Okay, so this week I want to talk about a song by one of my absolute favorite artists, Amber Liu. A lot of you have probably never heard of Amber unless you're into the Kpop scene. I'll make the most-likely safe assumption that most of you are not. I could write a whole dozen articles on why you should be, but that's not what this article is about. I do want to preface though that any videos or lyrics mentioned in this article are the sole property of Amber Liu of F(x) and S.M. Entertainment.

First I want to tell you a little bit about Amber. Granted, I obviously cannot tell you anything other than what I read about her and what she says on her YouTube videos because I don't know her personally, but here's a brief introduction. Amber is actually a Taiwanese-American from California who works in the South Korean Entertainment industry as a singer/rapper for S.M. Entertainment. She is awesome for several different reasons, but one of the most amazing things about her is the way she defies stereotypical norms for female artists in South Korea. Amber is tomboyish in her style and interests, and she has no problem standing out from the crowd of typical girl group artists. She grew up playing basketball and dressing in loose shorts and t-shirts, and she doesn't want to change who she is to conform to an "ideal image." And she's beautiful just the way she is! PS, check out her song "Beautiful" as well.

Can you guess which one is her?

She's super funny, talented and down to earth, and one of her new songs, "Borders," just speaks to me (and I'm sure many others) on a spiritual level. The music video is posted below. Feel free to watch it several hundred times like I have now.

This song seriously is one of the most relevant things to my life I have listened to in a long time. Not only is it gorgeous artistically and visually, but it is so deep lyrically.

"All these people here staring and looking at me, shaking their heads eyes down strong on me. What’s wrong with me? Can you tell me now? What’s wrong with me? Can you tell me, now?"

She starts off the song explaining the emotion of "atelphobia." If you don't know what that is, it is defined as "the fear of never being good enough." I don't know about you, but I always felt this growing up. I still do, but filtered through maturity, love and experience. I always felt the weight of people's judgment crushing me and my confidence to the point of considering taking my own life at times. I never acted upon those thoughts like some less fortunate than I have, but that doesn't mean they didn't exist. I came to the point where I felt like I deserved people's criticism and judgment, and I would literally give anything to be seen as good or even better in their eyes. I didn't have confidence in who I was as a person. I felt the need to be what other people wanted me to be rather than who God made me to be. But the song doesn't stop there. And neither does the life of an atelphobic. She continues by talking about fighting through the borders. The borders are the limitations you set around yourself based on others expectations of you. At least that's how I take it. There is so much more to you than people's opinion of you!

"Stand up, fall down, up again, up against the pressure I am in. Slowly but surely I begin, jumping trains ‘cause I know I can win.

Oh fear not ‘cause I know I’m in his hands. Though I can’t see I know there’s a plan. So thick the fog but I know I can trust the feelings that I feel when the roads rough."

This second verse is the spark of change and hope and confidence that we need. And it isn't just ourselves that we are finding confidence in. She makes it plain that her confidence rests in being in "His" hands. She didn't have to add this. She could have made a song about finding confidence in her inner self, but she chose to point it back to the one who her confidence can and should rest in.

The pre-chorus talks about keeping her eyes down. And I may be interpreting this wrong (sorry Amber), but I feel like at the beginning, I'm keeping my eyes down out of shame, and by the end, I'm keeping my eyes down and focused on me and not everyone else around me. The mood has changed by the end of the song, and the connection you feel with such a dark and painful emotion in the beginning blooms into hope and victory at the end. We've literally crossed the border in one song.

I love Amber and her music and her personality and her spirit. I just wanted to share this song with everyone because I know that it isn't as widespread as it should be, and it is something so many people can connect with. You don't have to pretend to be something you aren't in order to be something absolutely amazing. So, keep your eyes down and work on crossing those borders. Thanks, Amber!

"No, I won’t play pretend
I can’t pretend
There’s so much more up ahead
All that’s up ahead
No, I won’t play pretend
There’s so much more ahead."