Being True To Yourself Through Art And Music

*Photo by* *Skylar Sahakian* on *Unsplash*.

2024 definitely hasn’t started out the way I planned and I feel like I blinked, and we’re already halfway through. I had plans to save up for a European cruise, get my tattoos covered up and altered, and get in super shape and get healthy. I planned on living my best life, footloose coming out of a toxic relationship, finally flying solo and able to explore who I am again. Instead, I’ve been pummeled with health issues that have made it difficult for me to keep up with this blog and creating content, and for that, reader, I sincerely apologize. From significant fatigue to having difficulty walking to aches and pains I never thought I’d be dealing with at 30 years old, my health has taken a front seat in the epic road trip that this year was supposed to be for me.

But you know what? Something positive that has come out of this for me is I’ve been spending a lot of time in solitude, thinking about the things I love — the art that makes my spirit move, the clothes that make me feel the most “me,” transforming my home space into a safe place just for me, and the music that makes me feel the most validation and joy. On the other side of the coin, part of that is actually putting myself out into social spaces and making new friends too, while reconnecting with old ones and making sure I nurture “my” people. There’s a lot of core elements of my personality that I had been hiding for so long out of fear of judgment, of losing relationships, of being ostracized. The thing about that, that makes me laugh now, is I feel like I’ve already been through those things, so they really don’t carry the weight that they used to.

I just couldn’t care less anymore about what anybody thinks about me, and that is a beautifully freeing thing.

I couldn’t tell you exactly what triggered this sudden change in me. Maybe turning 30 was the launching pad, maybe I just finally had enough and I broke, maybe I finally pulled the last straw and all the exhaustion of channeling energy into trying to live up to other people’s expectations finally caught up to me. Call it a breakup glow up or whatever it was, there was definitely a moment where I felt a giant wave of “I no longer give a shit,” that I could feel within myself. It was scary, but it was so sweet at the same time. Finally understanding that literally no one can stop me from doing the things I want, wearing the things I want, enjoying the things I want was the most manic, exhilarating fire lit in me that I’ve ever felt. After living under three decades of anxiety, I can finally say that I am a confident, authentic, healing version of myself that my younger self needed so badly.

Thing is, we’re all a little weird — there’s just some of us who are more comfortable showing it.

On this train of thought, as I muster the motivation to get back on the horse of chasing down bands, conducting interviews and kicking my ass back into creating content for Tune Tuesday and Style Saturdays regularly again, I wanted to take a moment to share some of the most precious art I hold to my heart. Some of it is silly, some of it is hardcore, some of it is gracefully melancholy. But all of it is from my soul — and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

So while I’m in the middle of trying to get doctor’s appointments and get my body back to tip top condition, please peruse this list of curated music I love, no commentary needed. Take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and I promise I will be back with consistent blogging and posts very soon.