Did you spend hours choosing the perfect song with deep, emotional lyrics sung by a sad, warbling lead singer to play on your MySpace? Did you (not so) patiently wait for every new issue of Alternative Press magazine? Would you have spent hours listening to a recording of a jackhammer so long as it was signed with Fueled by Ramen or Decaydance? Was the day when the Warped Tour lineup was announced the best day of the year?

If so, you probably spent many of your formative years listening to bands like Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, The Used, Say Anything, Forever the Sickest Kids, The Academy Is, All Time Low, Mayday Parade...the list could go on for days. Somehow I have recently found myself digging through my old albums on iTunes, digging up forgotten gems of songs that used to be so dear to me. Through this process, I've discovered that it was through these old songs that I started to question the world around me. Music has a profound influence on us all, and the pop punk movement in the 2000s definitely taught my mid-2000s self a good number of lessons about how this world works.

1. The patriarchy will always take advantage of you.

Panic! at the Disco’s first album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, was transformative for my taste in music. I distinctly remember the day in 2005 when my mother handed me the album, telling me that one of her high school students recommended it. I was quite young (arguably too young) at the time, and this album thrust me right out of my Radio Disney comfort zone and into the gritty world of alt-rock/pop-punk. No matter how many times I listened to this album on repeat on my iPod Shuffle, something always drew me to listening to one song more than others. “Build God, Then We’ll Talk” tells the story of a young woman who is taken advantage of by both a sleazy attorney/future boss and a “constable.” Sound familiar? The song serves as a critique and cautionary tale about the imbued power that the patriarchy bestows upon privileged men. At the time of first listening, I would not have been able to been able to summarize the song in those words, seeing as most 10-year-olds aren't out fighting the patriarchy just yet. However, the message still rang true—it made me angry, and I knew that what was happening was wrong. I wanted to fight whatever oppressive forces would allow such a thing to happen. (Again, 10-year-old me might not have used the phrase "oppressive forces," but you get the picture.)

P.S. The music video doesn’t follow the plot of the song, however it carries a related message. In the end, it shows a man getting angry when a woman comes to have complete control over her own sexuality and sexual desires, which is something he had all along. Again, sound like a familiar narrative?

2. Everything is more fun when you do it with friends.

What happens when the bad boys of Cobra Starship collaborate with heartthrob William Beckett of The Academy Is…, total badass Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds, and smooth operator Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes? A magical creature is born, and that creature is the song “Snakes on a Plane (Bring It).” The song appeared on the soundtrack for the titular movie. And what happens when this supergroup of Fueled by Ramen artists call in their friends Pete Wentz and Samuel L. Jackson to make cameos in the music video? Millions of preteen girls explode from the sheer overwhelming power of one music video. Just as the mid-2000s pop punk movement brought together a community of artists, it also brought together a community of listeners. This was the one of the first songs from the genre that I found and shared with friends. Subsequently, we all spent hours upon hours exploring the deep dark depths of MySpace Music pages. Gabe Saporta and his ragtag group of virtuosos showed me that no matter what type of adventure you go on, even if it includes sneaking through security with snakes in your guitar case, you are going to have a hell of a lot more fun if your friends are there beside you.

3. Appreciate the simplest moments of intimacy.

We venture into the realm of power pop with Hellogoogbye's "Here (In Your Arms)." If you turned on the radio during the years of 2006 and 2007, chances are that you were inundated by the sugary popvocals of this synth punk anthem. While it was easy to get lost bopping along to the catchy synth hook, the lyrics of the song are exactly what the tune indicates they should be — sweet. "Here (In Your Arms)" reminded us all to acknowledge the beautiful fact that if we are lucky enough to have a body lying next to us, we should appreciate that. At least, that is what I took away from the song during my tender youth. I continue to relate that ideal to my life, and I've found that it is applicable in relationships and friendships alike. So take a moment, listen to this song again for the first time in some seven or eight years, and tell the people important to you that you love them. If you can't find the words to tell them, just send them this music video. I'm sure they will be simultaneously touched and confused, which is a fun place to be.

4. Never trust a F*ckboy.

I will be the first to admit that Cute is What We Aim For's "Curse of Curves" was my jam in middle school. I got to sing along to the risque and "provocative" lyrics that were hidden under the classic shrill, nasally voice that was archetypal of the pop punk genre. However, my blind, carefree singing along perished after the first time I saw the band's 2007 music video for the song. The video is told from the perspective of a cheating husband, and through flashback, shows him cheating on his wife with three other women attending the same dinner party. After seeing this slimy man using his charm to canoodle all over the place, lyrics such as "I've got the gift of one liners / And you've got the curse of curves" began to seem much more prominent to me. What did I take away from this song? Avoid anyone who refers to their powers of seduction as a "gift," because you never know where a true F*ckboy might be hiding. Also never trust a boy with that haircut. Seriously, what were we thinking in 2007?

5. Ladies rock. Period.

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In a sea of bands comprised almost entirely of skinny young white men with badly straightened hair, Paramore emerged. As a young girl, I could barely contain my excitement when I first heard a girl taking lead vocals in a pop punk band. Hayley Williams quickly became someone I, and many others, looked up to. She was an example of a women who fought against all preconceived notions of the genre, and carved out room for herself at the top. Not only was it exhilarating to see a woman leading a band, but also to have a really fierce and talented woman leading an awesome band. I remember thinking, "If Hayley can do it, I can do anything." Being a fan of Paramore also inspired me take the time to find bands that are featuring front women, and that has definitely been something that has been constant even as my taste in music has changed over time (right now I am looking at you, Lake Street Dive).

Looking back, Paramore's music was actually pretty empowering. One of the first Paramore songs I ever heard was their 2005 single "Pressure." The basic gist of the song is that you need to get rid of people, things, forces, etc. that are weighing you down in life. That's a lesson I think we all need reminding of from time to time. So thanks, Hayley and the whole Paramore crew, and keep rocking.

This list could go on and on and on and on... But I am curious what other people think. If you haven't done so recently, open your iTunes and transport yourself to 2006. Listen to some My Chemical Romance, or Something Corporate, or Taking Back Sunday. What did you take away from it all back then? What do you take away now? What can you continue to carry with you? Above all else, keep rocking, my friends.