Blessed Road

“I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” ¹– Joseph Campbell



Three years ago on an October Friday night, I managed to absentmindedly leave my marching shoes on the bus after a football game. I never imagined that a pair of shoes would stir such a moving moment in my life.

Early the next morning, we had a competition. When those shoes were nowhere to be found,
the panic and desperation that gripped my fumbling around self at five o’clock in the morning was priceless. However, with a sigh of relief, I found my sister’s old shoes and went on my merry way to the bandhall. When I got there, of course the first place I headed was the lost and found: and voila! There were my shoes.

Then, only a short bit later, a friend of mine stumbled to practice, 30 minutes late, and a complete chaos-ridden mess. Christine was an absolute sweetheart, but a little on the individualistic, crazy side personality-wise —not exactly the directors favorite. We tried to comfort her as she tearfully recounted her awful morning. When she ended her story with the exclamation of “And now, I won’t be able to march! I can’t find my damn shoes!” I couldn’t help but unleash a smile as radiant as the sun. Excitedly, we discovered we had the same shoe size, and before long, she had my extra pair of shoes on her feet and her usual smile on her face.

When a situation works out that perfectly, like clockwork, I cannot believe in ‘just coincidence’. How in the world could it work out that I would forget my shoes and bring an extra pair? I cannot help but feel as if I am – as if we all are – “being helped by hidden hands” ². From that moment on, I have been an unconditional believer that “everything happens for a reason.” That made me wonder: what was my reason for being here?

As a student of the ancient Hindu Vedic texts, I have learned since a young age that we all have dharma (a purpose). To fulfill that dharma, break the cycle of reincarnation, and reach moksha (liberation) we must dispel our vasanas (desires/attachments). However, the skeptic in me could not believe when my guru taught us that before birth, we choose our parents and our situation to be born into, to best facilitate the fulfillment of our vasanas from the previous life. But now as the strands of my life are coming together, I am beginning to see how my passions, experiences, and ideologies are intertwining into a unifying force which completes me and my quest to find my purpose. I know that

In the beginning, as with all other children, my world as a child was filled with wonder—everything was my passion. I loved drawing, creating, playing in the dirt, dancing, and yes, even playing with cars. Yet as time took its toll on me, as it did for the rest of the children in the world, my innocent passions crumbled in the face of judgment. I realized I was not as good an artist as Mom told me, my creations were silly and that cars were for boys. However, I am fortunate to be left with something to cherish: music.

Music has enveloped me for my entire life. From the time when I was given my first toy keyboard (my favorite toy) to sitting through my parent's harmonium/voice lessons, it was pervasive in my everyday life. My parents further encouraged music by putting me and
my sister in piano lessons and the choir group at the temple. Music quickly graduated to more than just a task; it became a hobby and favorite pastime. I could spend hours on the piano, figuring out the melodies to songs on the radio and the latest hits from Bollywood movies. As the turmoil of adolescence rolled around, I grew to love pounding out my frustrations on the piano, and soon after joining band, squawking away on the oboe.

Not until my years in high school, though, did I truly began to appreciate music and understand its essence. During those constantly busy days, ones when I got to practice became a blessing. The days when life became too much, music was my salve; I could drown out the world and lose myself, even if for only a few fleeting moments. In that sense, I came to understand what a vital part of my life music encompassed. Then, as I thought increasingly deeply, I realized what a vital part of the cosmos music encompasses. Music has been around since humans realized they could make sounds – and even before. It is the song the birds whistle out into morning glory, the mournful howl of the coyote, the cricket chirps in the ambiance. Even the black holes scattered across the Universe are emitting sound at some deep unfathomable pitch. But on a more global scale, almost all religions use music as a form of worship and praise. In addition, there are didgeridoos from Australia, sitars from India, maracas from Latin America. Even though from all around the globe, they are all sounds everybody can appreciate. Music is unlike a foreign language – one does not have to learn how to understand music. Music has no vocabulary that needs to be acquired. The essence of music is its universality; my passion is rooted in that fact.

So music is one of my dearest passions, and I am fortunate to be born in a situation which wholeheartedly supports it. Yet, I have to wonder: Is my reason for existence to ‘save the world’…one recital at a time?

My best guess as to truly making a difference the world is that while passion about something is a must, practicality is equally as crucial. Therefore with all things considered, I like to think I am more than what I like and dislike and what I love and hate. While my passions drive me, my experiences are the foundation of who I am. My encounters with the world, some happy and others more harsh, have shaped my ideals, perception and understanding of life. In my philosophy, they are the “everything” which leads to a “reason” somewhere. I believe they have “put [me] on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for [me], and the life that [I] ought to be living is the one [I am] living.”³ I believe that my passion for music and my life experiences have entwined to show me my calling in life.

I suppose for this pivotal “reason,” I have been given a whole spectrum of life to sample and experience. For instance, I was graciously born healthy into a family that provided more than enough to allow me to flourish. Yet, this family which I love with all of my being, has taught what it means to live in a broken family. I have felt the effects of parents whose vast majority of communication occurs through raised voices. Time and time again, I have pulled my parents apart, listened to and consoled each side. I know
what it feels like to long ‘One day, hopefully my parents will go their separate ways and find peace within themselves.’ The most heartbreaking, though, is comforting an impressionable baby brother with tears streaming down my own face, while sharing his confusion and fear, and knowing that his innocence is unjustifiably slipping away. My heart feels the pain of all whose home lives are not where they could be.

My heart also understands those who are alone and lost in the labyrinth of their mind. During the course of my eighth grade year, three of my closest friends moved away. The next year was a rocky one, and unconsciously, at first, I began to lose weight. Only in retrospect, when I was absolutely coincidentally assigned a ten-page research project in sophomore year English class on anorexia nervosa, did I realize what treacherous road I had been treading along. That miraculous paper affirmed my belief that “everything happens for a reason” and opened my eyes to the world of eating disorders. I learned eating disorders paradoxically have much less to do with eating and weight than meets the eye; I understand the mind game that plagues those affected. And also, my heart breaks for those who have been sexually abused. The terrifying experience which I still struggle to think about is accompanied by a haunting duet of ignorance and self-blame. While not the ideal experiences, I gained a deep comprehension and perception that could be attained no other way.

Thus, as I ponder upon my purpose with the road I have come down, I cannot deny myself that I have gained a deep sense of empathy – a passion, in a sense. Listening to people has always come naturally to me—my first counseling session was in 2nd grade with two girls fighting over a cookie. Now with my deeper understanding and experience, I am fully prepared to extend my love by doing so. As Professor Bump states, “It is a wonderfully healing experience simply to be lovingly openly heard by others, knowing that you are free to express how you feel without being ignored, judged, advised, or interrupted.” ⁴ I will be able to listen to people who have gone through traumatic experiences without judging, and will be able to relate. Hopefully, these “everything” experiences of mine will translate into a “reason” of success in healing others.

I come to the conclusion that my purpose in life is to comfort and heal. Yet, I hope to do so in a manner which takes my love and soars with it! I hope my passion for listening and my love for music can be “viewed as one, with correlative functions, and as gradually by successive combinations converging, one and all [form] a true centre.”⁵ And, now, I believe I have found a way to unite it all.

Music therapy “is an interpersonal process in which the therapist uses music and all of its facets-physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual-to help clients to improve or maintain their health.”⁶ Music therapy can be used to treat patients with physical, mental and emotional needs. Using music, the universal language, appeals to me as one of the most brilliant ways to increase the effectiveness of healing because every single person in the world can relate to it. I know we all have felt the uplifting effects of our listening to our favorite songs. I hope to expand that same concept and heal the wounds of persons to help them “transcend the accidents of being born in a particular place and time.”⁷ In addition, because music therapy is a relatively young science and the possibilities are still so endless, the passionate child in me is impatient to get started creating. The more and more I learn about music therapy, the more and more I cannot wait to be helping people, loving people, and healing them so they may, too, find the doors opening to their blessed road.



1. Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. pp 120, 149. (X71)
2. Campbell, Joseph. “Bill Moyers” The Power of Myth. pp 120, 149. (X71)
3. Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. pp 120, 149. (X71)
4. Bump, Jerome. “Listening, as essential aspect of Class Participation.” Course Anthology. 2008 (X88B)
5. Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. pp 120, 149. (X71)
6. “Music Therapy” Wikipedia. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_therapy >.
7. Bump, Jerome. “Your Personal Vision” Course Anthology. Jenn’s Copy and Binding, 2008.

Word Count
With Quotes: 1,865
Without Quotes: 1,726

List of Illustrations
1. “Open Door” http://harvest.cals.ncsu.edu/applications/calswebsite/filelibrary/door_image1.GIF
2. “Marching Shoes” http://www.ebernet.com/nvot/images/marching%20shoe.gif
3. “Helping Hand” http://www.oldies1090.com/user_files/images/File/hands(1).jpg
4. “The Vedas” http://bikramsth.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/vedas.jpg
5. “Me and my Keyboard” Personal Photograph
6. “Music Makes the World Go Round” http://i.pbase.com/u23/babygurrrrrl/upload/36976259.musicmakestheworldgoround.jpg
7. “Me and my Baby Brother” Personal Photograph
8. “Free Hugs” http://eqi.org/images/freehugs1.jpg
9. “Music Therapy” http://www.childlife.org/images/AMTA_LOGO_final.jpg

Blog URL: http://kajalm-worldliterature-e603.blogspot.com/2008/09/passions.html

Passions.

Three years ago on an autumn Friday night, I managed to absentmindedly leave my marching shoes on the bus after a football game. I never imagined out of that simple action, or rather lack of, would arise such a moving moment in my life.

Early the next morning, we had a competition. When those shoes were nowhere to be found, the panic and desperation that embodied my stumbling around self at 5’o’clock in the morning was priceless. However, with a sigh of relief, I found my sister’s old shoes and went on my way to the bandhall. When I got there, of course the first place I headed was the lost and found. And voila! There were my shoes!

Then, only a short bit later, a friend of mine stumbled to practice, 30 minutes late, and a complete panic-stricken mess. Christine, an absolute sweetheart, was however a little on the individualist, crazy side—not exactly directors’ favorite. We tried to comfort her as she tearfully recounted her awful morning. When she ended her story with the exclamation of “And now, I won’t be able to march! I can’t find my damn shoes!” I couldn’t help but unleash a smile as bright as the sun. Excitedly, we figured out we had the same shoe size, and before long, she had my extra pair of shoes on her feet and her usual smile on her face.



When a situation works out as perfect as that, like a piece of clockwork, I cannot believe in ‘just coincidence’. How in the world could it work out that I would forget my shoes and bring an extra pair? I can’t help but feel as if I am-we all are- “being helped by hidden hands” ¹. From that moment onwards, I have been an unconditional believer that “Everything happens for a reason.” What is my reason to be here? What is my destiny?

As a student of the ancient Hindu Vedic texts, I have learned since a young age that we all have dharma (a purpose). To fulfill that dharma, break the cycle of reincarnation, and reach moksha (liberation) we must dispel our vasanas (desires). However, the skeptic in me did not believe when my guru taught us that before birth, we choose our parents, our situation to born into, to best facilitate the fulfillment of our desires from the previous life. But now as the strands of my life are coming together, I am beginning to see how my passions, experiences, and ideologies are intertwining into a unifying force which completes me and my quest to find my purpose.

As a child, like every other child, my world was filled with wonder—everything was my passion. I loved drawing, creating, playing in the dirt, dancing, and even cars. Yet as time took its toll, as did for the rest of the children in the world, innocent passion fled from judgment. I realized I was not as good an artist as Mom told me, my creations were silly and that cars were for boys. However, I am fortunate to be left with something to cherish: music.



Music has enveloped me for my entire life. From the time when I was given my first toy keyboard (my favorite toy) to going to musical lessons with my parents, it had a strong presence in my everyday life. My parents further encouraged music by putting my sister and I in piano lessons and the choir group at the temple. It quickly graduated to more than just something to work on; it became a hobby and favorite past time. I could spend hours figuring out the melodies to songs on the radio and favorites from Bollywood movies. As the turmoil of adolescence rolled around, I grew to love pounding out my frustrations on the piano, and pretty soon after joining band, squawking away on the oboe.

Not until my years in high school, though, did I truly began to appreciate music and understand its essence. Music has been around since humans realized they could make sounds. And even before. It is the song the birds whistle out into morning glory, the mournful howl of the coyote, the cricket chirps in the ambiance. Almost all religions use music as a form of worship and praise. In fact, musical notation came about from the hymns of medieval Europe. There are didgeridoos from Australia, sitars from India, maracas from Latin America. Even though from all around the globe, they are all sounds everybody can appreciate. Music is unlike a foreign language- one does not have to learn how to understand music. Music has no vocabulary that needs to be acquired. The essence of music is its universality. And that is my passion.

So music is one of my dearest passions, and I am fortunate to be born in a situation which wholeheartedly supports it. But what good does that do in the world?
I like to think I am more than what I like and dislike, what I love and hate. While my passions drive me, my experiences are foundation of who I am. My encounters with the world, some happy and others more harsh, shape my ideals, perception and understanding of life. In my philosophy, they are the “everything” which leads to a “reason” somewhere. I believe they have “put [me] on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for [me], and the life that [I] ought to be living is the one [I am] living.”²

For this pivotal “reason,” I suppose, I have been given a whole spectrum of life to taste a bit of. I was graciously born healthy into a family provided more than enough to allow me to flourish. Yet, this family which I love with all of my being has taught what it means to live in a broken family. I have seen the effects of parents whose vast majority of communication occurs through raised voices. I have been the one to pull them apart time and time again, consoling and listening to each side, knowing once we kids are grown up, they can finally go their separate ways and find peace within themselves. The most heartbreaking, though, is comforting an impressionable baby brother, tears streaming down my own face, knowing his confusion and fear, and that his innocence is slipping away far faster than is fair. My heart is opened to the pain of all whose home lives are not where they could be.

My heart is opened, too, to those who are feeling alone. During the course of my eighth grade year, three of my closest friends moved away. The next year was a rocky one, and unconsciously, at first, I began to lose weight. Only in retrospect, when I was miraculously assigned a 10-page research project in sophomore year English class on anorexia nervosa, did I realize I had been edging down that treacherous road. And also, my heart is opened to those who had been sexually abused. A terrifying experience, especially when alone in a foreign land, the accompanying duet of ignorance and self-blame are equally haunting. While not the ideal experiences, I now have a deep comprehension and perception that could be attained no other way.

Thus, as I ponder upon my purpose with the road I have come down, I cannot deny myself that I have gained a deep sense of empathy, a passion, in a sense. Listening to people has always come naturally to me—my first counseling session was in 2nd grade with two girls fighting over a cookie. Now, I am fully prepared to extend my love by doing so. As Professor Bump states, “It is a wonderfully healing experience simply to be lovingly openly heard by others, knowing that you are free to express how you feel without being ignored, judged, advised, or interrupted.” ³



I know I am meant to spend my life comforting and healing. Yet, I hope to do so in a manner which takes my foundation and runs with it! I hope my passion for listening and my passion for music can be “viewed as one, with correlative functions, and as gradually by successive combinations converging, one and all [form] a true centre.”⁴ And I think I have found a way to unite it all.



Music therapy “is an interpersonal process in which the therapist uses music and all of its facets-physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual-to help clients to improve or maintain their health.” Music therapy can be used to treat patients with physical, mental and emotional needs. Using music, the universal language, appeals to me as one of the most brilliant ways to increase the effectiveness of healing. And because it is a relatively young science, the possibilities are therefore so endless, and childlike creativity is high demand. The more and more I learn about music therapy, the more and more I cannot wait to be helping people, loving people, and healing them so they may, too, find their “reason.”

“I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.”⁵




1. Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. pp 120, 149. (X71)
2. Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. pp 120, 149. (X71)
3. Bump, Jerome. “Listening, as essential aspect of Class Participation.” Course Anthology. 2008 (X88B)
4. Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. pp 120, 149. (X71)
5. Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. pp 120, 149. (X71)

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.."

As I walked discontentedly out of my Psychology class today, I couldn't help but wonder why we subjected ourselves to this strange form of torture called college. I had studied hours for this epic moment of The First College Test, only to be faced with utter befuddlement when attempting to answer a good portion of the questions.

What I felt like after my test...

'Oh gosh! Four more whole years of this???' The question permeated my thoughts like the endless art of a dog chasing its tail. Like Russ said yesterday during the discussion, you could technically be successful without college. For a while there, this new endeavor came to seem completely pointless.

But that's the beauty of college. Keywords: "For a while". It's an experience that completely shakes up life, twists it and turns it upside down. You can't be mad at it for too long, since actually, now, it is life.

So what is this new path we are going down? And where the heck is it taking us?

No idea? It's okay.--"You are actually in a situation where no one knows the answers" (Varnum, 343G).

...

Yeah, I didn't think it was much help either.


C-o-l-l-e-g-e. Perhaps a 4th grade spelling word.
U-n-i-v-e-r-s-i-t-y. Maybe you get to that in 5th grade.
We've heard about these mysterious places all our lives. Most of us, I think, have known all our lives we were going to end up at one of the two. Yet when we were younger it seemed so much simpler. I knew I wanted to be an astronaut. And a long-armed graceful figure skater (too bad it snows one day every 25 years). Or an archeologist/architect/interior designer. And astronomer. Boy, those were the days of dreams.

DREAMS

But wait, aren't these the days we were supposed to pursue those dreams? We were. And we DO. Maybe we come to an institution of higher learning to figure out how to properly juggle our dreams with reality. Hopefully in four years (or five or six for you poor over-achievers :P) we will come to agree that here, dreams and reality "complete, correct and balance each other" (Newman 308). Hopefully, we will come to understand what is best for the future, but at the same time what is best for ourselves.

And even more so, that is the beauty of this life. No one knows the answer to this conundrum we are in becuase it is absolutely, entirely our own to figure out. It would never be right if someone did try to give you an answer. Every single person has a pristinely authentic experience- no two are ever the same. Therefore, "This is your 'experience', and from this seemingly shapeless, yet entirely individual source, you will derive whatever it is you have to say" (Varnum 343G).

I look forward to these years as a time to learn about myself, my dreams, my limits, but that can't be done without "a little help from my friends" (The Beatles). When my family was helping my sister and I move in to our dorms, my mom, who had to work multiple jobs throughout college, wistfully thought out loud, "This would be so much fun- being surrounded by so many people of your age, just like you." This simple thought is one that has resonated with me since. I could not be more grateful for the wonderful group of peers with whom I have been thrust into this 'Rabbit Hole.' It is most humbling and inspiring at the same time, that life, now consists of being in these classes and new adventures (and hurdles) with all of you. I'm glad that we've already learned to "repect, to consult, to aid each other" (Newman 309). (Haha, thanks to those who reminded me this was due today).

While I can't even start to answer where I am going or where this path is leading, I know I have come to a place to learn that. A time and place like no other in the world, where the ultimate flow of knowledge, and bondage takes place-- a little star burning brightly in the Universe, holding the essense of life.

And, if ever "a large blue caterpillar..quitely smoking a long hookah (Carrol 46)" interrogated me, I could only hope to bust out with Dickens' timeless adage "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of windom, it was the age of foolishness.." (190)

And now, I think it's Time. Psych grade, here I come.
Darn. Not posted yet; but for some reason, I'm not dreading it too much anymore. :)

Kids these days

'What an absolutely silly thought,' I tell myself. Nonetheless, I cannot stop the flow of terrifying pictures flashing through my mind and the waves of fear rolling in. As I wait for sleep to come and take me away, it seems as though the residents who are perhaps a good three feet above my face, could be dancing away at a raging party.


Images of the dorm crashing down, destroyed buildings, and my completely squashed mere human flesh dominate my mind. As I imagine what it would feel like to fall and how it would happen, my mind goes to the unthinkable.

Seriously. How in the world could I be that attached? In all of my melodramatic sequencing of being crushed by the dancers from above, I've started to ponder the fate of my dear, dear laptop (?!?), of all things, on the desk below me. Would she survive??? (Yes. She.) Maybe because she's shut flat and, I'm guessing, my mattress would hit her, she would have an inkling hope of survival as we took our great tumble down.

As possibly pathetic as it is, I am that attached. Not, perhaps to the extent of worrying about my computer's safety over my own, but I can not imagine what life would be like without the services it provides. That dear laptop is my access to the Internet, the WORLD.

The Internet has indeed become the world. Through it, we can access information, as no other age has. We can get instant replays on Olympics moments, video chat with family on the other side of the globe, find remedies to bee stings. We can research for assignments or listen to music to sooth our broken hearts. As the creator of "Web 2.0" creatively and effectively pointed out, the world is now forever linked and connected.

While the efficiency, plethora of information, and global connections make the Internet possibly one of mankind's most ingenious inventions, there is the fear that many others have also voiced, of us becoming beings comparable to robots. Beings who forget to enjoy precious sunsets, forget the feel of the burn of 20 minutes of laughter instead of 'lol' ing, beings who forget to live. There is the fear that, as so much of our lives centers around technology, that we will only exercise that very logical, analytical part of our mind which comprehends this technology.

As Covey says, "Many of us find it difficult to tap into our right brain capacity" ("Using Your Whole Brain" Covey 130), which is an absolutely valid point. When we, as adolescents, are geared towards achieving a perfect 2400 on the SAT s, very much a reasoning test, what good does being creative do? Dana pointed out, we have no need to look for books in the library and possibly stumble upon some very different, intriguing information when we can just Google it and get what we need in .12 seconds. And, as we progress into adulthood and try to choose our lives, there is much pressure to choose a life which will provide enough money and comfort in the future, and is needed globally- something many would argue, a liberal arts or fine arts degree could not guarantee. Therefore, we have all the reason in the world to be left-brained, no protest.

Yet this incredible techonology can be used to do so much more- we have grown up in this day and age of computers and .com, a brilliant source of information and data trade- and we should use it! It is a combination of both our logical/verbal side and our creative side. Verbal side, of course. And creative side, I definitely think so. When browsing for information on the Web, I know that the more aesthetically pleasing site will peak my interest more. As shallow as it may seem, I admit it, I- and I think, we, as humans- simply like pretty and interesting things. Therefore, we now have the pressure, in order to make our sites, posts, blogs, and videos more attractive, to think outside the box, to make them exciting and attention grabbing. They need to appeal to all the senses, for "[human beings] are four dimensional--body, mind, heart, and spirit" ("The Whole Person Paradigm" Covey 40).

So even though technology seems to be leading us to an era of soul-less robots, I think it is precisely what is going to lead to the younger generation's brilliance. Having sound, videos, visual "results in a more powerful and complete reading experience" (Bump 105), and make stronger and deeper connections in the brain. My 9 year-old brother, who has never lived in a house without a computer, started using the paint application to design cars for his future company when he was four. And when I'm having computer issues, guess who I go to?

Maybe trying to think of 'creative' captions for our photos and 'cute' lines for our status' on Facebook isn't such a bad place to start after all.

Song Association

Here are some songs which I thought went appropriately with the topics.

Nostalgia:
Home by Daughtry

I'm staring out into the night,
Trying to hide the pain.
I'm going to the place where love
And feeling good don't ever cost a thing.
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.

Well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.

The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
I've not always been the best man or friend for you.
But your love, it makes true.
And I don't know why.
You always seem to give me another try.

So I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,

Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all,
And then some you don't want.
Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all, yeah.

Oh, well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.
I said these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
I'm going home.



Exhile:
Viva la Vida by Coldplay

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you know there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world
(Ohhh)

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in.
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People could not believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries Wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world
(Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh)

Hear Jerusalem bells are ringings
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh



Loss:
The Scientist by Coldplay
(Absolutely love this one! The video is awesome too! :))

Come up to meet ya, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets, and ask me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
Running in circles, coming in tails
Heads on a science apart

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said that was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart.
Questions of science, science and progress
Don't speak as loud as my heart.
Tell me you love me, and come back and haunt me,
Oh, when I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing tails
coming back as we are.

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said that was easy.
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start



Time:
100 Years by Five for Fighting
(loooove this one also!)

I'm fifteen for a moment
Caught in between ten and twenty
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are

I'm twenty-two for a moment
And she feels better than ever
And we're on fire
Making our way back from my house

Fifteen.... There's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
Fifteen.... There's never a wish better than this
When you only got a hundred years to live

I'm thirty-three for a moment
Still the man, but you see, I'm a they
A kid on the way, babe
A family on my mind

I'm forty-five for a moment
The sea is high
And I'm heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life

Fifteen.... There's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose yourself
Within a morning star

Fifteen.... I'm all right with you
Fifteen.... There's never a wish better than this
When you only got a hundred years to live

Half time goes by
Suddenly you’re wise
Another blink of an eye
Sixty-seven is gone
The sun is getting high
We're moving on...

I'm ninety-nine for a moment
And time for just another moment
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are

Fifteen.... There's still time for you
Twenty-two.... I feel her too
Thirty-three.... You’re on your way
Every day's a new day

Oooo oooo oooooooo oooo oooo oooo
Oooo oooo oooooooo oooo oooo oooo
Oooo oooo oooooooo oooo oooo oooo oooo oooo oooo
Oooooooooooooooo

Fifteen.... There's still time for you
Time to buy and time to choose, hey
Fifteen.... There's never a wish better than this
When you only got a hundred years to live

Identity:
Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls
(Haha, this one is also a favorite!)

And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
and sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am

Love:
Out of My League by Steven Speaks
(More reminiscent of lust, but also an incredible song!)

It's her hair and her eyes today
that just simply take me away
and the feeling that I'm falling further in love
makes me shiver but in a good way
All the times I have sat and stared
as she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair
as she purses her lips, bats her eyes and she plays,
with me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say

'cause I love her with all that i am
and my voice shakes along with my hands
cause shes all that I see and shes all that I need
and I'm out of my league once again

It's a masterful melody when she calls out my name to me
as the world spins around her she laughs,
rolls her eyes and I feel like I'm falling
but it's no surprise

'cause I love her with all that I am
and my voice shakes along with my hands
'cause it's frightening to be swimming in this strange sea
but I'd rather be here than on land
yes she's all that I see and she's all that I need
and I'm out of my league once again.

Its her hair and her eyes today
That just simply take me away
And the feeling that im falling further in love makes me shiver, but in a good way
All the times I have sat and stared
As she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair
As he purses her lips, bats her eyes And she plays with me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say

'cause I love her with all that I am
and my voice shakes along with my hands
'cause it's frightening to be swimming in this strange sea
but I'd rather be here than on land
yes shes all that I see and shes all that I need
and im out of my league once again




I Will Follow You into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie
(Also a favorite! :D)

Love of mine some day you will die,
But I'll be close behind.
I'll follow you into the dark.

No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white; 
Just our hands clasped so tight, 
Waiting for the hint of a spark. 
If heaven and hell decide, 
That they both are satisfied, 
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs:

If there's no one beside you, 
When your soul embarks; 
Then I'll follow you into the dark. 

In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule, 
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black, 
And I held my tongue as she told me, 
"Son, fear is the heart of love." 
So I never went back. 

If heaven and hell decide, 
That they both are satisfied, 
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs: 

If there's no one beside you, 
When your soul embarks; 
Then I'll follow you into the dark. 

You and me have seen everything to see; 
From Bangkok to Calgary. 
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down; 
The time for sleep is now. 
It's nothing to cry about, 
'Cause we'll hold each other soon. 
In the blackest of rooms. 

If heaven and hell decide, 
That they both are satisfied,
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs: 

If there's no one beside you, 
When your soul embarks; 
Then I'll follow you into the dark. 
Then I'll follow you into the dark.