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January 2013
 
 
 

I know, I know – judging from the headline, call me girly-girl all you want.

 

In my defense, I’m a jobless twenty-something girl who doesn’t have everything all figured out yet in life (and this is a totally different topic, something I might frequently touch upon in the near future).

After all, I’ve only achieved one out of the five milestones sociologists consider as becoming an adult: Completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying, and having a child.

Equipped with our tech-savviness, multitasking skills, innovative ideas, and a “fresher” perspective, modern society perceives Millennials as the new breed that will replace Gens X and Y in the workforce. Other twenty-somethings go back to their hometowns after college and live in their parents’ backyard, falling behind from the employed population.

That would be me.

I’m scared, and I’m confused about the future. But I know one thing’s for sure: I am not alone.

Being alone in this changing times is frightening, especially when you feel like no one understands your situation and there’s no one to talk to about this dilemma. I myself have experienced suicidal episodes during my junior year in college. Just the thought of life after graduation frightened me so much that I considered ending my life was the only solution.

Well, unless you’re stupid, it’s not. Because there’s more to life than just the pursuit of happiness.

Happiness in itself is readily attainable, but as human beings, I believe each one of us has our own unique life purpose to live by, and therefore hold the responsibility to ensue the purpose. Some will die for love, while others will suffer for the welfare of others.

But before I get too philosophical about the nuts of bolts of living the twenty-something life, or just life, let me stop and say that in a few scrolls away, I’ll be sharing with you my inspiration to keep moving forward no matter what life brings me ahead – good music.

Music moves people. Good music moves people to do positive actions. Katy Perry wrote Firework for a reason. She wanted to inspire the people who are labelled by society as “different”, or “weird”, or “disabled”, to never give up in spite of rejects. She dedicated the music video to the It Gets Better Project, a national movement in America responsible for suicide prevention and encouraging self-esteem within the LGBT community.

I’ll let Katy Perry herself explain the purpose of her song, courtesy of MTV:

 

“People are coming back and almost adopting it as their own anthem, and it’s hard, I think, to write an anthem that’s not cheesy. And I hope that this could be something in that category. I hope this could be one of those things where it’s like, ‘Yeah, I want to put my fist up and feel proud and feel strong.’

 
 

So I guess the following songs are my anthems?

What I know is that these tunes give me a sense of power. That I still matter. That for as long as I’m still alive, God still has a plan for me, an important job for me to do.

Some of these I’ve listened for more than a decade, while others are top-charters from recent times. Some you might recognize because they’re featured on my fitness journal, others you might hear them when you were way younger – that is, if you’re a fellow ’90s kid.

For every song on this list, I plucked the most meaningful words and phrases from the lyrics. Aside from my weekly Power Words, I always find myself mutter these phrases under my breath whenever I need an extra oomph to push forward during my runs.

My hope is for you, whether you’re a twenty-something, thirty-something, or just someone who needs a power tune-up, to get inspired by these anthems and share your life’s meaning by living out your purpose … starting today.

Enjoy the tunes!

 
 
 

***

 
 
 

1. Spice Girls – Stop

 

 

Slow it down, read the sign,
so you know just where you are going

 
 
 

2. Hoku – Perfect Day

 

 

People say
They say that it’s just a phase
They tell me to act my age
… Well I am.

 
 
 

3. Lea Salonga – Reflection

 

 

Why is my reflection someone I don’t know?

 
 
 

4. Girls’ Generation – Stay Girls

 

 

どのくらい私は変われたのだろう?
自分では見えないの
憧れた姿に近づいてるの？

wanna be wanna be 素敵な
gonna be gonna be 大人に
なれるように居たい でも …

 

Translation:

I wonder … how much I have changed?
I can’t see it myself, but
Have I become closer to the person that I long to become?

Wanna be, wanna be, I want
Gonna be, gonna be, to become
A wonderful woman, however …

 
 
 

5. Fergie – Big Girls Don’t Cry (Personal)

 

 

It’s time to be a big girl now
And big girls don’t cry

 
 
 

6. Britney Spears – Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman

 

 

But if you look at me closely
You will see it in my eyes
This girl will always find her way

 
 
 

7. Celine Dion – Because You Love Me

 

 

You gave me faith ’cause You believe
I’m everything I am
Because You love me

 
 
 

8. Pink – F**kin Perfect

 

 

You’re so mean when you talk
About yourself, you are wrong
Change the voices in your head
Make them like you instead

 
 
 

9. Avril Lavigne – My World

 

 

And think to myself,
Where do I belong forever,
In whose arms, the time and place?

 
 
 

10. Michelle Branch – You Set Me Free

 

 

There’s a will
There’s a way
Sometimes words just can’t explain
This is real
I’m afraid
I guess this time there’s just no hiding, fighting

 
 
 

11. Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway

 

 

Maybe I don’t know where they’ll take me but
Gotta keep moving on, moving on
Fly away, breakaway …

 
 
 

12. Katy Perry – Firework

 

 

Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

 
 
 

13. Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston - When You Believe

 

 

A small but still, resilient voice
Says hope is very near

 
 
 

14. The Voice Within – Christina Aguilera

 

 

You’ll make it
You’ll make it
Just don’t go forsaking yourself

 
 
 

15. Only Hope – Mandy Moore

 

 

When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again

 
 
 

16. Lee Ann Womack – I Hope You Dance

My heart is really close to this song. So, … I included every word from the lyrics.

 

 

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance … I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin’ might mean takin’ chances but they’re worth takin’
Lovin’ might be a mistake but it’s worth makin’
Don’t let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to sellin’ out reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance … I hope you dance

(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone)

 
 
 

- Image courtesy of Sailor Moon Fansite via Weebly

 
 
 
 
 

Consider today who you are and what you’re worth.

Do you want to look back to this day and wonder where all the moments have gone?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

♥

Muchaluva,
Stace.