Call me crazy, but I’m done following the mundane, mediocre routine that we all tend to fall into. I am so incredibly over trying to fit into the mold of what is normal. I want to do something, and I want to see change. 

“When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.

That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is- everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it.”

-Steve Jobs

I’m so excited about the work I’m doing with EUGHO (Emory Undergraduate Global Health Organization), and I am so thrilled to be a partner of the Global Health Institute. Laura and I began planning the next trip to Haiti for spring break as well, and feel so energized and ready to go back to the IDADEE and EBAC Orphanages to see the faces of the Haitian children that I miss so much. 

Basically, I’m over just trying to live for myself. I just had the revelation of how incredibly blessed I am, and I want to do something about it. (Also, look how cute the babies are!! How could you not love them?)

Time moves along, a long time moves past me now.
Ticking clock, setting sun, with a wrinkle of my brow.
Distant echoes of a past I cannot chase, how much of this can erase.

I love love love when people send me songs they like. A lot of people ask me to send them songs that I listen to, so here’s a list that I’ve been thinking about/working on for a while now. Click the album art to be linked to the YouTube video. Or you can be ten times cooler and listen to it on Spotify.

1. “Don’t Kick the Chair” by Dia Frampton, ft. Kid Cudi

Dia Frampton, half Dutch half Korean, is the lead singer of my favorite band, Meg & Dia. They’re two sisters from St. George, Utah, and they are both amazingly talented. The reason I love them so much is because they’re English majors, and a lot of their songs are based on literature. (“Monsters” was based on East of Eden by John Steinbeck and “Brave New World” was based on the same titled novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley). Dia probably has one of the most unique voices I have ever heard. This song is from her first solo album, Red, and is featuring Kid Cudi. It’s actually really cool how this unusual collab happened. She uploaded a cover of “Pursuit of Happiness” on her YouTube channel (watch here), and Kid Cudi stumbled upon it through mutual fans, and then bam, this song happened. Dia said about this song, “I like to write dark songs to happy tunes; it’s a little confusing to the listener’s ear at first. They hear it and dance and get excited, and then the next second they dive into the lyrics and say, ‘Wait a second.’” And that’s exactly what this song is. Dark lyrics to a happy melody. (But don’t worry, there’s an overall positive message.)
       ”There are lonely nights when you see no hope
        And you’re feeling short of breath.
        Like a whole damn world is a braided rope
        In a noose around your neck.”

2. “The Story I Heard” by Blind Pilot

I’ve only started listening to Blind Pilot recently. I wish I could pretend to be a hipster and say that I’ve known them forever now, but I started listening to their music this summer. Albeit late, this indie fold band from Portland, Oregon instantly caught my attention. This song was and still is really difficult for me to understand. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what Israel, the lead singer, is trying to say. There are definitely biblical allusions to Jacob and the nation of Israel, pointing back at his name. At a concert he explained that the song sparked from his interaction with a homeless man named Jojo. I’ve read so many possible interpretations of the song, but I’m still lost, so if anyone wants to figure it out with me…

3. “For Emma” by Bon Iver

Just going to come out and admit it, the first time I heard this song, I cried. I was not sobbing or anything like that, but when the song started playing, I closed my eyes and listened, and when the song ended, I opened my eyes, and my eyes held tears. I’m sorry I’m so emotional… But in all fairness, I was only so affected because of the pure emotion pouring out of Justin Vernon’s voice. The song is meant to be a dialogue between two people, and a narrator. 
       “‘Go find another lover; To bring a- to string along.’
        ‘With all your lies, you’re still very lovable.’” 
This song is from his album For Emma, Forever Ago. The story behind the album is an amazing one in itself, and I could probably write an entire post about it, but in short, after the break up of his band and his break up with his girlfriend, Justin went up into a cabin during the winter and stayed there with no electricity and no running water, and sat and wrote this album. 

4. “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” by John Mayer

A bit old, but still so good. I don’t really know what it is about this song, but the instant the familiar guitar riff starts up, my stomach flips. What does it even mean to be slow dancing in a burning room? Beats me. But his guitar melodies are like heaven itself. 

5. “The One You Say Goodnight To” by Kina Grannis

Ending on a positive note, Kina Grannis, your songs can make anyone smile. After all, who doesn’t want to be the one someone says goodnight to? Oh yeah, and here’s a picture of when I met her after her concert at the Tabernacle. ;)

Right here, I drew these lines for you,
separated by what is right and what is true.
Time crawled and slowly let down the walls,
Gently in your palms, words laced with alcohol. 

I heard the sound of the stars tonight,
they carried your voice in their light.
Ethereal, but passing by just a moment too late,
Flying, but held down by a hopeless weight.

So right now, I wrote these lines for you,
to separate what is right and what is true.  

Come closer,
whispered the millions of thoughts swirling around 
as he lay flat on the road.
Apropos of something, precarious.

But enticing,
warm and safe,
the stars above.
Soundly sleeping, sweetness.

Faded, dazing out of consciousness. 

Dark,
dark and cold, when the blood,
once rushing through his veins,
froze. 

Headlights.
Stop there,
don’t come closer.
Up, get up. 
You are worth it.
You are better than I ever even knew. 

Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste.