Hi Readers,
For some reason, I woke up today and thought that a cool post would be to write about the songs that have profoundly impacted my life and made me into who I am today. None of these songs are my favorite songs now, but they've all had a concrete impact on me. It's weird to think that some band somewhere far away was able to write a song that was able to influence your life, but I'm glad they did. Without further ado, here are the top songs that have influenced my life in chronological order of influence.
1. Numb, by Linkin Park.
This was one of the very first non-classical songs I had heard (the very first was Usher's "Yeah", in 9th grade)., and it resonated with me a lot. It very accurately laid out my feelings of growing up under the pressure of Asian tiger parents, and feeling like you're not in control of your own destiny. Before this song, I had always known that my parents were very controlling people, but I had always thought that it was for the best. Funnily enough, the song was such a big influence on me because it made me really depressed about life. Its non-conformative message made me into a more independent person later on, and also caused me to resent my parents for their controlling ways. Ultimately this song made me realize I didn't want to live life, being dictated what to do by other people.
2. Everybody's Fool, by Evanescence.
This was the first song by Evanescence that I heard, and I think it's one of their best songs. For this song, it was actually the combination of the song and the music video that did it for me. Watching Amy Lee live a fake life and be miserable in the music video was scary for me. It painted a picture for me, of what it would be like to go through life pretending to be something you're not, and keeping a facade to fool other people. In the Chinese society, that's essentially what you do. Whenever people get together, you always have to put on a facade to fool the other person into thinking you are superior than they are. You must look down from them on your fake pedestal and make them feel bad about themselves. That's a big part of the "pleasure" of these interactions. I always hated it - eternally being compared to other people who are supposedly "better" than me, never being good enough for anything, or knowing that your parents only want you to do something so they can brag about it to other people, not because they really cared about it. This song made me realize I wanted to live life as a genuine person and present my true self to the world, instead of living some facade and being internally miserable.
3. What If, by Coldplay
Oh... where do I even begin with this song? Probably the singular most important song I'd ever heard. I first noticed this song during the depths of my depression in my sophomore year of college, and it's a tremendously big part of how I became as happy as I am now. The important parts of the song talks about the "what if's" of life, and how we cannot know how things will turn out until we try them. "Every step that you take, could be your biggest mistake. It could bend or it could break, but that's the risk that you take...Oooh that's right, just take a breath and jump over the side. Oooh that's right, how could you know it if you don't even try?" The song really helped me to see that there is no "set path" in life, and led to my acceptance of my sexuality. When I finally mustered up the courage to come out to my parents, the lyrics "take a breath and jump over the side" were with me. It's still inspiring me, to base my beliefs and values upon experiences, and to try as many things as I can in life.
So there you have it. Three simple songs that helped shape me into who I am today.
-FCDH
For some reason, I woke up today and thought that a cool post would be to write about the songs that have profoundly impacted my life and made me into who I am today. None of these songs are my favorite songs now, but they've all had a concrete impact on me. It's weird to think that some band somewhere far away was able to write a song that was able to influence your life, but I'm glad they did. Without further ado, here are the top songs that have influenced my life in chronological order of influence.
1. Numb, by Linkin Park.
This was one of the very first non-classical songs I had heard (the very first was Usher's "Yeah", in 9th grade)., and it resonated with me a lot. It very accurately laid out my feelings of growing up under the pressure of Asian tiger parents, and feeling like you're not in control of your own destiny. Before this song, I had always known that my parents were very controlling people, but I had always thought that it was for the best. Funnily enough, the song was such a big influence on me because it made me really depressed about life. Its non-conformative message made me into a more independent person later on, and also caused me to resent my parents for their controlling ways. Ultimately this song made me realize I didn't want to live life, being dictated what to do by other people.
2. Everybody's Fool, by Evanescence.
This was the first song by Evanescence that I heard, and I think it's one of their best songs. For this song, it was actually the combination of the song and the music video that did it for me. Watching Amy Lee live a fake life and be miserable in the music video was scary for me. It painted a picture for me, of what it would be like to go through life pretending to be something you're not, and keeping a facade to fool other people. In the Chinese society, that's essentially what you do. Whenever people get together, you always have to put on a facade to fool the other person into thinking you are superior than they are. You must look down from them on your fake pedestal and make them feel bad about themselves. That's a big part of the "pleasure" of these interactions. I always hated it - eternally being compared to other people who are supposedly "better" than me, never being good enough for anything, or knowing that your parents only want you to do something so they can brag about it to other people, not because they really cared about it. This song made me realize I wanted to live life as a genuine person and present my true self to the world, instead of living some facade and being internally miserable.
3. What If, by Coldplay
Oh... where do I even begin with this song? Probably the singular most important song I'd ever heard. I first noticed this song during the depths of my depression in my sophomore year of college, and it's a tremendously big part of how I became as happy as I am now. The important parts of the song talks about the "what if's" of life, and how we cannot know how things will turn out until we try them. "Every step that you take, could be your biggest mistake. It could bend or it could break, but that's the risk that you take...Oooh that's right, just take a breath and jump over the side. Oooh that's right, how could you know it if you don't even try?" The song really helped me to see that there is no "set path" in life, and led to my acceptance of my sexuality. When I finally mustered up the courage to come out to my parents, the lyrics "take a breath and jump over the side" were with me. It's still inspiring me, to base my beliefs and values upon experiences, and to try as many things as I can in life.
So there you have it. Three simple songs that helped shape me into who I am today.
-FCDH
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