When Words Fail . . .

Listening to: 100 Years by Five for Fighting and preparing to blog about it.

Yes, I am about to blog about a song. And not my favorite song either. But a song with a message I think you all should hear. *takes breath*

Have you ever heard the phrase, "When words fail music speaks"? It's one of my favorite quotes. But I never really experienced this until I heard this song. I'd heard it a few times on the radio and on pandora but I never really listened to it until just now.

I'm speechless.

Friends, I don't get speechless, I don't zone out and definitely don't stop to contemplate the music(slash)lyrics(slash)message of a song. So when I do it's a big deal. This is a big deal.

The song begins:

I'm 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are

I'm convinced this song was written for me. I'm currently fifteen years old, missing ten and anticipating twenty. I'm a certified dreamer. It's what I do.

The chorus:

15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live

If I really do only have 100 years to live then every school day, every meal, every stroke of a keyboard is bringing me closer to my expiration date. It's kind of scary.

Then it says:

I'm 45 for a moment
The sea is high
And I'm heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life

This makes me think of all the adults in my life (specifically my parents and my friends' parents). They're always telling my generation to enjoy being young. My dad reminds me to love high school while I'm in it. It's sounds so cliche but what they're saying has a ring of truth to it. I'm only going to be a sophomore once.

And then the part that almost made me cry:

I'm 99 for a moment
Dying for just another moment
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are

This made me think of a person on his deathbed telling the fifteen year old that "there's still time for you." Don't do things you'll regret. I really thought about the legacy I'm leaving behind when I heard this part. I don't want to regret. I don't want to look back on my life and feel sorry for what people will remember me for. I don't want to miss a thing.

Do you get what I'm saying??? Our lives are ending as you read this. The decisions we make now will effect everything else we do. A quote by my best friend's mother comes to mind as I write this:

"Yesterday is gone, tomorrow isn't here yet but today expect a new surprise."

Seize the day.

Live in the moment.

Don't do things you'll regret.

Because every step you take is the first step of the rest of your life.

Listen to the song