Dream

"I had a dream. That I could fly from the highest swing...I had a dream."

I was watching You've Got Mail the other day. Meg Ryan is sitting at her computer typing out an email to Tom Hanks. She makes a beautiful speech about her life.
"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void."

This quote makes me think about my life. Which leads me to this song that I've been listening to a lot. It's called Dream. And I just feel like I have all these dreams that I seem to have forgotten about because I have bills and I have responsibilities. And I'm wondering-how to I balance a dream that won't pay well with the responsibilities that I've got?

"I had a dream that I could fly from the highest swing, I had a dream..." I sometimes just wish I could go back to being the little girl that dreamed big and really though she could fly, and would be okay. Now, I know I'll break bones and I'll be hurt. It's not as simple as it once was-nothing's black and white, nothing is easy, and sometimes you have to tread lightly.

But. Even though all of that-things are good. I've got a good life. I'm stressed, like everyone else. But...at the end of the day, I know things are going to be okay.

Change of Plans

So when I started this blog, I was going to write about a playlist that had a list of songs that I that touched my lives. However, now I am just going to be writing about songs in general-'because I realized that there are times that a song touches me, and then I listen to it later and I get a totally different meaning out of it-and there are more songs every day that hit a chord with me, so it wasn't really fair to just write about a list of songs.


Today, I'm going with a song that most people know (if they watched TV at all in the 90s, they know it). The theme song for "Friends"-The Remembrants sang "I'll Be There For You" and having it be the sticom's theme song propelled it, I believe. I've spent the last few weeks catching up on Friends, and each time I hear the theme song.

"So no one told you life was gonna be this way-your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA. It's like you're always stuck in second gear. When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year-I'll be there for you when the rain starts to pour. I'll be there for you, like I've been there before. I'll be there for you, 'cause you're there for me too."

I'm a senior in college and 20 years old. Listening to this song pretty much sums up my life and a few of my best friends, at the moment. I realy feel as though sometimes my life is just in second gear and I can't get it to go right-it hasn't been my week or my month. But then I've got that handful of people that really make it my day and help me through it. We're all just trying to figure it out together and somehow make sense of it. And get the hang of it, even when there's nothing to hang on to.

Granted, this might be spurred on by the fact that I've really started watching Friends and I've heard this song several times over the past week-but it's pretty cool when a song comes along and describes how you feel. :) Happy listening.

Song #1-I Was Here

I created a playlist recently called "Songs to Change My Life"-it's what I listen to when I just need a little pick me up or when I'm having a great day and there's a perfect song that captures it. When I need some encouragement or when I just need to laugh, I find myself flipping to this playlist.

We'll start with the first song: I Was Here by Lady Antebellum

Now, most people who have met me and spent any significant amount of time with me would know that I love Lady Antebellum. They hit the scene really big last year, but I had been listening to them on iTunes before the release of their first album. That's where I first heard "I Was Here."

The chorus goes like this: "I want to do something that matters, say something different, something that sets the whole world on it's ear. I want to do something better with the time I've been given and I want to try to touch a few hearts in this life. Leave nothing less than something that says I was here."

I think everyone has a desire to change the world-that's not exactly what I want to do. I just want to matter to people. And I want to live my mark on this world, just like the song says. I want people to know "I was here" and I want to know I touched someone's life-with a kind word or smile. I want people to know they can count on me and that I will always be there-and I want it to matter.

No one can make you feel that way, I've realized-you've got to believe it all on your own. You may not cure cancer or create world peace-but you can be there when people need you and give a helping hand whenever you can. You can live your life to the best of your ability and just through that make a difference.

That's what the song means to me-when I feel like I've lost my way and I can't remember what I want out of life-I can listen to this song and remember that what I want more than anything is for people to know "I was here." My family. My friends. So long as I helped them when I can, I know I'm going to leave my mark on this world.

Check out the song on iTunes. It's a good pick me up whenever you need one. Happy listening.

Feels Like Letting Go

I'm sure most people feel the same way about music that I do-that it has the power to save a life. That sometimes a song lyric fits perfectly to how you think and feel, and you can't help but listen to it over and over to make sure it's real-because it's amazing to know that someone else has felt the exactly what you felt.

I watch this tv show called One Tree Hill, where music is almost like a character itself. One of the main characters, Peyton, feels that music can change your life and can instantly affect your day. I think through this show I've began to realize the power of music, and then I branched out and began to create the soundtrack to my own life-and I have to say that I've got a good group of songs that are important to me.

For this blog, I want to write about these songs and talk about what they mean to me and why I find them important. I'm not saying everyone can relate to these songs, but I hope a few of you can.