A Reader Response Study on Frank Sinatra’s My Way: Self-Confidence, Career Anxiety, and Final-Year Students’ Real-Life Challenges

Abyan Yurdin   Kamal; Susanto

doi:10.55909/jpbs.v5i4.1736

Authors

Abyan Yurdin Kamal Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Pekalongan, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia
Susanto Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Pekalongan, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55909/jpbs.v5i4.1736

Keywords:

reader response , song, self-confidence, career anxiety, real-life challenges

Abstract

This study examined how final-year university students construct personal meanings from My Way by Frank Sinatra in negotiating confidence, uncertainty, and career anxiety during the transition to adulthood. Although previous studies on My Way have predominantly focused on figurative language and textual analysis, limited attention has been given to how listeners interpret the song within the context of their lived experiences and future uncertainty. Grounded in Reader Response Theory and informed by Career Construction Theory, this study employed a qualitative interpretive approach involving 20 final-year university students through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Four participants representing distinct emotional response tendencies were purposively selected for in-depth interviews. The findings revealed that students interpreted the song as a reflective narrative of agency, responsibility, and personal struggle. While many participants associated My Way with confidence, resilience, and agency over life decisions, others connected the song to fear of failure, career uncertainty, and emotional pressure regarding post-graduation life. The study demonstrated that self-confidence and anxiety coexist as intertwined emotional realities in emerging adulthood. These findings positioned popular music not merely as entertainment, but as a narrative space through which young adults construct identity, process uncertainty, and imagine future career trajectories.

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