I have loved you since the moment I saw you. I don’t really believe in love at first sight, but what I experienced the first time I saw you says otherwise. I spent months convincing Mom and Dad to get a dog, I would beg them to take the family to the local SPCA and look at potential pets, but what I really wanted was a puppy.
You were 2 months old, and I was 14 years old. Your mom had birthed a pretty big litter of puppies, but there was one left on that fateful evening, the little runt. At that time the SPCA let you put a hold on an animal you were interested in adopting but needed time to consider. It broke my little heart to see you on hold.
After realizing this, Mom and Dad had gone over to the cat section to see other options, but they didn’t understand, I just needed a dog. I stood around for a few minutes, maybe 15. Eventually in protest against getting a cat because I knew I was meant to get a dog, I returned to the glass you were behind.
But something had changed. The hold tag had disappeared. Absolutely giddy, I told Mom and Dad what had changed. She’s off hold now! My parents shrugged and we went to the front desk and asked to meet you. The couple behind us in line also wanted to ask about you, but we got there first. They brought you into the private room with us, you had just been spayed, so you were pretty tired, but you were so damn adorable and cuddly.
We put our own hold on you, went out and bought puppy food, a bowl, a collar, and that cow you loved so much, and brought you home the next morning. I couldn’t have even imagined a better dog.
I just want you to know that I love you and I miss you every day that I’m at school. You’re the light of my life and you have been for nearly 8 years now. Thank you for being you.
When picking an assignment, I try to pick something feasible that speaks to me. Like my mother, I am long winded. I can talk about anything for any amount of time if I’m allowed to, so this blog thing has really opened up an outlet for me. So, a captive audience is really my thing.
And so is music! It bothers me when people say things like “I feel things deeper than other people” or “I have a really strong connection to music”. Everyone feels things deeply! Everyone has a really strong connection to music! I think assuming that something is more personal to you or that you understand a general human experience on a deeper level than others perpetuates an idea that our uniqueness is what separates us and not what provides a greater ability to diversify human experience. But now I’m rambling about things that no one is looking to read in a blog post about a song.
The song I chose comes from my 7 hour playlist of songs that I feel in my chest when I listen to them, I could really choose any song on this playlist and talk for a long time about the way that it makes me feel, but the song I chose is Pilot with a Fear of Heights by Felicity.
Felicity, for her 2018 single, Pilot with a Fear of Heights
The first verse she sings about trying to leave a former relationship and its memories behind, hoping they’ll turn into ghosts. She is afraid of someone that she can’t stop thinking about, someone she loves. The first verse is very nice, but it’s the clapping indicating that the chorus is beginning (at exactly 00:45, if you’re wondering) that makes me feel like things are really getting good.
I’ve been thinking ’bout you all night Like a pilot with a fear of heights You got me thinking like ooh, ooh
Singing about a pilot with a fear of heights as a metaphor for someone that you’ve been with and can’t stop reliving the memory of? I just remember hearing that and thinking it was so brilliant. To be honest, I hadn’t really heard the saying about a pilot with a fear of heights before this song, which made the saying especially revolutionary. The line you got me thinking like ooh, ooh may not be particularly unique, but it’s the way that she sings it that really hammers in the feeling. It makes me feel understood on a deeper level.
I’ve been thinking ’bout you all night Like a tiger that’s afraid to bite You got me thinking like ooh, ooh
It’s ironic, isn’t it? The tiger can’t survive without catching and killing (or, biting) its prey. The pilot can’t work without flying an airplane in the sky, but it’s terrifying! And she can’t be happy without a relationship which is full of turmoil. Sometimes when I hear this song I feel like a pilot with a fear of heights myself. I myself have a fear of heights, except I just can’t help but look down. It’s the adrenaline rush, I guess. I would definitely say this song gives me an adrenaline rush.
This is so unnatural That we’re on this level ‘Cause my heart’s surrendering For this new beginning
This verse feels so fresh and wild. It’s really important to hear her vocals in this to really capture the feeling the song gives you. Of course, the audience for this song is probably aimed towards young women and teenage girls, so those in a separate demographic from me may not enjoy it as I do, but it effervescently brings you to the feeling of a new relationship.
I’ve been thinking ’bout you all night Like a fire that’s afraid to light
In the second and final chorus Felicity compares herself to that of a fire which is afraid to light. Jumping into a new situation, whether it be a relationship, job, activity, etc. can be very nerve wracking, but it is that very thing that will bring you joy and life. It is the very thing that brings you to your destiny.
