Song of the Week: It's Time

It's Time, by Imagine Dragons

What the song's about: Sticking to your values, even when you get burned. Especially when you get burned.

Why I picked it: I finally jumped aboard the Imagine Dragons bandwagon. All of their songs sit on the upper end of the greatness scale, but this one is the best. In my humble opinion.

Best line: "I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit I'm just the same as I was. Now don't you understand? That I'm never changing who I am."

I read a lot of book/TV show reviews. Something I've noticed more and more is that whenever a character goes off the rails and starts doing really dumb things, the reviewer will say something like, "It's frustrating, but it's realistic," or, "Now that the character isn't so perfect, I actually like them more."

I get where they're coming from. Characters have to have flaws if they're going to be interesting and relatable. Nobody wants to be around someone who is always perfect, even if they're fictional. But the idea that doing dumb things makes you more realistic, that going through a painful rebellious period is what raises your cool factor—I have a problem with this.

Yes, we all make mistakes, and everyone goes through rough periods where they do things they aren't proud of. But you don't have to reject everything you've been taught to learn important life lessons. You aren't less of a person if you don't have colossal mistakes on your résumé.

Every time I hear the line, "I'm just the same as I was," I want to shout, "In yo face, Hollywood!" The world will do everything it can to beat you down, but it is oh so refreshing when people rise above it. I love a good redemption story as much as anyone else, but we could use more stories about people who make the right decisions at pivotal moments rather than settling for easy, short-term solutions and having to fix things later. 

Mood trigger: This song always makes me feel better when I'm feeling hopeless about something.

Random observation: And don't forget the line "I get a little bit bigger." Every experience changes you, and if you let it, the times when you have to take the lonely road will help you grow the most.