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