My Finest Hour

I don't know what's come over me but, "The words keep stumbling out of my mouth.  We are who we are, whatever the others say..."  If you weren't a 12-14 year old girl in the 80s then you probably have no idea what I am talking about.  It's happened: I've gone back to enjoying loving a lot of the music I loved when I was a teenager.  It's taken over thirty years but I think that I can finally listen to the music I once loved without becoming incredibly uncomfortable.  For so long songs would be associated with parts of my youth I'd rather not re-live.  I was 13 again!  This didn't happen with all of the music I liked then.  Some of the bands I listened to would carry through different chapters of life {like with the Smiths} and adapt with my circumstances pleasurably.  Some music I just learned to hate and be okay with that.  {If I ever hear another Yaz song it'll be too soon!}  But with some of the albums I listened to {so often that the tape eventually snapped} it's been a long time since I could enjoy listening to them.  Music just has that magical power to transport me to the memories, good or bad.  I think that sometimes being a teenage girl was just difficult... I had a good life but, you know, being a teenage girl, it can be challenging. Really, it was often too much; it made me uncomfortable.   Music was a good escape and I guess it's nice to realize that I don't really need that escape anymore.  Maybe that's why I can finally enjoy and even sing along to music I discovered so long ago.  For some glorious reason, none of it matters anymore.  Thank God!!  I see that as a great landmark of getting older.

So, if you haven't judged me yet then I probably shouldn't admit it but, well, let's just say I may or may not have bought a copy of Terrance Trent D'arby...and I may or may not remember ALL of the words...and I may remember that the reason I bought my original copy was because it was played on an episode of 21 Jumpstreet...and I may also remember the episode and scene it was in...and may have visited YouTube for related reasons.  There, now we have no secrets between us.