There's a new viral video that has been circling around social media. Elliot Moss's new single Without The Lights has been released, but it's not just the lyrics that have people talking. The powerful video of two dancers in the woods involving an abusive relationship has influenced many, including myself, to speak out about their own experiences with toxic relationships such as domestic violence, and sexual, verbal, and mental abuse.

The amazing thing about this video, is that every single person who sees it will have a different take on it due to the wide variety left for interpretation. In the beginning of the video, a woman is lost in the woods, both physically and mentally. The first hint she has that something is wrong is when she can't find herself in the mirror. I suggest she is realizing that her presumable boyfriend has already started to act different. She is frightened when she sees him and runs off farther into the woods.

Run away from him. Dance. Find yourself. Get out of the woods. Get out of this relationship. Act like everything is okay. Do you know how hard it is to find your way out of the woods when you are lost? Do you know how hard it is to get out of a relationship when you're in too deep even though the abuse hasn't even begun? The toxicity of the relationship is echoed in the lyrics, "I don't know what I'd do if you leave".

So he touches her. He doesn't want her to leave, because he's afraid of what he'll become without her. She's instantly covered in black goo. It's all over her face, and body. This is a very iconic way to show sin, as she is stripped of her innocence. Contextually, I see it as the first instance of abuse, because as she continues to be covered, her movements become puppeteer-ed by her perpetrator.

Right away this video gives me flashbacks to my abusive relationship. After being on and off during the transition from high school to college, I had once more agreed to try things again. The last time around, things got worse. Drug and alcohol ridden, this was not the boy I had remembered dating, and months of mental abuse escalated into sexual abuse when he raped me. I began to feel so worthless and used that I just stopped caring about everything, so I wouldn't let myself feel anything just so I could make it through the day. I am just like the dancer in the video.

The woman in the video represents all victims of abuse. All the boy does is bring her down; he chokes her three times as she kicks to find release that never comes. He knows exactly how to push her around, and goes through the motions of being in a relationship only to strip her down to abuse her again. After I was abused, I felt that there was no way out, and it got harder to fight being pulled down.

Then the object of the song title comes into play: the light bulb is being drizzled on by black paint. Soon, the light bulb is engulfed in black paint, emitting no light. To me, Without The Lights, the woman is being raped, but many others have commented their own meanings such as addiction, depression, suicide, and abuse. What does the loss of light mean to you?

My friend, Phillip Chbeeb, the male lead dancer, has inspired me to open up about my story, by saying, "I hope all who have suffered any sort of abuse can find the strength to transform their pain into power." He is also the director, choreographer and dancer in this video, and just as he used his skills to create such a powerful, influential music video, I am using my words as a way to showcase my interpretation of the meaning of the video based on my own personal experience. Thank you to Elliot Moss, Phillip Chbeeb and Erica Klein for moving us with your creative words, and dances.