Welcome to My Brainn...: Fight Song

(Photo credit to wattpad.com)

"Where words fail, music speaks". Music has always had a way of being a confidant or a warm hug or even a best friend when you need it most. It understands exactly how you're feeling at any given moment and says 'here, it's okay, feel what you need to feel'.

For me, music has always been an outlet and an incredibly saving grace. If I didn't have it growing up it's hard to say where I'd be right now.

Every now and again you come across a song that really REALLY speaks to you, to your soul, your emotions, your EVERYTHING. It's the song that you put on to remind why you are who you are, why you're doing what you're doing and sometimes just helps you get through the rest of your day.

My playlists growing up predominantly featured artists like Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, some Celine Dion, and ultimately whatever I stumbled upon that I liked the sound of and would take me a million miles from where I was at the time.

During a therapy session a few weeks ago where I was processing a HUGE amount of emotion which had been dug up randomly in an unrelated conversation with my cousin, I played some songs which reflected my emotional turmoil and ones that had stuck with me through the years.

The most obvious or defining songs for me are Kelly Clarkson's 'Because of You', and Evanescence's (who I credit for getting me through the toughest times in my life, their album 'Fallen' is probably my most played of all time) 'My Immortal'. Having seen both artists live in concert at least once, I can safely say that I'm not the only person who relates to them.

I went through my playlist of current songs and dug up a few songs by Breaking Benjamin 'Breath' (I absolutely LOVE 'Crawl' too), Papa Roach 'Give Me Back My Life' ('Scars' is also applicable), Three Days Grace 'Never Too Late' ('I Hate Everything About You', 'Just Like You' and 'Home' also work), The Used 'The Bird and The Worm'. With each song I played my therapist asked me what specifically about it meant the most to me and I told her various lines which reflected my self worth or self image which had been shattered.

(Photo credit to pinterest.com)

On the flip side, I recently played another song which as my therapist said, is essentially me as I am now, in song format. Yolanda Adams' 'I Believe' was featured in the movie 'Honey' with Jessica Alba which I absolutely loved and the final dance scene uses the song. Every time I see that scene it overwhelms me, in a good way. I once wrote out the lyrics for a poetry assignment in year 9 or 10 and found them in amongst my old school things and it was a beautiful reminder of how true a song can be if you believe in it and also how much you can change your life for the better if you hold onto songs that you connect with.

Another song I've recently discovered is Rachel Platten's 'Fight Song'. which was featured in 'Pretty Little Liars' a few episodes ago. It has this vibe of "I may not be feeling really strong right now, but I won't back down or let go and I'll show you what I'm made of!". It's one of many songs that takes me back to high school days and how I felt at various times during that era.

I think one of the most timely teen angst songs possibly in history, if not then just for my generation, or at least for me, is Simple Plans' 'Welcome To My Life'. I don't think there's a line in that song that I didn't connect with 10000%.

Of course there are so many other songs that affected me in some way or another, a few by Avril Lavigne come to mind, Delta Goodrem, whom I adored for her first 2 albums which felt the most relevant to me, even Eminem deserves an honorable mention. I daresay he absolutely nailed teen angst with a few of his albums.

Whatever genre or sound it is, a fight song is one that makes you want to do exactly that, fight. Maybe not in a physical sense, but it makes you want to get out of bed just one more time, again and again, it makes you not want to give up because the song is you, it understands you, how you think and feel, and when you feel like you've got nothing else to fight for, it will do.

Without further ado, here is my Fight Song playlist: