Dear The Head and The Heart,
Now I know the likelihood of you ever seeing this letter is slim to none, but I figured I would write a letter to your band saying thank you.
I was introduced to your music when my best friend decided to download her playlist onto my phone. I was getting on an airplane set course for Waco, Texas. I was leaving behind my family, friends, and everything that was normal for me. There, I was sitting in the back of the plane wondering why I was doing this. Why was I leaving the one place I know so well? It was at that moment that your song "Rivers and Roads" came on to my shuffle.
"Rivers and Roads" starts by saying, “A year from now we’ll all be gone all of our friends will move away." That first line seemed like the exact story of my life. Within this year all of my friends from home have dispersed and gone on to live their lives. I thought that the rest of this song was going to bring me to immense sadness and despair, but then the next line came, “And they’re going to better places, but our friends are gone away." This next line reminded me that my friends and I had to leave home for a reason. We set out on our college adventure to find a new life, one where we can continue our education, fall in love with a city (and maybe a boy), and feel complete. It was at that moment that I realized "Rivers and Roads" would bring me to tears -- not tears of sadness, but rather tears of hope and excitement.
The next time I listened to your song was two weeks into the semester when I was feeling down. I felt like I had made a mistake by leaving home, and with those thoughts I found myself curled up in my bed once again listening to "Rivers and Roads." This time it was the lyrics, “Been talking 'bout the way things change and my family lives in a different state.” This line hit me right in the chest because it was true. My family was not here and I was all on my own trying to find someone who could relate to the pain I was feeling. I could not relate to the people who didn't understand the feeling I was experiencing. It wasn’t just the distance; it was the feeling of home that I greatly missed.
The next few months were easier. I continued to listen to your song when I was feeling a little homesick or out of place. I think I connected to your song and your band so well because I believed you understood what I was feeling at times. I look back at that time of discomfort and remember that you were always there when I needed a nudge to feel a little better.
So to The Head and The Heart -- I want to say thank you. Thank you for understanding my feelings. Thank you for always knowing what to say and when to say it. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you most. Your lyrics and your rhythms got me through the best of times and the worst of times. When I look back at that first semester, I see many new and exciting experiences all shown in a montage with your song playing in the background. There are thousands of roads and many rivers between me and the place I call home.
But because of you, I know I can make that journey back.
From a thankful fan,
Kathryn
