Sometimes I am afraid to admit it, but tween me was obsessed with the phenomena that was One Direction. I was not a crazy fan girl, however, I did follow the band obsessively, had my favorite member, and did see them in concert. I never cried or screamed over them though. I had a little bit more self control then that. One Direction was a part of my adolescents and their music does bring back some fond memories.

This week, Niall Horan released his first solo single. I think One Direction fans everywhere maybe went a little crazy, but what do I know. I do know that a lot of people freaked out when Zayn left the band and started his own solo career (In my personal opinion, One Direction got better without him). However, I do not people went as crazy this time. I think the fans, the media, and society has come to the point where people sometimes need to do their own thing and move on with their lives. If it were me, I would not want to be stuck in a boyband for the rest of my life. People move on and change. I would want to try something different. So Niall Horan, Congratulations! You have finally made the step towards making a name for yourself without the name One Direction and I think it is great!

If you have not had the chance to listen to the song, I would highly encourage you to do so. The actual lyrics and everything about it, make me want to cry a little bit. Here’s why.

Niall sings of this girl that is in his home town. Nothing seems to go on there and it mainly stays the same which seems to be the case with every small town. He sings of how this girl maybe he use to be in love with or was a really close childhood friend he never told how he felt. He still reminiscent of the time he spent with her and still feels a pang of jealousy seeing her with someone else.

The whole song to me is raw and speaks of something we all go through. We have all had the one person, girl or boy, that reminds us of home. They might still live there, they might still not. We go to these places that bring back that nostalgic feeling of being with that person creating memories together. However, things happen and that relationship can shatter. It does not mean the time spent together will go away or that the places you both have gone to will just wither into existence. That time, that place remains. Life moves on, but you remember your experience there as only a mere fragment of an instant remains with the both of you and slows you down to reflect.

The end of the song is what really gets me. It speaks to me that even though you are not with that other person, you still care about what you had with them and how it lead you to grow as individual without them. The memories are there, but everything comes back to reminiscing about the person as a human being.

To conclude, I think it is a really simple song that conveys an important message. We move on with our lives, places remain the same, relationships that once were stay in the past, but we can always remember what we did in a certain moment and how it go us to where we are today whether it be together or apart. You still care, but it is time to move on to bigger and better things.