After the past week of walking on eggshells, I did not have the mental or emotional energy to write something socially conscious, so I decided to compile a short list of songs that make me feel better or empowered when I feel despair. So here are 6 songs that I find uplifting and empowering:
1. "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross
This song is primarily applicable to the LGBT community, and widely considered an LGBT anthem, for obvious reasons. However, its message of owning who you are and being unashamed of it is universal and applicable to anyone:
There's a new me coming out
I just have to live
All I want to give
I'm completely positive
I think this time around
I am gonna do it
Like you never knew it
Oh, I'll make it through
The time has come for me
To break out of my shell
I have to shout
That I am coming out
2. "Happy" by Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams's ode to the emotion of happiness is guaranteed to lift anyone's spirits no matter their mood.
(Because I'm happy)
Clap along if you feel
Like a room without a roof
(Because I'm happy)
Clap along if you feel
Like happiness is the truth
(Because I'm happy)
Clap along if you know
What happiness is to you
(Because I'm happy)
Clap along if you feel
Like that's what you want to do
3. "Defying Gravity" by Idina Menzel
First performed by Idina Menzel in her role as Elphaba in the musical Wicked, and then recorded by Idina in a separate single version, this encapsulates the feeling of breaking free from the unnecessary burdens and limits that hold one back in life, a feeling to which I've really grown to relate in the past year.
I'm through accepting limits
'Cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But 'til I try, I'll never know
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
But if that's love it comes
At much too high a cost
4. "Brand New" by Ben Rector
When listening to this song, I get a mental picture in my head of myself standing in the bed of a moving pickup truck driving through a tunnel, arms spread, jacket blowing in the wind, like Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Like when I close my eyes
And don't even care
If anyone sees me dancing
Like I can fly
And I don't even think
Of touching the ground
Like a heartbeat skipped
Like an open page
Like a one-way trip
On an aeroplane
It's the way that I feel
When I'm with you
Brand new
5. "Let It Go" by Idina Menzel
You may be tired of your 6-year-old daughter playing this song on repeat, but I still haven't tired of this song. I still find it breathtaking the way it conveys its message of empowerment, as well as relatable to my own life. What can I say? The cold never bothered me anyway (actually cold really bothers me, as I'm reminded of frequently at the moment).
It's funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can't get to me at all
It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong
No rules for me, I'm free
6. "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas
Like other songs on this list, Rob Thomas's feel-good anthem from the film Meet the Robinsons speaks of leaving behind one's burdens and regrets and allowing oneself to enjoy life and find fulfillment.
All of my regrets
Have washed away somehow
But I cannot forget
The way I feel right now
