My Life: The Soundtrack

“About Me” pages can only go so far letting people know who you are.  I feel like music and the songs a person identifies with are incredibly telling of who a person is and the experiences they have gone through.  I’ve put together a list of songs that hold some sort of meaning to me.  The songs may have lyrics or a theme that has meaning, or they may have just been popular during a certain time period and whenever I hear them I go back…

…Baby One More Time-Britney Spears

One of my very first CDs.  As a girl of the 90’s I was pretty much required to own that album.

Blue-Eiffel 65

I had this jam on my Now 4 CD.  Hearing this brings me back to sleepovers with my childhood bff’s.  We weren’t the boy-band type.  We rocked to this and a Radio Disney CD.  Because we were that cool.

Two Houses-Matthew West

Grab your tissues.  My parents got divorced and this song is everything.  Every single word.  I think anyone who has experienced their parents splitting can relate to this in one way or another.

Because of You-Kelly Clarkson

As I get older more things make me cry.  This was the first music video that ever made me cry.  Not even a movie had done that.  The emotional energy in this song is spot on.

I Knew I Loved You-Savage Garden

Let’s get cheesy.  In my area the local YMCA used to have monthly dances for the teens in the county so it was the perfect way to meet cute boys from other schools!  My school (K-8) had just under 200 kids.  When I was around 12 I met a boy from another school and he became my “boyfriend” and in my mind this was our song.  Oh to be young and naive again…!

AM to PM-Christina Millian

This song brings me right back to those dances mentioned above.  To me it’s basically against the law to listen to this song quietly, same rule applies to Yeah by, Usher.  It needs to be loud and I need to dance!  Oh and the way we all danced during those days was insanely inappropriate.  Why weren’t we stopped?!

Beautiful Disaster-Jon McLaughlin

Oh the complex feels of being a 17 girl.  If you were never a 17 year old girl this is pretty good insight on what it was like.  “She would change everything, everything just ask her.  Caught in the in between a beautiful disaster…”

Across The Nation-Union Underground

Growing up I used to watch WWF with my parents.  When they divorced and we moved I got out of watching it.  Then in my teen years my dad got tickets to a house show for the whole family to go to.  I decided to watch again so I had some idea of who the newer wrestlers were and what was going on.  Aaaaannd…..I was hooked.  I was obsessed really.  It’s kind of embarrassing and kind of not because it was one of the few things I was really into during my teen years.  In 2005 I even won tickets off the radio to see a show which was one of the highlights of those years.  The Undertaker and Randy Orton were the main event.  My hot pink bedroom was covered with wrestling posters.  The video I used isn’t the actual whole song but the old RAW intro.

The Time is Now-John Cena

Here comes my big celebrity crush of those years.  I had a lot of his memorabilia including a spinning chain necklace.  I even rocked out to his rap CD.  This song was his intro music on WWE and he’s the one rapping of course.  I haven’t religiously watched wrestling in years but if I ever did meet John Cena I would probably still turn to mush.  Muscles for days…*swoon*

Awake and Alive-Skillet

I actually got out of WWE because I got a serious boyfriend and no longer had 5 hours a week to spend watching wrestling.  We were together for 2 years.  He was my first love and he dumped me a few days before a highly anticipated concert to see our favorite band Skillet, along with Puddle of Mudd and Shinedown.  I bought tickets for my family for Christmas and for my boyfriend and I to meet Skillet backstage.  After getting dumped I ended up giving the VIP ticket to my brother.  This song came on and I had heard it a million times but this time it spoke to me in an incredibly profound way.  I actually did a project on this experience in a communications class and my classmates seemed to think it was pretty cool.  “I’m awake I’m alive Now I know what I believe inside Now it’s my time I’ll do what I want ’cause this is my life here (right here), right now (right now) I’ll stand my ground and never back down I know what I believe inside I’m awake and I’m alive…”  This was a major turning point for me.

Circle of Fifths-Milkman

I had started college just a few weeks before getting dumped.  I lived on campus half the week and came home to work the other half.  That semester was amazing, some of the best months of my life.  I grew a lot and finally felt like I fit in somewhere.  That I was accepted.  I made some of the best friends I could ask for and this song (as well as some Disney jams) make me think of them and those days instantly.

Last To Know-Three Days Grace

My ex ended up popping back up into my life wanting me back.  Long story short I hopped on a whirlwind roller coaster in an attempt to first rebuild a friendship only to be dropped again, for someone else.  I spent a lot of time in the car listening to really loud rock music as a coping skill and this song was wonderful for that.  I’d crank the songs loud and belt them out with all I had.  This song starts out describing the pain of being left, being blindsided, and then at the end flips it to an empowering message of being ok, “I’ll be the first to say That now I’m okay And for the first time I’ve opened up my eyes This was my worst love You’ll be the first to go And when she leaves you for dead You’ll be the last to know.”  Bonus points that I saw these guys on Valentines Day that year.

Never Again-Kelly Clarkson

There seriously couldn’t have been a more fitting song for my situation for a number of reasons: 1. The lyrics perfectly described my attitude towards my ex when I flipped from hurt and mad to absolutely fed up with the games and the bull.  I was done. I was over it.  I moved on.  And it was an incredibly liberating experience!  2. Kelly Clarkson and I share the same birthday 3. He (my ex) had an old mustang he was/is restoring

Yearn-Shane & Shane

You may not know this but I’m involved with the youth ministry at my church.  It’s awesome.  I’ve been blessed enough to be able to go to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference (SYMC) twice once in Chicago (my first time flying!) and once in Louisville (roadtrip!!!)  The awesomeness of that weekend conference has to be experienced to be appreciated.  Shane and Shane led worship for the evening sessions and let me tell ya, these guys are good.  This song was one that they played a few times and is super powerful.  When I hear this song or a few others by them I’m right back in General Session!  And yes the song is more on the toned down serious side but don’t even begin to think that’s the entire tone of the conference.  Like I said, it needs to be experienced.

Love Stinks-Adam Sandler

Bonus song!  The Wedding Singer is my all time favorite movie 🙂

Anything But Ordinary-Avril Lavigne

Let Go was Avril’s first album and is still one of my favorites.  This song is one that is just close to my heart.  It’s light, fun, and true “Let down your defenses Use no common sense If you look you will see that this world is a beautiful accident turbulent succulent opulent permanent, no way I wanna taste it Don’t wanna waste it away…”

Who Am I Living For?-Katy Perry

Many people probably don’t realize that Katy Perry is a PK (pastor’s kid) and used to be a Christian Artist.  I think it’s sort of a crime this song wasn’t made a single because it’s amazing and addresses the question, who am I living for?  Myself?  Or Christ?  The song also addresses the struggle of being chosen for something, for seeing the path you need to go and how easily we can be tempted to go the other way.  “It’s never easy to be chosen, never easy to be called Standing on the front line when the bombs start to fall I can see the heavens but I still hear the flames Calling out my name I can see the writing on the wall I can’t ignore this war At the eh-end of it all Who am I living for?”

The Day Before You-Matthew West

All those days, those struggles I went through before getting together with Jeff were so worth it.  This song sums that up.

Best Day Of My Life-American Authors

Thanks to Pandora I heard this song before it really blew up and immediately my brain was like, “YOU MUST DO A WEDDING VIDEO TO THIS SONG!”  I have a tendency to make up music videos in my head and I certainly did that with a personal touch for this song.  I plan to attempt this by having my camera on hand to capture some moments and may give it to someone for the ceremony.  I just really wish I could upload the video that’s already in my brain because it would probably go viral and get millions of views and maybe I could make some money off it and pay for my dang wedding!

Count On Me-Default

This is my happy song.  I dare you to listen to it and not feel good.

Rock Show-Halestorm

I’m a concert junkie.  Well not really because I won’t go to just any concert.  But when I do go I HAVE to be near the front.  If it’s general admission I will show up stupid early to fight my way to the front.  If it’s an assigned seating thing I will be online the moment they go on sale.  This philosophy has paid off too.  I’ve gotten a broken drum stick, guitar pic, towel, and a number of high fives from different artists.  Manafest even stole my camera from the stage and took pics with it.  “Little girl You like it loud Come alive in the middle of a crowd You wanna scream You wanna shout Get excited when the lights go down At the rock show You’ll be right in the front row Heart and soul, they both know It’s where you gotta be…”

Love Never Fails-Brandon Heath

On May 3rd this will be the song to mine and Jeff’s first dance as husband and wife!

I’m sure there are more I could add but this list sums it up pretty well.  What songs would be on your life’s playlist?