This blog post is completely counterproductive. I have 3 papers to write and I am blogging because I now feel like I need to reflect upon my life. As I sit here listening to iTunes I find that many songs on my playlist trigger a memory or a thought. I feel like I can almost travel back in time and relive the memories that are attached to each song. It is such a powerful feeling. I can’t even really explain it but as I listen to music and write these papers I have been looking back on how far I have come in life, the things that I have overcome, the experiences that I have had, the people that I have met and the influence that they have had on my life both positive and negative. Sometimes it is necessary to feel slightly nostalgic and reflect upon the past. I think it is a healthy way to measure personal growth. I wouldn’t be writing this post if I found the memories I have been thinking about to be meaningless. I find them to be enlightening and very monumental. I may not think of these things on a day to day basis but I am reminded of them now and they are all, in some way, a part of why I am writing these papers. They have led me to this moment in my life so here they are song by song on this randomly created playlist called fgsdfgs (totally random, I just hit the keyboard).
Good Life by One Republic: This song reminds me of a trip I took in December of 2011. I went to Las Vegas to visit my friend and then flew to Seattle for USATF XC Club Nationals. Phil met me at the airport in Seattle and we rented a car and drove the the hotel. This song was playing. It was a very popular song and we heard it every time we drove around Seattle. This was the first big race I ran after I began racing again.
In the Pit by Reel Big Fish: This song reminds me of the county championship xc race my junior year of high school. A teammate told me she listened to that song that morning and it pumped her up to race as well as she did. At the time I had never heard the song but when she sung the lyrics I thought it was worth listening to before races because if it worked for her it may work for me. This is not true but the song is catchy.
Boom Boom Pow by The Black Eyed Peas: Running around the indoor track in the rec center when I was in college
Here We Go by Bowling For Soup: Driving to college my freshman year, driving to work the summer before I started college, and not knowing that there were quicker and more efficient ways to get there.
Love the Way You Lie by Eminem: Track workouts that I ran alone in 2011. I was mad and I felt betrayed by a few people in my life that had hurt me. I had just started training and racing again and I would wear my iPod to shut my brain off from the world and get through the workouts. This song made me realize that no one cares about me as much as I care about me and I was able to move on with life and overcome the hurt and betrayals.
I Need a Doctor by Dr. Dre: Kinda the same thing as the previous song. They were back to back on my playlist and they have good rhythm for running fast.
Lighters by Bad Meets Evil: This song just makes me feel fast and think of times I ran fast. Its not necessarily the lyrics its the dynamic changes within the song that make me feel like it is possible to change gears and go fast. Also a song I listened to while doing workouts.
Stronger by Kanye West: Cross country season in 2006. A teammate made a slideshow at the end of the season and used part of this song.
Hey Ya! by OutKast: My old job, this song was on one of our work playlists.
Fireflies by Owl City: First driving around aimlessly, then driving to the gym a few winters ago, then regretting ever buying Phil a surround sound system because he took the CD out of my car and the played it on the surround sound. The surround sound is loud, too loud if you ask me.
Fat Lip by Sum 41: High school
Over My Head (Better off Dead) by Sum 41: Watching my brother skateboard on the sidewalk
Untouched by the Veronicas: Hanging out in the living room with Phil and daydreaming
The Freshman by The Verve Pipe: I was listening to this song my junior year of college when I found out that a friend I made that semester had passed away
Never Let You Down by the Verve Pipe: Laying underneath a banked indoor track at Yale and listening to this song and the footsteps of runners overhead. Although I knew it was dangerous to lay under the track this was the way that I got myself focused. I ran a PR in the 3k that day.
Hey, Soul Sister by Train: This song makes me think of one of my friends who used to have this song as her ringtone
How Far We’ve Come by Matchbox Twenty: My college graduation and actually feeling like the world was coming to an end. This song stirred up the most memories and the most things to reflect upon.
Memory by Sugarcult: The summer before my senior year of high school. I had just broken up with my first boyfriend.
I might write more posts like this in the future because I think this is a healthy way to reflect but for now I have papers to write.
The Road Less Run 