It's been two years and I am still constantly jamming out to Taylor Swift's "1989" album (the album that basically changed my life). My favorite song off the record is "Clean" because lyrically, I think it's one of the most inspiring songs. The lyrics are about finding yourself at a low point, realizing you need to get rid of the negative things in your life and then suddenly feeling "clean."
"Rain came pouring down when I was drowning
That's when I could finally breathe
And by morning gone was any trace of you,
I think I am finally clean"
I know it sounds simple to just tell you to cut all the negative forces in your life out and I know it's really not that simple. Most people find negativity around most corners rather it be a person, social media or something they just can't quit. The saddest part of it all is that majority of the time we are our own toughest critics. With social media being the way that it is we are always comparing our lives to others when in fact what you see on the internet is just a polished version of what really is. We constantly stress that we're not in the same place as others but it doesn't mean we won't get there it just means we're not there yet.
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I deactivated my Instagram the other night to get away from it all and I physically started stressing out about not being able to look at my Insta Feed. I did not know at the time that Instagram makes you wait a certain amount of time before you can reactivate your account. I have friends who spend hours editing their photos and then delete them if they do not get 50 likes in 30 minutes because of fear of what people think. Worrying about what people think is just another negative force in our lives that we should kick in 2017. Every single person is beautiful and has remarkable qualities and no amount of likes on Instagram should determine a persons beauty or self worth.
Relationships can bring out the worst in everyone rather its family, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends or whatever. The worst thing for you to do is to surround yourself with people that make you feel like anything less than who you are. If you think about the people in your life, who makes you feel loved and who makes you feel unworthy? I think you should surround yourself in 2017 with people who make you laugh, make you feel loved and make you feel good about yourself.
Going back to the Taylor Swift song Clean, I just think it's a good song to listen to when you're thinking about this one negative force in your life rather it be a person, place or thing. She describes being at the lowest of lows and realizing that she needed to get rid of a negative force and then she was suddenly clean. She even talks about still thinking about that negative force months later but she'll never risk it again.
"10 months sober, I must admit
Just because you're clean don't mean you don't miss it
10 months older, I won't give in
Now that I'm clean I'm never gonna risk it"
Say goodbye to negativity in 2017
man running in forestPhoto by 
