Strength in a song

It was my birthday this week!  I am now 21 and can officially get a big girl horizontal license the next time I venture back to NJ.

My friend Cliodhna, who is awesome in all sorts of ways, got us tickets to see Bon Iver at the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin on the night of my birthday.  I know I'm pretty flowery with words sometimes, but I can't come up with a way to articulate how breathtaking and incredible it was. If you EVER have the chance to go see this band live, don't hesitate for even a second: do it.


You know how some songs just completely transport you back into a memory at the second you hear the first note?  The first song the band played was the opening track off of their new self-titled album.  This song takes me back to earlier this year.  At that time I was just trying to get back into running after months of slowly feeling more and more defeated by my reemerged sickness.  I was on the treadmill every day, struggling to crank out just two slow miles, simply to feel accomplished and alive in the midst of my illness.

I would almost always play this album first thing when my feet hit the treadmill.  You know how those first few steps are always the hardest?  Well, these felt impossible.  But when I would hit 2:32 in this song, I was transformed.  In those moments on the treadmill, no longer feeling dehydrated and tired, I went from defeated to unstoppable.  The energy at that moment in this song is overwhelming, and it made me feel like I could do anything.

Now, whenever I hear this song, I slip right back into that feeling of empowerment.  Whatever I am struggling with at the time, whether it be a bout of homesickness or the first mile of a run, I know that I can not just overcome it, but that I can thrive in it and make it mine.

I know it might not have the same effect on everyone, but it might have one on you.  Give this song a listen from the beginning.  It just might change your life ;)