Two weeks ago, I began to feel the initial impact of the Coronavirus pandemic when the Cothran Center\u2019s annual FOCUS program to Northern Ireland was canceled two days before we were supposed to depart. As I grieved for the loss of that experience for so many people, including myself, I found solace in music. The morning we were supposed to leave for our trip, I was listening to Sara Bareilles and John Legend belt out their soul-crushing ballad, \u201cA Safe Place to Land,\u201d when my husband asked me, \u201cAre you going to be listening to sad songs for a while?\u201d \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d was my reply.<\/p>\n
This wasn\u2019t the first time that I sought comfort in music, nor will it be the last; however, my melancholic musical selections have definitely evolved throughout my lifetime. As a child, I was drawn to \u201cSomewhere Over the Rainbow,\u201d because it was the lullaby that my mom used to sing to me. As a teenager in the 1980\u2019s, I am a bit embarrassed to admit that it was Poison\u2019s \u201cEvery Rose Has Its Thorn.\u201d As a young adult, it was The Pretender\u2019s \u201cI\u2019ll Stand By You.\u201d Finally, over the past few years it has been anything by Ben Rector, with \u201cWhen a Heart Breaks\u201d towards the top of the list.<\/p>\n
I could name so many other songs that have come and gone as favorites of mine over the years, but there is one particular song that has stayed consistent over time\u2026 it\u2019s like a lifelong best friend who comes to my rescue every time I need her with an encouraging reminder and calming effect. Yes, Paul McCartney wrote a good one in 1970 after the death of his mother, Mary, and I don\u2019t think that I will ever tire of his message to \u201cLet it Be.\u201d Since I\u2019ve been self-quarantined and have more free time these days, yesterday I taught myself to play this on my son\u2019s ukulele and have chosen to share it with you here: https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/se74h8g<\/a>. It may not be a perfect rendition, but I do hope it makes you smile and that the sentiment still comes across.<\/p>\n So, what songs are speaking to you during these stressful and trying times? I recently asked a group of Furman students this question and I have included their responses below. Please let me know if I can add yours to the list. May these suggested songs or others help alleviate some of your sadness and anxiety and remind you that you are not alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two weeks ago, I began to feel the initial impact of the Coronavirus pandemic when the Cothran Center\u2019s annual FOCUS program to Northern Ireland was canceled two days before we were supposed to depart. As I grieved for the loss of that experience for so many people, including myself, I found solace in music. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":238,"template":"","update-categories":[232],"class_list":["post-237","furman-update","type-furman-update","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","furman-update-category-rolyn"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reflections\/237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reflections"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/furman-update"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reflections\/237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"furman-update-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/update-categories?post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}