Music Therapy

In this life, bad days are inevitable. No matter who you are or what you’ve accomplished, you will face a bad day, week, month or even year and it will, for lack of a better word, suck. Life can be hard sometimes (bring on the clichés, right?) though we might be smiling on the outside no one really knows how we’re feeling on the inside.
For some of us, we just woke up late and got dressed in a rush which was only the beginning of an awful day. For others, maybe you failed a quiz that you studied all night for which made you feel a bit worthless or maybe for others, you were dumped leaving you to want to curl up in a ball and cry. There are even some of us who are just so overwhelmed with the obstacles of life because we’re dealing with people who label us as something we’re not because of the way we dress, the words we use or the music we listen to, (or worse), that we struggle to fight off bad thoughts and struggle to stay calm to fight off panic attacks.

I may or may not be having one of those days right now. Yeah, I guess you could say that I want to cry. Yes, I want to ignore the world and yes, I just want things to get better. But I won’t cry, I won’t hide and I know that eventually things do get better with the help of music. I’m a strong believer in music therapy; I believe that music can be powerful and healing if you listen closely to the message the artist is trying to make. With that being said, here are a few songs that have prevented me from throwing myself a pity party today.

1.Jimmy Eat World: The Middle

“Live right now, just be yourself. It doesn’t matter if it’s good enough for someone else.” No truer words have ever been spoken, be yourself. No matter what the situation may be, always be you; don’t ever change for someone else because in the end you won’t be happy. As long as you know you were always true to yourself, nothing else should matter.

2.Reece: Just Let It Happen

“Just let it happen, if it does then its magic; if it doesn’t just know it’s not tragic.” Accept the fact that we will have bad days, no matter what the cause of it, just let it happen. You come out stronger in the end because you overcame a battle you didn’t think was possible. I couldn't find a video but you could check out the song on Soundcloud here.

3.The Maine: Some Days

“Some days, they taste like lemonade. Some days, can feel like razorblades. I wish I could float away, some days.” More or less, this one is pretty self explanatory; some days are great and some days suck. That’s just it.

4.Tegan and Sara: Fix You Up

“…you bring it up and bring it in and we’ll get you fixed up in no time.”  I don’t know if this song is actually inspirational to others but it spoke to me today. I suppose my Tegan and Sara obsession may have played a part in that because in a way, it’s as if they were speaking to me. Sure that’s probably sounds really lame and weird but I’ll take what I can get coming from Tegan and Sara.

5.Young The Giant: Cough Syrup

“I’m waiting for this cough syrup to come down.” There is so much meaning within that line. Bad days are awful and there’s not much you can do but accept it and move on. But look at it this way, when you’re sick with a cough you have no choice but to take cough syrup, no matter how awful it is. You take it and wait for it go down in order to feel better in due time. Bad days are just the cough syrup you need to deal with in order for you to appreciate the good ones. No matter how awful it is, take it because in due time, you’ll feel better and everything will be fine.

In the end you just have to remember that this is just a bad day, not a bad life. You will prove to yourself that this is just another battle that you will overcome because you are strong and just as worthy of this life you’re living and the life you desire as much as the next person is. You are nothing less than amazing and will do great things in this world. And lastly, don’t ever let anyone tell you that music can’t help you because we’re all living proof that it can.

xo, alicia.