’t screw other people over, but do what you need to do for yourself. Hopefully I’ll be able to utilize my own advice in my job search.

We R Who We R: “We’ll be forever young, you know we’re superstars, we R who we R!”

The key to knowing what you want is knowing who you are. This seems like a pretty simple task: I’m Leah, I’m an older sister, I’m a sorority sister, etc. More importantly, know who you want to be. Figure out your dreams, your goals, your aspirations. Figure out the kind of person you can be proud of first thing in the morning and as you’re falling asleep.

There’s quite a bit of talk about glitter in Ke$ha’s lyrics, which just seems too messy and she parties a little harder than I would likely enjoy. I took a little bit of creative liberty in analyzing her lyrics, and some of my interpretations aren’t what she intended. I do, however, look to her for advice on making this semester memorable, enjoyable and just a little bit crazy.