When Times Are Rough.

What I Choose ~ Taylor Hall

This song allowed me to see the light at the end of the tunnel; it helped me realize how important it is to experience the positive moment even when times are rough. This song gave me the ability to see that the dark times in our lives are necessary for growth. Without hard and dark times we wouldn’t appreciate the lighter, more loving times in our lives. I discovered this song at a time when I felt like things were out of my control. Which they were, but I do have a choice whether to allow certain aspects of life to ruin my day or I can fixate on the things that are going well for me. It’s what I choose.

Love Yourz ~ J. Cole

I’ve been listening to J. Cole for years now and I’ve always loved this song, but it wasn’t until recently that I finally understood what it truly meant to me. I don’t need expensive objects; I don’t need billions and billions of dollars and I definitely don’t have to care about how others see me. This song taught me that value has nothing to do with any of those aspects of life. Materials don’t create your value; you create your own value. How you feel about yourself, how you feel about your life is what creates your true value. Money doesn’t make everyone happy; it may make most people happy but true success and happiness looks different to everyone. Don’t get me wrong, being able to buy whatever you want, whenever you want is a luxury to have and one day I truly believe I’ll be able to obtain that lifestyle. Though, that’s not what’s most important to me anymore; what’s most important to me is enjoying the little things in life. To be able to hear a person laugh, to see a person’s smile, to hold true love for an individual is the best part of my life. Not everyone has the ability to love unconditionally and that’s one of the greatest gifts God has given me. This song helped me realize what I already had inside of me... Which is love.

Born Tired ~ Jhene Aiko

Jhene Aiko is one of my favorite artists, not only because of her graceful and healing spirit but also because she expresses her light and dark in her music so beautifully. This song helped me realize that it’s okay to feel depleted, it’s okay to feel like giving up as long as you don’t. There are times in our path where we feel like we’re going nowhere; it feels like we’re doing all of this for nothing, but this song pushes you to move forward. It helped me express my love for writing and it showed me that no matter the outcome of my divine work that it’s still divine. I’m doing this for me; I’m not doing this for the recognition of others.

Eternal Sunshine ~Jhene Aiko

This song gave me the realization that life could end whenever and however. Some people see this life as a curse, but they hold onto it so tightly... Why is that? Ultimately, we all know this life is a gift, this life is a blessing. To be able to breathe, walk, jump, kick, flip, dance, speak, smell, hear, see, or experience is something we can’t take for granted. Life isn’t perfect for anyone; everyone is lacking something, and someone is obtaining something and this here is a gift. Life humbles us more than it spoils us and I believe that’s something we all need in whatever way the Divine deems necessary. This song helped me realize if I don’t start appreciating my life now, then when will I begin to? I’m done saying I’ll be happy when, or I’ll be happy if. I am now saying I’ll be happy because.

Cry Today, Smile Tomorrow ~ Anthony Ramos

I am not perfect, and this helped me understand further that I am not meant to be perfect; I am meant to be myself. I am not meant to understand everyone; I am meant to understand myself. There are plenty of people who used to be around me just because I was considerate and because I held space for them to complain, but when the time came for me to express my feelings about life I was shut down. I guess I’m TOO positive for some people. In the past I molded myself to be a complainer, a gossiper, a hater just to fit in but it didn’t last because that’s not who I am. It took a long time for me to accept that I am not meant to fit in; I am meant to stand out. To others it may seem like it’s easy to be me, but believe me being the person who always radiates light becomes draining. I want to complain, and cry about how life can be so terrible, but I know that’s not helping anything. If anything, it’s making things worse and you’re just putting yourself in a never-ending cycle of pain. Being surrounded by people who can’t keep up with their own happiness is exhausting and it puts me in a position where I seem careless... And maybe now I am. But I choose to use the word carefree. This song helped me realize that it’s okay to be misunderstood.

Masterpiece (Mona Lisa) ~ Jazmine Sulivan

“Every part of me is beautiful, I’m a masterpiece.” I was made with passion, tenderness and love and I will never deny that truth again. The fact that I see myself this way, imagine what the rest of the world looks like to me. I was having a conversation with someone yesterday and it helped me realize that I am at a level in my life that some people have not experienced yet. Some people call others ugly based on their physical appearance; some people call others ugly based on their personality. I choose to not speak or acknowledge people I will not understand because I am no longer going to judge someone based on who they are or how they look when I have no clue who anyone is and people’s appearances don’t concern me. I am here to love unconditionally and if I ever feel like I don’t have something kind to say I’m not going to say anything at all. This song opened a door to completely love myself and with that door being open it taught me that I am no different from any other human. Maybe physically, maybe the way I express myself is different, but we all have emotions and we’re all healing from something.

Great One ~ Jessie Reyez

“Everything is nothing without YOU.” This song brought me to a different level of consciousness. Everyone has a purpose whether they understand it or not. No matter what we want we have to understand we are not here for only us; we’re here for each other. Now this doesn’t mean abandon your needs for another person's needs; this just simply means see the meaning in everyone around you. Someone I talked to bashed homeless people for being homeless. (Maybe they were bashing but that’s how I saw it) The person was baffled because they used to be homeless, and they worked hard to get out of that position. They didn’t understand why other homeless people didn’t do the same. I can’t answer that question, but I will say that homeless people to me have just as much meaning as a person who is wealthy with a big house. What you have means nothing if you don’t have a heart to carry yourself through life. Homeless people to me stand for potential, freedom because they have nothing tying them to the fear of losing something. Wealthy people to me are just regular individuals that have more materials than the average person. Yes, they worked hard, but I don’t believe how much you do determine your worth.