Lyrics That Stick

second-year audrey hamm

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There are moments that build us. There are moments that break us. Both are moments that teach us who we are. We have the whole world, for a little bit of time, and these moments to “feel your fate at your fingertips”. [1]

Recently, I’ve been overwhelmed by this motive I have to just figure it out. We live “off of highs and lows, so obsessed”,[2] not always sure what will happen next. I want the best for myself and don’t know how to go about it sometimes: I am afraid to make mistakes.

But there was this one time that I lost a friend and I was really confused. I was caught in the past and thinking about “all the things we said when we were younger, did it bend or did I break?”[3] The time away from them showed me the people I needed to be around.

This other time that I wasn’t taking good care of myself and had exhausted options that weren’t working. So, I looked further into nutrition, got into an exercise routine I enjoyed, and learned how to prioritize my wellness.

And this time I’m going through now, where I’m confused about what to do with one of my majors. It’s not easy to think about how something that seemed like a good plan, the right plan, seven months ago, now doesn’t really make sense anymore. I'm worried about what to do next and it makes me feel like I don’t even understand what I want. But, making a change will push me one step closer to my education and career goals. I just got into Grady last week for my other major, Journalism, and am so excited to see what that route has in store and where it leads me.

In college, we are constantly changing, faced with the opportunities and challenges of a lifetime. Sometimes, I think about what it would be like if my past self could see the future, basically “if I knew it all then, would I do it again?”[4]. I know that I’m at the place I want to be, have people in my life that I want to keep, and have dreams and goals I want to accomplish: it’s up to the little moments to fill it in. To remember this time in my life as “something good and right and real”[5].

We use the past to encourage us on how to be different. And in looking in the mirror, it resonates with me of all the work I’ve done (all the work you’ve done) to get here. “She knows she lived through it to get to this moment.” [6]

Moments that will break me. Moments that will build me. Ones that “make you wonder why you even try”[7]. Ones that make all the puzzle pieces fit right.

Play against the odds, because even if you screw it up, you’ll find another chance. And then you’ll screw that one up maybe too, and a hundred after.

Of all cracks in the pavements we’ve slipped through, we’ve had to find our way, our way to keep going forward.

“You can drive all night, looking' for the answers in the pourin' rain” [8]. The places and things we are looking for are out there, but the answer to most of our questions can only come from within. First and foremost, we have to be ourselves. I have come to develop such an appreciation for the person I am and am learning that confidence through every step.

Breath, smile, take a nap, breathe again, and “go ahead, let your hair down” [9].

Spotify Playlist

1. COIN. “Let It All Out (10:05)”.

2. Khalid. “Free Spirit”.

3. The Band Camino. “Berenstein”.

4. Billie Eilish. “everything i wanted”.

5. Taylor Swift. “State of Grace (Taylor’s Version)”.

6. Phoebe Bridgers. “Graceland Too”.

7. Paramore. “Hard Times”

8. Cage The Elephant. “Cigarette Daydreams”.

9. Corinne Bailey Rae. “Put Your Records On”.