8 Lessons I Learned From My Alternative Parents

When I was in first grade, my favorite song was “Sour Girl” by the Stone Temple Pilots. Anything by Oasis was a close second. And while I still enjoyed me some Britney Spears (what would life be without embarrassing home videos of dancing to “. . . Baby One More Time”?), one of my most memorable childhood heartbreaks was when Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of waking up to a household filled with Simon & Garfunkel or making up my own words to songs by the Violet Femmes. My mom used to play bass in a punk rock band in London, so it may seem obvious that my childhood was filled with alternative music — but that being said, I loved that I felt like she gifted me with this sense of music appreciation. Plus, her vintage band tees are, like, way cooler than Forever 21’s copycats.