The Remedy

I heard this song for the first time when I was 13 years old. When I was that age, my family was struggling for too many reasons to list here. Personally though, I had a bully who would call my home every night threatening to kill me. I didn’t even know who it was for over a month until she cornered me in a phone booth after school. I was severely depressed for as long as I could remember so part of me hoped she would honor her word and kill me. This was the age I first contemplated suicide by holding a knife up to my wrist secretly at home one day. I broke down crying before doing anything.

I was unhappy in all aspects of my young life. To top it off, I was seeing ghosts at the end of my bed every night and throughout my day. I thought I was haunted/cursed because my life was really unhappy. I wasn’t just the outsider at school or the poorest financially among my friends, I was someone who saw scary ghosts on a daily basis. I had absolutely no control over my life or seemingly my happiness. ...But then I heard this song. “I won’t worry my life away” & “you can turn off the sun but I’m still gonna shine.” Became my mantras. I’d sing the lyrics at the top of my lungs in the shower, in my room, or whenever my heart needed the reminder.

That’s the power of music. The lyrics themselves are like poetry for the soul, the instrumentals calming you.... and the actual act of singing is a release of anxieties while increasing your vibrations and therefore making you a happier person!

When Andrew came up with Megan’s Summer Tour 2018- I cried because so many of the bands we saw/will see were crucial to my survival. Especially @jason_mraz , who I’d listen to from my bed in the homeless shelter when I was 17, 18, 19, and 20. I’d close my eyes and imagine that I really was the person who shines even when the suns not there.

That’s what it takes, folks. “Imagining” is one step away from believing it. You need to do whatever it takes for you to realize you do have control over your happiness. I’m here to remind you in case you forget.

God bless.