Everyone assumes country music is just a bunch of guys sitting around with banjos singing about their broken hearts, but it can be so much more. I was born and raised listening to country music, and throughout all 19 years of my life, I have been able to learn numerous life lessons that I feel are essential to living a happy life.
1. You find out who your friends are.
As Tracy Lawrence told us, you find out who your friends are. Life would be nothing without the people who keep us laughing through it. In life, we're sometimes pushed to our limits, and it's those friends who are there for us to lean on and to help us through that are worth having around. There are going to be tests throughout life that will become opportunities for your true friends to show themselves. So if you're ever, "stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere" you'll know to call Tracy Lawrence, oh, and a few friends who you know you can count on.
2. Always stay humble and kind.
No matter what you're going through and no matter what you achieve in life, Tim McGraw teaches us that we have to remember our beginnings and where we've come from. Success is something everyone works for and everyone dreams of, but it's also something that only a select few can achieve. This song tells us that once we become successful and have worked our way to living the American dream, we then have to look back and thank everyone who made it possible. To stay humble and kind in the face of success, and to not let fame get to our heads, is something only the greatest of people can master. Those are the people who deserve all the success that they worked so hard for.
3. Don't blink.
Kenny Chesney is a legend and he teaches us that we have to make the most out of every second of our lives. "Don't blink, life goes faster than you think." The lyrics tell us that if we don't take the time to stop and appreciate life, it'll be over before we know it. No one wants to fast forward through life, and Kenny reminds us that every moment should be taken advantage of because every moment is a possibility to make new memories.
4. Have faith.
Carrie Underwood left everything up to God in "Jesus Take the Wheel" and from her song we can all learn that some things are just better left up to God too. There are going to be some things in life that are out of our control, but if we have a little faith in the big man above, we can realize that everything happens for a reason. A little faith can go a long way.
5. How to cope with a loss.
One of the biggest things country music preaches is that there are so many ways to cope with the loss of a loved one. Lee Brice tells us that it's okay to to feel a little lost and that it's okay to have your own way to cope with the loss of someone you love. "I Drive Your Truck" is just one example of how to go about life when things seem too tough. Sometimes the pain of losing someone you love will never go away, but as long as you feel that you have a piece of them, their memory will never fade away.
6. How to have a good time.
Florida Georgia Line is a band with a reputation for knowing how to have a good time. No one wants to work their life away and not be able to enjoy it to it's fullest. "Anything Goes" shows us that there can be a perfect balance between work and play. After a tough work week, it's okay to have a little fun and enjoy life before it's too late.
7. Don't forget your roots.
Miranda Lambert teaches us in "The House That Built Me" that it's important to recognize where we came from and where our roots are set. We have to know where we come from in order to see where we can go. It's important to pay our respects to the places and people who built us and made us who we are, because without them, who would we be?
8. Appreciate a dirt road.
People from the city will never be able to truly appreciate the feeling of driving down a dirt road. In "Dirt Road Anthem," Jason Aldean captures the beauty of driving down one. Carefree driving gives us a break from the hectic lives that we can sometimes live, and sometimes a long drive is exactly what we need to clear our heads. Driving down a dirt road is therapy in the best way, it's free, calming and can fix almost any problem life throws at you.
9. Family is family.
No matter where life takes you and no matter where you go, you will always have your family. Casey Musgrave explains that in "Family Is Family" because no matter what size, shape, or form, we are born into our families. We may not have had a say in who our families are, but they are our blood and there's nothing like the special bond that a family has. Whether you get along great or not at all, we can always know we'll have our families to fall back on.
10. Be proud to be an American.
There's nothing more American than country music. Toby Keith sang 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' the ultimate song to boost American pride. As Americans, we truly do live in the greatest country in the world, the land of endless opportunities. If anything ever tried to get in the way of the lives we live as Americans, no doubt we would ban together and defend the country that we so deeply love. Through country music, patriotism for out great country will never die.
