It was my birthday this week. I’ve decided that from now on I’m going to celebrate my birthday AFTER Election Day, even though my birthday usually falls beforehand. Fabulously, there's something to celebrate this year! I'm sad that Tia Walbridge didn't win, but I'm proud and grateful that she ran and exultant that Democrats flipped at least 14 seats in the House of Delegates. Given that the level-headed expectation was that Democrats might flip 4-6 seats, that is simply staggering.

Today I’m celebrating with a fun post. Because I am my father’s daughter, I present to you: one favorite song* off the Billboard Top 100 charts for each year I’ve been on the planet.**

1. “Waiting for a Girl Like You” – Foreigner (#19 of 1982)
2. “Down Under” – Men at Work (#4 of 1983)
3. “Break My Stride” – Matthew Wilder (#27 of 1984)
4. “The Boys of Summer” – Don Henley (#53 of 1985)
5. “Walk of Life” – Dire Straits (#49 of 1986)
6. “Stand by Me” – Ben E. King (#67 of 1987)
7. “Make Me Lose Control” – Eric Carmen (#38 of 1988)
8. “Welcome to the Jungle” – Guns N’ Roses (#74 of 1989)
9. “Black Velvet” – Alannah Myles (#18 of 1990)
10. “Sadeness (Part I)” – Enigma (#63 of 1991)
11. “Life Is a Highway” – Tom Cochrane (#18 of 1992)
12. “Two Princes” – Spin Doctors (#28 of 1993)
13. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (#77 of 1994)
14. “Kiss from a Rose” – Seal (#4 of 1995)
15. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” – Deep Blue Something (#39 of 1996)
16. “All For You” – Sister Hazel (#36 of 1997)
17. “Bitter Sweet Symphony” – The Verve (#79 of 1998)
18. “Smooth” – Santana ft. Rob Thomas (#19 of 1999)
19. “Desert Rose” – Sting ft. Cheb Mami (#50 of 2000)
20. “Fallin’” – Alicia Keys (#2 of 2001)
21. “In the End” – Linkin Park (#7 of 2002)
22. “Bring Me to Life” – Evanescence ft. Paul McCoy (#10 of 2003)
23. “Hey Ya!” – Outkast (#8 of 2004)
24. “Lonely No More” – Rob Thomas (#22 of 2005)
25. “Crazy” – Gnarls Barkley (#7 of 2006)
26. “Shut Up and Drive” – Rihanna (#90 of 2007)
27. “I’m Yours” – Jason Mraz (#27 of 2008)
28. “Poker Face” – Lady Gaga (#2 of 2009)
29. “Just the Way You Are” – Bruno Mars (#18 of 2010)
30. “Firework” – Katy Perry (#2 of 2011)
31. “Lights” – Ellie Goulding (#5 of 2012)
32. “It’s Time” – Imagine Dragons (#47 of 2013)
33. “Happy” – Pharrell Williams (#1 of 2014)
34. “Shut Up and Dance” – Walk the Moon (#6 of 2015)
35. “Hello” – Adele (#7 of 2016)

Bonus Track: “Praying” – Kesha (#28 for the week of November 4, 2017)

*Disclaimer: these are not my only favorites or even necessarily my #1 favorites; this is designed to become a playlist, so these songs have to flow nicely together.
**Other Disclaimer: The computer science student in me is peeved that I can't start numbering at zero. It would make much more sense that way, given how age math works.