It was just a year ago that the world was changed, altered in a way. Zayn Malik left One Direction. Dramatically put but to a lot of girls, it was devastating. You don't really understand the power of young girls until you see it full throttle through social media posts. The announcement of Zayn leaving the world's biggest boyband "after five incredible years" can really shake the entire earth. We were all left with an uncertain feeling. What would happen to the rest of the band? Would they be able to survive without a member? What would happen with Zayn? Would we ever see him again? Or would we just get minor glimpses of him through blurry fan taken photos when he was seen out and about every once in a while? But the main question was simple: Why would he leave?

You'd think leaving the most famous band in the world wouldn't even be a thought in someone's mind. You'd have everything you'd ever want: money, fame, admirers all over the world. Malik leaving was a statement in a way. Sure, he still has the fame, the money and plenty of admirers but all of that may not really matter in the grand scheme of things.

A little after he infamously left One Direction in March of last year, Malik announced that he signed with RCA Records to begin his own solo career. Many saw this as a betrayal to the rest of the band, if they were in this for the long haul, why wasn't he? It's difficult to understand but easy to relate to. While many fans still feel a lack of compassion for Malik and his reasons for leaving--"I couldn't give my opinion on this or that because it didn't fit the grain of what we were as a band or what we represented."--it's something that was bound to happen anyway.

Now, exactly a year later, Malik has released his debut solo album. Mind of Mine is practically five years in the making if you consider all the artistic and creative work Malik has dreamed about putting forth since his passion for making music began. It's different than a One Direction album, more grown up. While One Direction has progressively evolved into a more mature and adult contemporary pop sound, Malik leans a little more towards a contemporary R&B genre. All lyrics are written by Malik, something that was lacking on a One Direction album. It might come as a definite surprise to some loyal One Direction fans that this is the Zayn Malik they loved since the very beginning but it's not a disappointment.

Each song shows true range and diversity within the album, showing Malik's talent and knack for creating a musical world that no one quite knew he was capable of. Ballads like BLUE, fOoL fOr YoU and iT's YoU all showcase the voice that he's best known for while all the up-tempo, hits like TiO, BRIGHT, LIKE I WOULD, BeFoUr, lUcOzAdE and sHe give you an even better insight into his ability to reach a range of different sounds. One song in particular has made the most profound statement of them all: INTERMISSION: fLoWer. It's one of the most touching and beautiful tracks to grace the album with Malik singing in Urdu. In a society that rejects the idea of Islam so harshly, it's become a statement and also a sign of pride.

All these aspects that Malik has shown with the release of his debut album but also with his attitude and philosophy, it's evident that he's happier. Many people give up a lot of things for the sake of other people's happiness, to spare another person's pain or hurt. But there's really only so much you can do before you start thinking about yourself and your well being. A sacrifice of creative passion and self was something that Malik did for five years of his life and is finally able to get back after all this time.

While the whole situation is certainly a sad one to discuss, especially if you're talking to a One Direction fan, you can't deny it was probably for the best. Mind of Mine has shown what could be held back because it didn't fit the idea of someone else's vision and I think it's a testimony to how much you should always stand up for what you believe in.