Two people sit on the same bench, overlooking the same view. There they sit, just feet apart, eyes fixed on the same skyline, but they are both seeing different things. The only difference? A beat up pair of headphones.
Music adds another dimension to the life we live. It’s the words we didn’t know we had to say, nostalgia encapsulated in a few minutes of notes and words, a conversation starter. We can use it to connect ourselves to others, or to distance ourselves.
Mr. Baldwin says that CA is a family, and so as a family, we’re going to try to connect and get to know each other more. I’m going to look at this from the music angle. I’m sure we’ve all seen those videos of strangers with microphones asking people with earphones on the street what they’re listening to. This past week, I asked a few people what they were listening to and what their favorite songs were. One song in particular was familiar to me, and I thought it was a perfect song to keep with us this school year.
Love is a song by the solo artist Lana Del Rey. It is a song for the younger generation, a message of reassurance and hope for those who haven’t quite figured everything out yet. “You’re part of the past, but now, you’re the future.” the narrator sings. “Signals crossing can get confusing/ It’s enough just to make you feel crazy,” Life is difficult, it’s true, and even with a strong faith it is still hard to deal with sometimes. Looking for little joys, and if they’re not there, creating them, is a way we can spread love. “You get ready, you get all dressed up, to go nowhere in particular/ Back to work or the coffee shop, doesn’t matter because it’s enough/ To be young and in love.”
Love isn’t reserved only for romantic relationships, so if you’re finding it hard to relate, don’t be discouraged. Love is something that we as Christians are called to do. We love God, we love our friends, we love the strangers that bump into us at street corners (although we still check for our wallets once they’ve passed). When we live with Jesus, we fall in love with life. We fall in love with the good we see in the world. We fall in love with the sound of the rain on our rooftops, with the breeze that carries leaves down and sets them on the sun shimmering sidewalk.
The last chorus of the song shifts, and the perspective changes. The song’s narrator sings about her own life and experiences, but ultimately comes to the same conclusion she did for everyone else, waving off her worries with the line, “It doesn’t matter if I’m not enough for the future or the things to come, cause I’m young, and in love.”
