There are two amazing bands within my life that I owe a lot to. Each came from two different parts of the world, with two different types of sound and feeling to them. One group I have known about and loved for many years but have, in the past year, fallen more head over heels for them. The other group I have gotten into severely in the past several months. I have fallen down the rabbit hole with both of them and thanking God every day that I did because they each changed my life dearly. Without either group I am not entirely sure where I would be. They have each picked me up from my lowest lows and have inspired me to keep pushing along, as well as to start writing again.

So, with this little bit of being said, I decided to write a little letter about each group. Thanking them for all that they have done to me and going into detail of how much I love them, how much the mean to me, and why one day they will each get their own dedication page in something I hope to publish.

Marianas Trench

Five long happy years ago, I listened to my first ever song by this Canadian band. I was floored by their sound, I was carried by their lyrics, and I couldn’t get enough of them. They have the mixture of rock, pop, and soul within each song. Each harmony better than the last. Each instrument breaking the barrier of sound boards, strumming, and drumming their way into my heart. The lead vocalist’s voice spoke to me in ways that I never were possible. And not only did I fall for his singing, but I fell in love with his mind and the way he looked. Every song this band played told a story; a story that lifted my heart up from the darkest pits and reminded me that I am not totally alone in the way that I feel.

Last year, I fell into a lot of self-pity and self-loathing because of a dumb relationship that didn’t work out well. I was able to get over the relationship pretty easily but I had words floating in my mind that made me doubt myself at every turn. I began to hate the way I looked, talked, acted, and eventually even lost my creative touch to write. It wasn’t just a writer’s block, rather I just lost the feeling to write because my spirit felt broken. Of course I look back at it now and realize how silly that was but when you have a blow to the ego, you begin to second guess everything about yourself. It is a part of the growing and coming of age process. And thankfully at the time, Marianas Trench released their album Astoria. In its own way it was a coming of age story- learning how to not just love others again, but to learn how to love yourself again; to grow from everything that life hits you with; and to have fun and live life as intended. The lyrics and the instruments lifted my spirits in ways that I never that were possible. Even though were songs that made me cry uncontrollably -Forget Me Not- I still found myself listening to this album on repeat for days on end. I would hum them while they were stuck in my head and sing each one at the top of my lungs while I drove around. This album, this band, became my happy place and fell in deeper love with them than I ever did before. And after some time and thinking, I began to get my creative spirit back. Josh Ramsay, the lead singer, said a few simple words that caused me to truly go after my writing and dreams full force: Swing For the Fences. He said that he had wanted to make a stab this album and had decided to just go at it and that if we wanted to go for a goal just like that and make something great about ourselves, then we needed to do just that. I had thought, “Ya know, you’re right. If I want to make a name for myself in the world and write a novel that I will make me proud, then I just need to swing for the fences.” And from there on out while listening to Marianas Trench sing not just on that album but on their previous ones, I kept getting the drive to keep succeeding.

And then one day over the summer, I was able to see Marianas Trench perform live at the House of Blues in Cleveland. Boy, let me tell you something, my heart about burst out of my chest when that opportunity sprang itself on me. I cried with tears of joy when I bought the ticket and had my best friend accompany me on the trip. When we got up there the day before the concert, I was so jittery because I still couldn’t believe I was going to see my favorite band live. Honestly, I still can’t believe that it happened. They mean so much to me that it felt like a dream that I had been so close to them. And when that first song -Astoria­- all of the hairs on my arms rose as did my voice as I sang along. Each member looked nothing but perfect on stage and they delivered each song with absolute clarity and love. Their voices and instruments carried us into a world of harmony and peace that can only be achieved by a spot on and swell live performance. And I was reminded there, in that bar room, of how much this band had meant to me; that they had changed my life in ways that I would always be thankful for and that I felt anew all because of them.

BTS

I have literally only been a part of the ARMY fandom for several months now but regardless, I have become very immersed within it. One of the first times I ever heard a BTS song I was at the 2016 Colossal Con watching a K-Pop vs J-Pop dance off and the other time was in passing at school. Both times I was blown away by their singing and musical accompaniment. And after that, I saw a couple of their music videos -Fire and Dope- thus causing me to be even more blown by the way they could dance. I had never seen anyone dance that well and with so much synchronization. How could I not be impressed? Then their Wings album dropped a few months ago and I fell down the rabbit hole hard and care free. Thankfully I wasn’t alone with this free fall, my best friend was going down the same pit and we were giddy and joyful with being a part of such a great fandom.

I began to read deep into their lyric translations, picking a bias -Jeon JungKook- watching their music videos over and over, buying merch, following blogs, etc. Oh yeah, I had reached a new level with them; basically, the same level of deep love and obsession as I did with Marianas Trench. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise since I’ve written a few articles that mentioned this wondrous group. And I never thought I was going to love the mixture of Hip-Hop, R&B, and Pop as much as I do because of them.

BTS came into my life like a fire storm that I never wanted to go out. The more I listened to their music, the more and more I became inspired to keep swinging for those fences. These 7 boys from South Korea are a part of a small record label and have been told several times that they were never going to make it big. But they kept persevering, swinging at those fences, and leaping over bounds that many thought they could never jump over. They broke records on Billboard and iTunes, won Artists of the Year at MAMA’s, and Best Dance Performance at MAMA’s. There are so many other things that they have won, I wouldn’t even know where to begin to tell someone, but I am such a proud fan of theirs. And with each win, they have been nothing but humbled and surprised because they never thought they would be able to do these things. This has made me see that I too can make leaps and bounds that others believe that I won’t be able to and I know that I will be surprised too if it ever happens for me.

Because of this group, I have been able to put pen to paper with a greater force than before. Their music from Wings have especially put me in a writing mood that I never thought was possible. Each lyric, harmony, instrument beat, and inspiration behind each song have flowed through me to the point that I’m not sure I will be able to get out of the writing mode. Of course, I still have my struggles, but I know that all I have to do is sit down and listen to a song, drift into thought, and be able to build myself out of the slump.

So, here’s to you Marianas Trench and BTS. Thank you so much for the inspiration and love that you have wrapped me in. You all have taught me that I can achieve anything that I set my mind to with hard work and that even when I struggle, I can fall onto you to pick me back up. No matter what I face I know that I will be able to have you to show me that even my lowest of lows will cause me great success with my highest of highs. You have also taught me how to take care of myself in many ways; now I care more about how I dress because I have found the styles that I prefer, how to keep loving myself and others even when it proves to be difficult, to take care of myself mentally just as much I do physically, and to make a name for myself. I am anew because of you all. I hope that one day that I get meet you all personally so that I am able to thank you for all that you have done for me. But for now, I will settle for this.

Thank you so much men of BTS and Marianas Trench, you mean the world to me.