“I feel alive when I’m close to the madness”
—One Republic, Wherever I Go 

Life is chaos, art is love, and words are power. Not one person that has presented themselves as a role model to me hasn’t displayed a form of their own secrets to life through the words in music, books, or even in open statements. They have scribbled them on sticky notes, played their lyrics at max volume, and screamed them through tears. Words fly throughout the air around the minds of poets, waiting for their chance to jump in and out of  brains, hoping that the writers can get their hands on a pen and paper in time. Words are an art. Words prepare us for what is to come, they encourage us to get back up when we fall, and they provide us an escape when our restless minds are almost full to capacity.

Throughout my life I have always saved statements, quotes, lyrics. I used to write in a journal the lyrics of my favorite songs for no other reason than that it made me feel calm. It is said our sense of smell takes us immediately back to a time when a scent was experienced. Words act as the same type of anchor. Lyrics within the beat of music will transform your surroundings and deposit you in a different time; your words spoken through tears will take on certain colors, either bringing you deeper into those feelings or pulling you out towards something better. My favorite musician fills her home with sticky notes, napkins, and books with phrases or a collection of words that don’t make sense yet…but will. In an interview she reaches for a book on her desk and opens to a page that says “not this again.” She wrote the statement in the book but doesn’t remember why, therefore the viewers will never know. Somehow, though, the wondering between writer and viewer brings them closer together.

I furiously write whatever comes to mind on any paper surface I can find when I get the urge. When I see things that speak to me, or seem to make perfect sense at a time in my life, I simply must keep it close to my heart and mind. The lyrics above are from a newer song many of you may already be familiar with. Aside from making me want to dance around my house, that one specific lyric from the song makes me feel better about not having a set direction in life. I have things that I hope will happen or that I am working towards, but ultimately it is out of my control because whatever is meant to happen will, with or without my influence and opinion. When words surround us we need to take inventory of where we are at the time and what meaning they will have for us that day. It’s important to realize the art and power that presents itself to us every single day.