Songs I Live By #004: Put Your Records On | Corrine Bailey Rae

… From the moment I heard this song, I was captivated. Back then, I was really struggling with trying to identify who I was as a human being. Now mind you, I was only fifteen years old at the time, but in the scheme of things, that’s exactly when a teenager struggles with the concept of acceptance or, for lack of a better term, originality.

Put Your Records Onwaltzed into my life at the perfect time; the summer between my transition from middle school to high school, where all I was worried about was avoiding my next shove into a locker, or better yet, a string of gay slurs that would further hinder my ability to be comfortable in my own skin.

I was never the skinniest kid, nor was I the most talented. I never really got my hands into the realm of sports, which plagued my school’s social calendar. To tell you the truth, I never really got myself involved in anything. I was your typical Average Joe, who was whole heartily searching for who he was and where he belonged.

This song was my key to acceptance in myself. It allowed me to embrace every square inch of my personality, body, strengths, flaws; the works. Rae really did sing it best when she sang: You’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow. Because that’s the honest truth of it all.

What I’ve learned is that it’s actually not about what others think of you, or if you’re going to fit in with a specific group of individuals. It’s about loving yourself, and finding the people who love you for everything that you are, and everything that you’re not. It’s the very beginning steps in learning how to love, because if you can’t know self worth and respect, how do you ever expect to find it in somebody else?

Songs I Live By #003: These Words | Natasha Bedingfield

… This track to me is magic.

Determined not to be shaped into a music business pigeonhole, Bedingfield began recording material for her debut album that would label her as organic, different, and real. Frustrated with the constant pressure to produce a hit song, Natasha began to sing “I love you, I love you, I love you” over and over again. She was at her wit’s end and just wanted to say what she wanted to say in a simple way, without using all over the flowery words and juvenile confessions.

It’s highly relatable to my life, because I’m familiar with the pressures placed on an individual to write decent material. I actually used to call myself a decent writer; a songwriter in fact, but I eventually found myself trapped in years and years of writer’s block (mainly due to the fact that my freshman Journalism professor completely ruined my confidence in writing). I also found myself shriveling up or shying away from expressing what was on my heart or mind, because I found the task daunting. I honestly thought that nobody would understand.

These Words  is the lesson that taught me that when you want to express something you’re feeling, you simply need to get straight to the point. Nothing ever has to be complicated or twisted so far past the point of reality. Being concise makes life so much easier; feelings become weightless and free forming. It’s a grand form of living a better and healthy life, emotionally.

Songs I Live By #002: Ordinary People | John Legend

… This is such a beautiful song.

According to John Legend, “The idea for the song is that relationships are difficult and the outcome uncertain. If a relationship is going to work, it will require compromise and, even then, it is not always going to end the way you want it to.”

But, to me, the song can also speak about life in general; not knowing which route to take or which path to follow, but understanding that you’re human; that life doesn’t always bring you good things. That’s the beauty of it: you don’t have all the answers. You just got to live and learn. 

Songs I Live By #001: I’m Yours | Jason Mraz

… I’ll start of the series with my favorite song: I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. Now, don’t get me wrong, my favorite song will probably change with time, but this track has been at the top of my list since it was a demo back in 2005, and was leaked in order to promote Jason’s second LP, Mr. A-Z. 

I’m Yours is definitely one of those feel-good, in the moment kind of songs, where every time you listen to it, you’re whisked away to paradise and never want to come back. It’s my favorite simply because, when listening to it, it’s like you’re wearing your heart on your sleeve, which I do o’so well. It preaches to it’s listener that: it’s your god forsaken right to be loved. Because it is! Isn’t it everybody’s?! Don’t we all deserved to be loved for who we are as a person, and who we aren’t?

To me, I’m Yours outlines the overall message that our soul-mate is indeed out there. It gives the listener every bit of confidence to chase down the one,and to never ever let them go, because it is our fate. With this song, you can’t help but take in by every lyric, every meaning; flaw and all. To most it may be generic, but to me it’s a classic.