“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” -- Winston Churchill

One of my favorite songs is the "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten. The story behind the lyrics is so inspirational, as well as relatable. It is hard not to love this song. Platten did an interview with ABC when she first wrote this song, and it instantly became an enormous hit. In her interview, she recounts, "When I wrote 'Fight Song,' I was in a particular low point. I needed to remind myself to not give up, that I still believed in myself and that I still had fight left. I didn't intend to write ['Fight Song'], you know, for the world to hear, to be honest. I wrote it 'cause I needed it. And I wrote it 'cause I needed that reminder and I needed hope. And maybe there was this tiny place in my heart where I believed this could still happen. And the fact that it did is crazy." This song did just that.

"Fight Song" has reached a million individuals who struggle with something. For example, individuals who have cancer have been seen all over the internet singing it because it gives them hope that everything will be OK and that their bravery is not unnoticed. It makes individuals hold on to whatever they have left and makes them braver when they feel broken. They need something to believe in and something to hope for. They need to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and whatever pain they are going through does not last forever.

My favorite verse in the song is, "This is my fight song / Take back my life song / Prove I'm alright song / My power's turned on / Starting right now I'll be strong / I'll play my fight song / And I don't really care if nobody else believes / 'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me." It speaks to me in a way that I really do not know how to explain. When I am having a rough day, I listen to this song and it makes me feel better because, whatever little hope I am hanging on to, it makes that hope a little greater and the pain not as extensive.

I also love the verse, "And all those things I didn't say / Wrecking balls inside my brain / I will scream them loud tonight / Can you hear my voice this time?" If you read between these lines, it is almost saying that in her mind is screaming, but what she realizes is that it is sometimes better to keep it inside because no one really truly understands what is like. An individual has to make peace with his/herself before they are truly ready to open up and let others inside their heads.

Sometimes we all need a little reminder of how strong we are. This song is that reminder. Whether we're having a bad day and need a little uplifting, or we are struggling with something that is beyond our control and we need a reminder that we can keep going, we should give this song a listen.