Music has been a part of my life for a long time.

During my teenage years I would buy at least one album a week. Me and my childhood best friend Kwame were obsessed with music. We would talk for hours about the lyrics, how we would have changed the album covers, how we wished some albums had more than 10 songs etc. Over the years music has become a friend, encourager, motivator and so much more. I agree with the lyrics that Brandy sings in her love ballad dedicated to music entitled....Music lol (look it up).

“ I wake up to you, go to sleep to you, and all between I’m hearing you.”

— Song: Music, Artist: Brandy

Many of my friends laugh at me when I tell them that I don't have a TV in my apartment. The question I often get is " what do you do for entertainment?". The answer is " Listen to music". There is nothing like winding down to a great album or playlist and being submerged by its beauty and power. There is literally a song for every emotion.

Music helps me to process things and serves as the soundtrack to many stages of my life. I have found certain songs to be so impactful that they actually changed my mood and/or perception on certain things that I'm going through. I have always been a lyric fanatic.

I love to research lyrics, interpret their meaning and pull away pieces that stick with me.

I want to share some of the songs that helped me along the way. This is just part one because my song catalog is mad strong!

What are some songs that have saved your life?

In Love, Peace, and Style,

Lonnie

Break The Shell - India. Arie Listen Here | Songversation [2013]

India, India, India! I feel like she is the Queen of healing lyrics. Her songs are like lyrical therapy and emotional yoga all in one. Always so meaningful, calming, thought provoking, and thoughtful. Woooo Weee, this song right her brought me through some tough times. This song is about that moment when you realize what you need to do but the only thing holding you back is actually making the move (breaking the shell).

Notable Lyrics

Child it's time to break the shell

Life's gonna hurt but it's meant to be felt

You cannot touch the sky from inside yourself

You cannot fly until you break the shell

Forgiven Me - Mary Mary Listen Here | The Sound [2008]

If you find yourself holding on to something that you did or didn't do in the past and placing yourself in a mental prison of guilt to the point that you can no longer love yourself or function, this song is exactly what you need to listen to. The lyrics help you to assess your situation, gives you the keys to taking responsibility and owning your story as you move forward in love.

Notable Lyrics

I never ever wanna press rewind, never wanna go back in time.

Not much glory in that story but it's mine so

I'm moving who I am today, the past has past away

finally I have forgiven me

Scared of Beautiful - Brandy Listen Here | Two Eleven [2012]

Self love is key and so many times I was afraid of my potential to be great that fear held me back from even trying. This song reminded me that sometimes it's the truth that we fear more than the lie and that we have to appreciate our inner beauty in it's fullness in order to be our best selves.

Notable Lyrics

No wonder why there's no mirrors on these walls no more

You can't tell me why your so terrified of beautiful

Scared of the good, more than the evil,

scared of the light more than the dark.

Scared of a truth so much more than a lie

I'm scared for me, scared of beautiful

Can't Take That Away [Mariah's Theme] - Mariah Carey Listen Here|Rainbow [1999]

Throughout life I've encounted people who attempted to tear me down. The impact of this type of negative energy can really be hurtful. Mariah is the queen of an authentic lyric and this song reminds all of us that our light simply cannot be dimmed and we must remind ourselves often.

Notable Lyrics

Although they do try hard to make me feel that

I don't matter at all, but I refuse to fall

Tell me what I believe or loose faith in my dreams'

Cause there's a light in me that shines brightly

They can try but they can't take that away from me

Some Kind of Way - Jidenna Listen Here | The Cheif [2017]

Sometimes during my childhood I would come home upset about being bullied or feeling out of place and usually as I sat down for dinner with my mother with a sad look on my face, my mom would ask "what's wrong?". I would usually reply "nothing" or "I'm fine", but momma always knew when something was bothering me. Usually I would open up after she pried, then I would tell her that I had been bullied or was dwelling on an insecurity. Like clockwork she would begin the " You are enough" speech. She would say and I quote " You are not better than anyone else and no one is better than you!" You will be too fat for some, too skinny for some, too tall for some and too short for others but you have to know who you are at all times. It took me until my late 20s to really appreciate that advice. What mom was saying is that no matter what you do, somebody is going to still critique you, so you have to know your worth and live in your truth. Jidenna created a song which I consider the song version of the "You Are Enough" speech called " Some Kind Of Way" I love that Jidenna performs this song because as an educator I am so excited to share this with the high school students that I work with because at that age we are so heavily influenced by the pressure of what others thing of us.

Notable Lyrics

No matter what you say
Or where you go or what you do
Or how you pray
Somebody's gonna feel some kind of way
Somebody's gonna feel some kind of way about you
You can't hide your face
We're waiting for you to come out and play
Somebody's gonna feel some kind of way
Somebody's gonna feel some kind of way about you

I believe that we all have dreams and visions of what we want out of life.

I believe that dreams were meant to be manifested. I don't think that these "ideas" that we come up with are just some figment of our imagination. Studies show that creativity declines as we grow older. The truth is that the older we get the more we are exposed to influence that makes us doubt our abilities.

Let's use artistic ability as an example. If I were to ask a room full of kindergarten students to draw a flower on a piece of paper, the majority of the class would most likely pick up the drawing instrument and begin drawing their version of the flower. At that age all students are encouraged to explore their creativity and not think about their ability or skill level. Now if I were to do the same activity with a group of adults I can assure you that the people who feel that they can't draw or "aren't artistic" would feel unable to draw the flower. Unfortunately we live in a society that categorizes people and things so frequently that we doubt our ability to be creative.

Creativity is linked to our ability to manifest dreams. Learning how to create solutions and alternative ways to fulfill your dreams takes a certain level of vulnerability so that when one method doesn't go as planned you do not lose heart.

For instance, I always wanted to live in New York City for as long as I can remember. The first opportunity I got to potentially live here was after undergrad when I was applying for my first job. I did not get any of the New York based jobs so I stayed in Maryland however I never let go of the New York dream. See you have to keep your dreams active in your mind. Never allow a person or situation or circumstance shake you to the point that you wake up from your dream.

“Creativity is linked to our ability to manifest our dreams”

After a year or so I was encouraged by my former boss to apply to graduate school so I used that opportunity to focus on my New York move. I only applied to New York schools. Once I got accepted to NYU I packed up and moved and I was so excited. I ended up moving to D.C. after graduation for my first post grad school "real job". I was unhappy being back home. I knew that New York was home so I kept it in the back of my mind and after a series of events and about 3 years I came across this awesome career opportunity in New York so I went full force into the application process after much apprehension. What was the apprehension? Well I had kind of warmed up to D.C., I was building a strong network of friends and I was in love with my job at the time. I enjoyed the work I was doing and my team. But in the back of mind I knew that I wouldn't truly feel satisfied until my feet were touching the sidewalks of the concrete jungle so I decided to go for it and in just a few short weeks I was back.

As cliche as it may sound " don't ever give up on your dreams". You probably won't ever be truly happy or satisfied until you at least TRY! And it is never too late. Lastly I must say that it is important to be very specific about your dream. The more information we know about our dream the more confident and unmovable we can be. That confidence can be built from your intuition or from doing lots of research.

My dreams are very clear and vivid but I know that is not the case for everyone so if you have a blurry sense of your dream or goal, journal about it, pray, meditate, see a life coach or counselor to help you bring your dreams to reality because I believed my mom when she told me that the sky was the limit. I haven't stopped flying sense.

In Love, Peace, And Style,

Lonnie