I am convinced that the only articles I write that my parents read are my DeJamz. I don’t mind; these are the crowning achievements of my time at The DePaulia and should be treated as such. It does, unfortunately, mean that my mom has been hounding me for months to make a DeJamz for her. She’s thrown out several suggestions, including an 80s new wave DeJamz and a musical theater DeJamz, but I’m incredibly skilled at not listening to her. In honor of Mother’s Day, though, I figured it was finally time to give her what she wanted. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. Here’s your DeJamz.

My mom gave me a lot of things: a stubborn attitude, a tendency to clean when I’m stressed, and terrible insomnia. Most importantly, though, she gave me an enabled obsession with musical theatre. I must have been in seventh grade when she took me to see a production of “Kinky Boots” at the Music Hall at Fair Park, and while it wasn’t the first or last show she took me to, it’s been stuck in my head ever since. Nowadays, I only listen to Broadway cast recordings when I’m with her. It doesn’t sound the same anywhere else.

My mom likes to claim that she introduced me to Panic! At the Disco. While I personally have no recollection of this and therefore think she’s lying to me, I can’t deny it’s a great band. If she did put me onto them, I can’t be mad. It obviously means I think her music taste is elite. We both agree that “Vices and Virtues” is the best album, even though she can never remember the name and only refers to it as “the one with the two guys on the front.” Either way, it makes my mom cooler than yours.

One of my favorite movies to watch with my mom is the 2000 classic “Miss Congeniality,” and it somehow gets better every time I see it. I memorized this song sometime between the first and the millionth re-watch but somehow, my mom was shocked when I started singing along word for word. There’s no better Sunday at home than watching a Sandra Bullock movie on the living room couch with my mom with treats from our favorite bakery. As you can tell, I’m so very cool and totally not a dork. Like mother like daughter, I suppose.

I went back and forth between including this song or “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” but this one is so iconic that it ultimately won the George Michael battle. Before she says anything, yes, Mom, I know that “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” was from Wham! and not just George Michael. You have Wham!’s “Make It Big” on vinyl and used it as a convoluted clue in an Easter scavenger hunt. It’s burned into my brain. To my poor, confused readers: Every other DeJamz is for you; let me have this very meta-conversation with my mom. Thank you.

My family loves road trips, so whenever I’m home for an extended break, my mom drives 14 hours from Dallas to Chicago to pick me up. This song was playing through the car speakers when she came to pick me up after my freshman year. Being away from home sucks, but listening to this song and staring out the window while she’s in the driver’s seat made everything feel right again.